Rare colour video of London in 1927.
This video was produced by the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau and is set to play in Hartford and Boston. Thoughts?
Bike To Work Day: Mayor announces expanded Cyclovía program for 2013
Photo from Mayor Taveras’ Facebook Page
Las September, Providence had it’s first Cyclovía on Broad Street. At this morning’s Bike To Work Day, the Mayor announced an expanded list of Cyclovías in Providence for 2013.
City to hold three Cyclovías this summer
Speaking at this morning’s Bike to Work Day community celebration, Mayor Angel Taveras announced the city will host an expanded schedule of Providence Cyclovía events this summer.
“Cyclovía Providence will provide an opportunity for residents from every corner of the city to come together, exercise, have fun and enjoy all that Providence has to offer,” said Mayor Taveras.
Cyclovía is an international phenomenon that reportedly began in Bogotá, Colombia and has spread to cities across the globe, including New York City, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and Cambridge, MA.
Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit planning organization, has described Cyclovía as a large-scale community building exercise that facilitates social interaction and activity between people of all ages, incomes, occupations, religions and races.
The City held its first Cyclovía in September 2012 on Broad Street. The 2013 Cyclovías will be expanded to the following dates and locations:
- Sunday, June 30 – Broad St. in Elmwood (between Thurbers Ave. and Prairie Ave.)
- Sunday, July 28 – Valley St. in Olneyville (between San Souci Dr. and Atwells Ave.)
- Saturday, September 14 – Hope St. in the East Side (between Lippitt Park and Rochambeau Ave.)
This morning at Bike to Work Day, Peter from RIPTA showed us how the Rack n’ Ride on the buses works.
Notice of Regular Meeting
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 – 4:45pm
Department of Planning and Development • 1st Floor Meeting Room
444 Westminster Street, Providence
Opening Session
- Call to Order
- Roll Call
- Approval of minutes from April 23, 2013 meeting – for action
- Director’s Report
City Council Referral
1. Referral 3362 – Petition for zone change from R-2 to M-1 at 230 Carolina Ave. Petition to rezone the property at 230 Carolina Ave from R-2 to M-1 subject to the use of the property being restricted to parking – for action (AP 58 lots 704-724, 726 and 730, Washington Park)
2. Referral 3363 – An ordinance in amendment of the Downtown Providence Renewal Official Redevelopment Plan Review of the amendment, which proposes acquisition and redevelopment of the building at 94 Washington Street, for conformance with the Comprehensive Plan – for action (AP 25 Lot 354, Downtown)
The “Narrow Building“
3. Referral 3364 – Petition to abandon a portion of Beach Ave. Petition to abandon the portion of Beach Ave along the eastern edge of the property at AP 17 Lot 416 – for action (Fox Point)
Beach Avenue appears to be a paper street which runs along the Seekonk Riverfront from the Gano Street off-ramp from 195 to Fremont Street. Lot 416 sits along Gano Street between the off-ramp and East Transit Street. The existence of that street would allow for public access to the water.
Minor Land Development Project
4. Case No. 13-014 MI – 207 Waterman Street (Preliminary Plan Stage) The applicant is proposing to demolish the existing building to construct a four story (50 feet), 30 unit multifamily development on a lot measuring approximately 11,677 SF. The applicant is proposing to provide 23 internal parking spaces, 45 are required. The development will require dimensional relief from height, parking and density requirements – for action (AP 14 Lot 516, Wayland)
Adjournment
Wednesday, May 15, 5:30 – 8pm
AS220, 115 Empire Street, Providence, RI
FREE (buy your own food and drink – it’s cheap)
RSVP at Facebook
For the May Geek Dinner, we may have the perfect Providence startup story!
When his 2-year-old son was diagnosed with diabetes, former jewelry industry executive Angelo Pitassi Jr. started learning about medical alert bracelets. He was unimpressed to say the least. In short order, Angelo partnered with technologist Christopher Melo, and HealthID was born.
Today the Jewelry District-based startup is poised at the intersection of the jewelry business and healthcare technology, and is accepting pre-orders for its first product — HealthID Profile (or “HIP”) Bands. HIP enables first responders to pull up critical, in-depth, current health information from NFC-based bands onto a web/mobile interface. The wearer can also manage all aspects of their personal health scenario while on the go.
On Wednesday, the Co-Founders CEO Angelo Pitassi Jr. and CTO Christopher Melo will tell the HealthID story, demonstrate their HIP product and give a sneak peek of where they’re headed next.
“If people can access the parcel, they’re parking on it,” [Route 195 Redevelopment District Commission Chairman Colin] Kane told the commission Monday night at its regular meeting. “I’m guilty myself.”
This video rendering shows what the vision for Greater Kennedy Plaza could look like as you move through it.
A selection of photos readers have recently shared in our Flickr Group:
Photo © e_pics
Photo © Armadillo Commander
→ Streetsblog: The Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America, and Why It Barely Registers
In 2010, 4,280 pedestrians were killed in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and another 70,000 were injured. That’s one death every two hours.
It’s impossible to quantify the human toll of traffic fatalities, but as David Nelson at Project for Public Spaces points out, AAA estimates that traffic crashes cost America $300 billion annually in the form of medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other factors. That works out to three times the annual cost of congestion reported by the Texas Transportation Institute. But while we’re spending billions “fighting congestion” with expensive new roads, getting a handle on pedestrian deaths and injuries is almost a non-issue at your average state DOT.
→ The New York Times: Where ‘Share the Road’ Is Taken Literally
“Woonerf” is what the Dutch call a special kind of street or group of streets that functions as shared public space — for pedestrians, cyclists, children and, in some cases, for slow-moving, cautiously driven cars as well.
