When it comes to housing and transportation, Rhode Islanders need better choices.

In December, the sudden closure of the Washington Bridge caused major disruption to thousands of people. Rental and home prices continue to skyrocket, with Providence named the city with the highest rent increases in the country. As we enter the 2024 legislative session, these converging issues illustrate that state leaders must take a holistic approach to housing and transit.

It’s been well reported that Rhode Island ranks last in the nation for new housing production, ensuring high costs of housing amid limited availability of homes. We should also be concerned that too many Rhode Islanders are paying the highest prices in the region for gas, insurance and car maintenance, with few to no alternatives to driving. According to the Housing and Transportation Index, Rhode Islanders are spending nearly half of their income on housing and transportation costs.

Robust housing and transportation options enable communities and residents to thrive. Different types of homes, such as multifamily apartments, accessory dwelling units, single-family houses and townhomes, ensure communities can accommodate different household needs and lifestyles. Different transportation methods, including trains, buses, ferries, biking, walking and rolling, support individual mobility needs and offer alternatives to driving. But in most Rhode Island communities, the only options are the most expensive ones: single-family houses and private cars.

This can be changed with transformational investments in our housing and public transit sectors and by communities welcoming different types of homes and transportation. Now is the time for leaders to work together to scale up housing production and transit options at the same time: by fully funding the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority and the Transit Master Plan, by supporting an affordable housing bond of at least $250 million, and by adopting state and local policies that offer Rhode Islanders of all stripes a multitude of choices for living and getting around.

In 2024, RIPTA faces a massive fiscal crisis due to decades of chronic underinvestment combined with the impacts of COVID and inflation. Rhode Island is not alone in this national problem, but we rank among the lowest in per capita state funding for transit. We also underfund housing compared to our neighboring states, spending less per capita than Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont (HousingWorks RI, 2023). Our state is heavily reliant on federal funds for both housing and transit, creating a ‘cliff effect’ when these funds reach spending deadlines.

Without sustained state funding to build and preserve homes, we risk undermining the progress that we’ve made in the past two years with federal investments.

A housing bond of at least $250 million and continued funding of critical housing production and service programs is the level of investment needed to maintain momentum.

Last year, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi passed a package of legislation aimed at stimulating housing production. One of the bills going into effect in 2024 is a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) pilot, planning mixed-use communities near public transit with easy access to jobs and services. This is an exciting opportunity to foster vibrant, walkable communities where people can live, work and play without complete dependence on a car — but if RIPTA operations fall off a fiscal cliff, there will be no T to pursue a TOD program.

RIPTA needs state investment to avoid making drastic cuts to service, raise bus operator wages and to expand service statewide.

Planning and investing in housing and transportation together will create a stronger economy, healthier environment and better quality of life for everyone in Rhode Island.

State and local leaders can make this choice.

Liza Burkin is the lead organizer of the Providence Streets Coalition. Katie West is the director of Strategic Initiatives at Housing Network of Rhode Island.