Providence's 'Great Streets' initiative
From ecoRI News (ecori.org)
PROVIDENCE — Following a year of community engagement, the city’s “Great Streets’’ initiative has established a framework for public-space improvements to ensure that every street is safe.
City officials said the plan’s creation was informed by insights generated “from thorough analysis of crash data, traffic calming requests, and housing and transportation figures.” According to the city, the 94-page plan outlines “a bold vision for the future of Providence’s largest public asset, its streets.”
“Great Streets rebalances the public space of our streets to meet the needs of all residents,” said Bonnie Nickerson, the city’s director of planning and development. “It’s a new approach to how we invest in Providence that will have a long-term impact on safety, equity and resilience.”
Covering about 13 percent of Providence’s total land area — some 1,500 acres — streets play a central part in the city’s neighborhoods. A key strategy outlined in the plan is reducing household transportation costs by making it more convenient for people to use and access affordable transportation options such as walking, riding bicycles, and public transit.
Other goals include improving traffic safety and personal safety within the public realm for people of all ages, abilities, and economic statuses, lowering greenhouse-gas emissions, and improving public health. According to the World Health Organization’s 2018 Global Status on Road Safety report, traffic-related crashes are the No. 1 cause of death in children and young adults aged 5-29.
The plan complements the work of ongoing infrastructure projects outlined in the city’s FY2020-FY2024 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), signed by Mayor Jorge Elorza in early January. Over the next five years, the CIP identifies nearly a $20 million investment in Great Street initiatives. These improvements include: streetscape and placemaking projects; safety improvements to make streets and intersections safer for people walking and riding bicycles; traffic calming to reduce speeding and cut-through traffic; and the creation of a “spine” network of urban trails that connect every Providence neighborhood.
These improvements will bring 93 percent of residents and 95 percent of jobs within easy walking distance of the Urban Trail Network, according to city officials. This is a significant increase compared to the 21 percent of residents and 37 percent of jobs within easy walking distance of the existing network.
According to the city, urban trails are on or off-street paths that are “safe, comfortable, and easily accessible for people of all ages and abilities.” On busy streets, urban trails are fully separated from vehicle traffic. In other instances, off-road trails and paths such as the Blackstone Bike Path and the Woonasquatucket River Greenway serve as part of the Urban Trail Network.
Tim Faulkner: Providence's stunning new food-distribution center
Artist’s rendition of Farm Fresh Rhode Island’s coming food-distribution center in Providence.
Via ecoRI News (ecori.org)
PROVIDENCE
This city recently celebrated its designation as a food capital by recognizing three new food ventures and a book touting its success at making food a cultural, educational, and economic engine.
The businesses — all under different stages of construction — include the relocation of Farm Fresh Rhode Island’s food distribution center to a 60,000-square-foot building on a 3.2-acre site off Valley Road, the 110,000-square-foot greenhouse for Gotham Greens on Harris Avenue, and the Urban Greens Co-op, a tenant in a new commercial and residential space on Cranston Street.
All of the projects are being built on remediated brownfield sites. The three organizations use food to bring together culture, arts, and economic growth for a “a new green future,” Mayor Jorge Elorza said at the May 30 “Edible Providence” event. “It’s just a way to bring us together as a community.”
The mayor spoke of celebrating his Guatemalan heritage through traditional foods such as tortillas, black beans, carne asada, and guacamole — all of which have been enjoyed and adopted by other cultures.
“Food has such a transformative quality to it in Guatemalan culture and in every culture throughout the world,” Elorza said.
Providence also was profiled in a chapter of the United Nations book Integrating Food Into Urban Planning. The planning guide looks at food systems in 20 cities, including Toronto, New York, Bangkok, and Tokyo.
The book shows how food is used across municipal agencies to address a range of issues such as health, diet, recreation, education, planning, and waste management.
Providence was singled out for having the forethought to increase food security and nutrition through collaboration between businesses, residents, and government.
Bonnie Nickerson, director of the city’s Department of Planning and Development, said the creation of the Office of Sustainability brought together several independent initiatives and policies. Changes to zoning regulations advanced programs for beekeeping, urban farming, and backyard chickens.
Nellie de Goguel, of the city’s Office of Sustainability, said the city is in the early stages of launching a curbside food-scrap collection service within a single neighborhood. The city has a goal of having 100 restaurants divert their food scrap for compost by 2020. So far, 12 restaurants are onboard through the city’s composting program.
Ellen Cynar, director of the city’s Healthy Communities Office, said new programs such as Lots of Hope created access to vacant land for neighborhood gardens and urban farmers. The city has a goal of hiring a farmer to manage the public farming and garden areas at city parks. Thanks to a federal grant the city is developing a farm-to-school program.
Cynar said the program will help students learn about the relationships between the environment and food.
Tim Faulkner is an eco RI News journalist.