Core Connector Study Meeting, Dec. 9

I think I like the middle option (with both alternate routes) the best of those choices. The east option wastes a lot of its coverage over water. The west option doesn’t get close enough to the Convention Center/Dunk.

I agree with the above poster about options west of this area. The Hill, PC, RIC, Olneyville, the West End, and the VA get no consideration at all, but there’s a rapid bus to Cranston down Broad Street that ends nowhere in particular? What sense does that make?

The southern rapid bus route belongs on Elmwood and should end at the Park.

I like the west option best, though none are awful. I like the east & west because of the two-way on every street design versus the “middle” option with diverging directions on differant streets.

Again, I’d take any of them as a start.

The East Option would likely be the cheapest to construct, but offers the most limited service area. It neglects the entire western third of Downtown, which has significant cultural, entertainment, and conference venues|Trinity, the Dunk, and Convention Center, as well as, the Empire office district. URI and PPAC would be marginally served with this option. Also, the highest density areas of the 195-surplus land district would not be served by this route, which has the greatest potential to develop new office space and is where Johnson & Wales is planning a large campus expansion.

The West Option, which is only 1,400 feet longer than the East Option would offer better coverage to both the eastern and western portions of Downtown. PPAC would be similarly inconvenienced as would the area south of the Financial District below Friendship Street, which has lower proposed densities and would mostly be dominated by the new riverfront park, which other than special events, would require lower usage of Core Connector service. The West Option would provide an indirect link to the Cahir Street Sub-hub, which would be a 4 or 5 minute walk along Broad Street to the Core Connector. The offices located below the courthouse would be a similar distance away, if a Core Connector stop were located at or near the mouth of the tunnel at North Main Street. With the West Option, venues and offices in the western part of Downtown would be interconnected with east and south portions and Capital Center.

The Middle Option would be an ideal offering the most coverage throughout Downtown, but would cost more with the need for added track length and catenary assemblies plus multiple streets would be torn up during construction adding to costs. PPAC could have its own stop, the Convention Center would be closer to a stop, and the Westminster Street retail district could be directly served.

A possible alternate for the Middle or West Options might shift the route coming from the east on Washington Street to extend to Exchange Street to Exchange Terrace, and then to Sabin to Empire. The return route would follow to Fountain to Exchange Terrace and back. The advantage would be to provide a direct stop at the Convention Center and Westin complex. Providence Place would have Core Connector access through the Westin, which would be very helpful since so many people park in Providence Place’s garage. The Convention Center with over 300 annual events could be directly served, as many attendees are from out-of-town that might not necessarily have a car but need access to get around Downtown. Also, Dunk events would be directly served. Another reason to shift the route away from Washington and Empire Streets is because of the problem of squealing streetcar wheels with 90 degree turns. This concern was expressed by Mark Therrien at a previous Core Connector briefing regarding the potential to disturb performances at PPAC. The same would be true for Trinity with streetcars turning at Washington and Empire Streets. Shifting the route would eliminate this issue.

Until a final route is decided it’s early to discuss stops. However, an obvious one is at the train station. Repeatedly on Core Connector study maps, the train station terminus or stop is shown turning onto Railroad Street directly in front of the station’s south entrance. Locating the stop at the station’s south side would add considerably to an often chaotic condition when several trains have arrived and/or are departing at the same time. A streetcar would be competing with private cars picking-up or dropping-off passengers, combined with taxicabs and cars leaving the below grade garage. A better choice would be to locate the train station streetcar stop to the west side of the station, which is currently used by Amtrak as an informal parking area. There are several doors on the station’s west façade that are currently locked. They could be reopened for Core Connector passenger access, which would reduce congestion for both pedestrians and vehicles at the station.

The East Option would serve only Brown and the hospitals at the expense of the rest of Downtown and should flatly be rejected. The ideal would be the Middle Option modified as mentioned above. If costs prohibit that option a modified West Option would be the best alternative. Any Core Connector line that is built might be the only Core Connector service for a decade or more. So whatever route is ultimately chosen must offer the maximum amount of connectivity throughout the entirety of Downtown.

BTW, he’s my real view of this farce called the Core Connector Study.

It ‘s not just about Brown and the hospitals though that’s a lot of it. There’s something like 10,000 daily RIPTA rides by Brown students and employees between the South Providence hospitals and College Hill.

There are about 108,000 jobs in Providence. More than half those jobs are located Downtown. Education and healthcare have been the only job sectors to add jobs in the city with over 13,000 new jobs in the last 7 years or so, most of which are in Downtown or South Providence and College Hill.

To prevent the new South County Commuter Rail line from failure, it’s essential to have frequent “Core Connector” service that links the train station to both the hospitals and College Hill and everything in between.

I fully agree that the West Side has been shortchanged in the planning process. A line across Broadway to Olneyville would create a huge potential for economic growth in the square. A better choice might be connecting the train station to Olneyville Square along the river. That would make the valley an economic job creation magnet, since the entire valley would be seamlessly interconnected by frequent transit.

With the current climate in Washington and upcoming Congress, RIPTA will be lucky to find any kind of the funding for the Core Connecter, even if it were only to create Rapid Bus stops and purchase buses. A streetcar might turn into an unattainable luxury, even though it would provide the highest economic return.