Over the last six months or so, The Providence Foundation has been convening a group of what are being called Young Leaders (or Next Generation Leaders or New Leaders) to come up with the foundation’s mission statement for 2030. I have been among that group.
At the Foundation’s Annual Meeting at the end of last month, they introduced the resulting document, Providence 2030: A Vision for Downtown.
The key points of the vision are as follows:
We continue to grow a vibrant economy.
We support our world renowned culture.
We care for our engaging civic realm.
We celebrate our mobility.
We value and educate our youth.
We are a leader in sustainable practices.
The key principles guiding the vision are:
Inspiration – Our city should always be remarkable and inspire. Downtown Providence is a place of natural and human made beauty. We are inspired to continually create a place for which we feel proud.
Connectivity – Providence’s small size is an advantage. Big ideas and bold plans can achieve great impact at this scale. We benefit from strong physical connections between downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, and strong social connections between our citizens.
Adaptability – Our world is dynamic and evolving and our plans must be as well. We create innovative solutions, adopt best practices from other places, and learn from the past in order to inform our future.
Local Economy – The economy of a healthy city is supplied by local resources, served by local commerce and shaped by local citizens. This is the root of sustainability.
Global Identity – Our ideas and innovations can help shape the future of a successful, global society. We make every effort to share our experiences with the world. We must market ourselves to continue to attract and retain smart and talented young people.
Innovation – We foster an environment for new technologies, creative industries, green design and entrepreneurship. We work together to provide the physical infrastructure and social systems that responsibly support our growth.
Creativity – We are committed to creating conditions for creative work to thrive. We are a vibrant economy of knowledgeable innovators. We make things by hand and we honor the traditions of those crafts.
Diverse Culture – We embrace and engage diversity. Our interdependence is our strength. Providence must remain a place rich in culture and history that inspires its population.
Accountability – We set short and long term benchmarks that are targeted, quantifiable, and aggressive. We monitor our progress rigorously. We celebrate our successes and learn from our failures.
Sometime in the not too distant future, John wakes up in suburban Chicago on a Saturday morning and heads to a White Sox game…in Detroit. Join him on a 300 mile journey to Detroit’s Comerica Park as he experiences the transportation options of the future: a neighborhood electric car share program, smart phone ticketing, high-speed rail, and connecting light rail. This clip is brought to you by America 2050 as part of its “A Better Tomorrow” project to visualize America’s future communities and transportation systems.
Bike Providence reports that there will be a hearing on February 8th to look at improvements to Pleasant Valley Parkway.
Early word is that the new plan calls for one-way movement on each side of the stream, removal of one car lane, and addition of bike lanes on each side. It would end up looking like a small-scale Blackstone Blvd, if this is true. Currently, the roads on both sides of the median/stream BOTH allow 2-way traffic, with little room for cyclists and walkers, and extreme confusion at intersections.
Capital Ridge (assisted living facility) 700 Smith Street
Monday, February 8th, 6pm
Every year, the Providence Preservation Society compiles the Most Endangered Properties List with the help of concerned members of the public who submit their nominations. Most resources on the list represent an important aspect of local community life and character. The sites reflect threats such as deterioration, neglect, insufficient funds, insensitive public policy and inappropriate development – problems that frequently threaten properties throughout Providence.
The purpose of this list is to generate interest and support for the preservation of these significant properties; educate the public about the benefits of historic preservation and the unique historic properties in our city; and work toward solutions with property owners, developers and other interested parties to bring about positive change in each property.
Generally, the Society lists buildings individually, but have in the past been known to name groups of buildings. See 2009 when the Downtown Providence National Register District was listed and two structures, the Providence National Bank Façade and Teste Block, were nominated together.
This year, I plan to nominate en masse, all the houses in Providence being foreclosed on. I encourage others to follow my lead if so inclined. Randomly traveling the streets of Providence (or flipping through the pages at Forgotten Providence shows the toll the foreclosure crisis is having on us. This is a preservation problem beyond buildings, the displacement of people (both owners and renters) decimates communities. Living somewhere littered with abandoned buildings is… is… well, it’s depressing.
I’m not an economist nor a real estate expert, but I have to believe there are creative ways to hold onto these buildings, to allow people to continue living in them, and protect them from rotting away. Stimulus money, co-ops, non-profit trusts, squatting… something. I think PPS shining a light on these buildings is a good start for the creative thinking process we need to have to figure out how to end this neglect.
Visit this page to download a nomination form. Nominations are due by February 19th.
On Monday the city Planning Department and RIDOT showed updated plans for the street grid that will be built when Route 195 is torn down. They showed the entire plan area on both sides of the river, most people in attendance were most interested in the Wickenden Street interchange alternatives. I will look at some things about the west side in a later post, but now I’ll focus on Wickenden.
