New construction along Washington Road. Smaller bungalows and Capes are more common.

With the East Bay Bike Path near its western border, and a 102-acre state park, the leafy streets of West Barrington’s Haines Park neighborhood are a convenient home for the recreation-minded.

And when the sporting fields at the Dr. George B. Haines Memorial Park are not in use, or the Haines Park Farmers Market isn’t open for business (Wednesdays from 2 to 6 p.m. through Oct. 28), it may be one of the quietest neighborhoods in town.

The state park was established in 1911; Ida M. Haines donated 83 acres for use as a park to honor the memory of her brother, a physician.

By 1915, the park had grown to 101.7 acres. It includes three baseball fields, a dog park, and a multipurpose field. The Bullocks Cove waterfront section of the park includes picnic tables, stone fireplaces and docks for boats.

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Haines Park,
in Barrington

The State of Rhode Island leases a large section of the park to the Town of Barrington; in exchange, the town maintains the property and may allow local sports groups to use the fields, according to Barrington Town Manager Peter A.. DeAngelis Jr.

The state maintains the waterfront section of the park, west of Metropolitan Park Drive, he said.

The town’s lease with the state will expire in 2012, according to DeAngelis.

A number of streets in Haines Park lead from Washington Road and dead end, but Promenade Street, Rogers Avenue and Haines Park Road lead to East Providence’s Riverside neighborhood, though it can be hard to tell exactly where Barrington ends and Riverside begins.

In 2006, a $2-million proposal to improve Haines Park sparked controversy in Barrington. The plan included new ball fields for the park, and a group called Friends of George B. Haines Memorial Park opposed the plan, while town officials and athletic league officials supported it. The state Department of Environmental Management ultimately denied the town’s request to proceed with those plans.

Haines Park is primarily a single-family house neighborhood, and much of the housing appears to have been built in the mid-1900s.

Though there are some larger Colonials, smaller bungalows and Capes are prevalent in Haines Park.

There are just three houses listed for sale in Haines Park. A bank-owned foreclosure property, a six-room Cape built in 1952 at 1012 County Rd., is on the market for $183,600. The house has three bedrooms, one full bath and 1,010 square feet of living space.

A 1937 Cape at 9 Washington Rd. is on the market for $439,000. The seven-room house has three bedrooms, two full baths and one half bath, and 1,302 square feet of living space, according to the listing information.

A recently renovated ranch at 22 Richmond Ave. is for sale for $489,000. The 2,715-square-foot house has three bedrooms and two full baths.

A house lot on Homestead Avenue is on the market for $225,000. The listing information says an in-ground pool on the land will be removed.

Just south of Haines Park, near St. Luke Catholic Church and school, are two new rental housing developments. Haines Park Village, near the intersection of Washington Road and Bay Spring Avenue, has five new duplexes. Three of the 10 townhouse-style apartments will be affordable, but the market-rate units are currently available for $2,250 per month.

Sweetbriar, an affordable housing development, is under construction next to Haines Park Village, on an 8 acres that were formerly the home of the West Barrington Elementary School.

The first phase of Sweetbriar — 14 rental units in seven two-story duplexes — should be completed this summer. The entire development will include 47 rental units and 3 single-family houses. East Bay Community Development Corporation of Bristol is the nonprofit developer of the project.

Sweetbriar tenants will have to meet income restrictions of 60 percent or 50 percent of the area median income. That would limit annual income for a family of four to $43,920 (60 percent) or $36,600 (50 percent), and monthly rents would be $833 or $652, at those respective levels.

POPULATION:

(Barrington, 2000) 16,891

MEDIAN HOUSE PRICE:

(Barrington, 2008) $400,000

ET CETERA:

The Wednesday afternoon Haines Park Farmer’s Market is located on Route 103, Metropolitan Park Drive and Park Avenue, on the border of East Providence and Barrington.

cdunn@projo.com