Plain-English Summary
This legislation repeals a specific section of Rhode Island property law that previously prevented people from claiming a legal right to walk across private land (a "right of footway") based solely on long-term use. Under the old law, a person could not establish a permanent walking path easement through "adverse use" unless they also had the right to drive vehicles (carriages) on that path. By removing this restriction, the bill makes it possible for individuals or the public to gain legal access to walking paths across private property if they have used them continuously for the required statutory period.
Imagine there is a path through a neighbor's big yard or woods that everyone has walked on for a very long time to get somewhere. Before, there was a rule that said just walking there wasn't enough to make it a permanent path for everyone to use—the owner could stop it at any time. This bill gets rid of that rule. Now, if people have walked on a path for many years, they might be allowed to keep walking there forever, even if the owner of the land wants to stop them.