Three alternatives for Wickenden were presented, let’s look at them:
UPDATE 02/05: I neglected to mention that the City and RIDOT are accepting comments on these alternatives through the end of business on Tuesday, February 16th. Contact Melanie Jewett in the Planning Department and/or Lambri Zerva at RIDOT.
Alternative 1
Click image to enlarge
We can basically call this the RIDOT alternative. In this option, the right turn lanes from Point Street to South Water Street remain. This was resoundingly rejected by those in attendance. Other changes from the original proposal include the number of lanes on Wickenden eastbound and the number of lanes on South Main from the highway is reduced from 4 to 3.
RIDOT also originally proposed a pathway through the center of the median as a way to move pedestrians and bikes from the southeast corner to the northwest corner. This pathway is eliminated in favor of those movements being made more conventionally through regular crosswalks.
Also, Benefit Street now wraps around the church from Wickenden to Traverse. Previously, Benefit rounded the church from Traverse, but dead-ended short of Wickenden. This section of Benefit, which currently runs northbound past the gas station will be turned around and now run southbound.
Alternative 2
Click image to enlarge
Alternative 2 and 3 are quite similar, to each other and not terribly different from the RIDOT alternative, the odious right turn lanes on Point Street go away in both alternatives. Alternative 2 retains a median on Wickenden Street, however that median is narrower than the RIDOT plan.
The lane reductions and changes to Benefit Street remain the same.
Berkeley Investments: One Empire Plaza, a six-story, 109,216-square-foot building built in 1982 that is the former office of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Asking $14.5 million for purchase or an average base rent of $20.20 per square foot per year to $22.78, depending upon length of lease. Available Nov. 12, 2010.
Cornish Associates (Arnold Chace): Former Providence Journal building at 60 Eddy St. and the adjacent former Kresge Department Store. Proposed full historic restoration of buildings with 73,505 square feet of office and ground floor retail. Asking for 19-year lease of $21.62 per square foot per year, with rents increasing by 10 percent every five years. Ready by summer/fall 2011.
Extell Development: 198 Dyer St., a two-story, 40,000-square-foot building built in 1946 and the current home of the city Department of Inspection & Standards. Asking for lease of $37 million over 15 years lease or up to $67 million over 25 years, depending upon space needs. Available Dec. 31, 2010.
Really, feel free to nominate us as Best Blog in the Phoenix Best of Providence 2010 Poll. Feel free to tell your friends, and your mother, and your priest, and your dog to nominate us too. We won’t mind.
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Providence Preservation Society
2010 Winter Bash
February 6, 2010 8pm – Midnight
100 Westminster Street
Join PPS at its 7th Winter Bash at 100 Westminster Street overlooking Burnside Park and Capital Center in Downtown Providence on Saturday, February 6, 2010 from 8pm to midnight.
The Bash brings together hundreds of people to celebrate our citywide preservation efforts. This years theme [...]
Well, there is in Boston anyway.
Boston’s Citizens Connect iPhone App utilizes the iPhone’s camera and GPS to allow city residents and visitors to report on issues around the city. The app helps people report things like graffiti, potholes, broken traffic lights and signs, and other items.
The city will be assessing the efficacy of the [...]
Photo (cc) Daniel Case
RIDOT is getting $1.2 million from the stimulus to study a third track at Kingston Station. The third track would provide a siding, allowing MBTA commuter rail trains to serve the station while highspeed Acela trains are able to move through without stopping.
Photo by Jef Nickerson
This sign went up yesterday at the parking lot under Route 195 at Chestnut Street. Kicking the parked cars out is a sign of the highway coming down soon (Yay!). Not sure if the other overpasses (Eddy, etc.) have these signs yet, but I assume they will soon.
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On her Facebook page this morning, Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts lets us know she’s riding the bus.
Nice to see transit has an advocate on Smith Hill. Keep riding Elizabeth and work to strengthen our transit system and our economy. [Like]
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Photo by Jef Nickerson
We don’t often deal in rumors around here, but this one is too good to let pass. A member of UrbanPlanet UrbanPlanet posted that they had heard that representatives from The Hub were coming to Providence to check out the Arcade as a possible location.
The Bay Area Hub describes itself as: [...]
Greater City: Providence promotes the growth and development of the Providence region in as urban a pattern as possible. Focus is placed on the development of walkable, affordable, and vibrant neighborhoods that are served by robust mass transit and fueled by greater economic opportunity.
Over the last six months or so, The Providence Foundation has been convening a group of what are being called Young Leaders (or Next Generation Leaders or New Leaders) to come up with the foundation’s mission statement for 2030. I have been among that group. 
