Stylish and well-wheeled gents and ladies enjoy a leisurely bicycle parade through downtown Providence in the city’s first-ever Tweed Ride, complete with tea!
The excursion begins at Greater Kennedy Plaza and ends at the RISD Museum for an afternoon viewing of the Museum’s newest exhibition, “Artist/Rebel/Dandy: Men of Fashion.”
A selection of photos readers have recently shared in our Flickr Group:
Photo © provbenson2009
Rep. John Carnevale, D-Providence and Johnston, introduced legislation in the General Assembly that would place a $50 fee per semester on every out-of-state student attending Brown, the Rhode Island School of Design and Johnson and Wales University Feb. 14. The money raised from this fee would cover the redevelopment of the land opened up by the relocation of I-195, an area each university included in the fee has expressed interest in acquiring. Carnevale said in a press release he chose to raise funds from these universities because he did not want the state to invest heavily in land that would ultimately benefit “wealthy institutions” more than taxpayers.
“If one of those schools buys some land today, relatively cheap, and sells it five years from now when the area is active and thriving, who will reap the profit? Not the taxpayers,” Carnevale said in the press release.
I’m not prepared at the moment to talk about how damn foolish I think this proposal is, but feel free to discuss amongst yourselves in the comments.
2013 State of the City Address
Tuesday, January 29, 2013 • (as prepared for delivery)
Photo of the Mayor delivering the State of the City from the Mayor’s Office.
Governor, Mr. President, honorable members of the Providence City Council, distinguished guests, and my fellow residents of our great Capital City –
One year ago I stood before you in this Chamber with an urgent message for our City and the entire State of Rhode Island. Providence was in peril. Despite many difficult decisions and painful sacrifices made to pull Providence back from the brink, we were still $22 million short of closing a $110 million structural deficit.
Crucial steps necessary to navigate our City safely through our Category 5 fiscal hurricane had not yet come to pass. We still needed to reform our unsustainable pensions. And we needed Providence’s large, tax-exempt institutions to contribute more.
As I stood before you on February 13, 2012, Providence was running out of cash, and running out of time. In the months that followed, there were some who said Providence could not avoid filing for bankruptcy.
Today it is my privilege to deliver a much more hopeful report on the State of our City: Providence is recovering.
Through collaborative efforts and shared sacrifice, we have all but eliminated our City’s $110 million structural deficit, and we expect to end this year with a balanced budget. Working together, we have accomplished what few believed possible.
We were determined to address the root causes of Providence’s fiscal emergency and prepared to act unilaterally if necessary. And we knew our City would never achieve a lasting recovery without addressing our unsustainable and spiraling pension costs.
In April, following months of actuarial analysis and public testimony, this City Council unanimously approved a pension reform ordinance that put Providence’s pension system on a sustainable path.
We recognized that passing the ordinance would likely lead to a high-stakes lawsuit with no real winners – because a decision in favor of the status quo would push our City over the brink. However, faced with the challenge of negotiating pension changes with more than 2,000 retirees who were not represented by a single entity, we saw no alternative.
It is that time of year for us to take a look back and What Cheer the good and What Jeer the bad.
Work commences on the Washington Bridge Linear Park
It has been in the works for years, but finally RIDOT has started work on the Washington Bridge Linear Park.
Through a $22 million contract, RIDOT will rebuild the remaining section of the original Washington Bridge that carries the existing bikeway and a section of the original highway bridge. In the same footprint will be a much wider bikeway and linear park. It will feature a separate bikeway and walking path, scenic overlooks, park benches, flag poles, decorative lighting and landscaped planters. The project also calls for restoration of the historic, multi-arch granite façade of the Washington Bridge and two operator’s houses from which an original drawbridge was controlled.
When opened, the new linear park will be named the George Redman Linear Park, after the East Providence resident who was instrumental in making the East Bay Bike Path a reality 25 years ago. Redman continues to advocate for bike path development across the state.
Wind Turbines at Fields Point
While they were installed in January, the whole City was speculating when the would finally start spinning. Turns out they wouldn’t start up until October. But now they are finally spinning and adding some environmental goodness to the Providence skyline. Hope we’ll some more.
Overnight parking expansion
While it has been studied endlessly for years (even as the rest of the world seemed to be able to embrace it and not devolve into chaos), in April, overnight parking has finally started spreading throughout the City.
These are some of the snow photos our readers shared in our Flickr Group. Add yours and we’ll post them here too.
Updated with some more photos, keep ‘em coming!
Photo © 1W57thNY
Photo © 1W57thNY
Photo (cc) mattPVD
Photo (cc) Marcin Wichary
After Brown University and then RISD made agreements with the City to acquire parts of public streets for private parking in exchange for increased payments in lieu of taxes; GoLocal Providence reports that the City will make an annoucement tomorrow that Providence College has now made a similar agreement.
So all this begs the question, if you could buy a public street, which one would you want to buy and what would you want to do with it?
A selection of photos readers have recently shared in our Flickr Group:
Photo © Armadillo Commander
Photo © Armadillo Commander
Photo © h ssan
A selection of photos readers have recently shared in our Flickr Group:
Photo © provbenson2009
Photo © h ssan
Saturday, September 29th, FirstWorks will transform Greater Kennedy Plaza. Bandaloop (shown in the video above) performing acrobatics off the side of Providence’s iconic Downtown skyline buildings will be one of more than a dozen performances and installations taking place throughout the Plaza and surrounding area.
Events begin at 4pm and run through the evening. Visit FirstWorks a full list of events, times, and locations.
Download the official map and schedule. 
RIPTA buses will be moved out of Kennedy Plaza on Saturday for the event. Visit RIPTA.com for details on your bus route and where to pick it up in the Kennedy Plaza area.
More information from FirstWorks:
In the blink of an eye, Providence has shed its summer skin. Autumn begins our count-down to 200+ artists and performers gathering for FirstWorks Festival: On the Plaza on Saturday, September 29th from 4-11pm. In a few short weeks, Greater Kennedy Plaza, Providence’s historic and transit hub, will be a vast urban stage set for a kinetic extravaganza!
Come to see, hear, dance, and savour — this is a festival where civic and celebratory go hand-in-hand. Thanks to a “creative placemaking” grant from the NEA, this year’s festival culminates months of art projects and the re-opening of Burnside Park with an astonishing line-up of artists.
Street opera staged on a retro-fitted monster truck? We’ve got it. Rappelling dancers dangling 30-stories in the air? Why not? Bhangra-funk and swinging salsa from the five boroughs? Oh yes…
See what happens when FirstWorks Festival guest artists mash-up with Ocean State stars, including Waterfire, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Brown/Trinity MFA Programs and Festival Ballet Providence to light up the heart of Providence!
| Today | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday |
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 Rain Showers 55°/41° |  Chance of Rain 64°/45° |  Partly Cloudy 75°/45° |  Clear 81°/54° |
City Meetings
