 |
Track A: Best Practices - By Past TCSP Funding Recipients
City of Providence, RI: Olneyville Square Intermodal Transit (FY 1999)
Samuel J. Shamoon, City of Providence, RI, Department of Planning and Development |
| The City of Providence's TCSP funding grant of $600,000 is being applied to develop a transit center and bicycle and pedestrian connections in the Olneyville neighborhood, which represents the lowest income census tract in the City of Providence. The grant will demonstrate how transportation linkages can be used to reconnect a neighborhood to the rest of the city, strengthen neighborhood identity, and improve economic opportunities for residents and businesses. The grant is a small but significant part of a larger $10 million joint "Greenway Project." The elements of the Greenway Project include the siting of a transit center, linking the Woonasquatucket Greenway/Bikeway project to the transit center, and reconnecting Olneyville Square and the transit center to the West Broadway neighborhood. The transit center is especially welcome in a neighborhood where up to 40 percent of residents do not own cars. Beyond the traditional role of providing efficient transportation, the transit center and intermodal connections will strengthen the area as a community center, support private reinvestment in Olneyville Square, and stabilize residential land uses. The approach represents an innovative model for using transportation and intermodal facilities as the backbone of a neighborhood revitalization effort that will capitalize on an urban river, recycle brownfields, promote home ownership, and support small business development. The evaluation component is being prepared by the University of Rhode Island's Graduate Curriculum in Community Planning and Area Development.
Top |
