Hello Friends & Neighbors,
Happy Autumn, Providence! As the morning weather starts to get chilly -- I hope you are able to able to escape some of the hustle and bustle and enjoy some cozy time with big comfy clothes and warm beverages. Where is your favorite place in Providence for a warm autumn treat? -- right now, I'm pretty partial to a hot coffee milk latte from Dave's on South Main Street or a nice warm bagel from Providence Bagel on North Main.
As always, there's a lot going on - so I'll dive right in!
Overall Updates:
Traffic Safety Measures:
The most frequent requests I receive are for safety measures on our streets and sidewalks. As the sponsor of our City's commitment to Vision Zero - I take safety concerns on our public rights of way very seriously. (And - as a reminder, unless otherwise marked, the speed limit in Providence is always 25 mph.)
Two recent updates to share:
In partnership with DPW, we added traffic calming bollards and new striping on Hope Street at Montague by the YMCA and Daycare facility. We had frequent reports of families attending daycare nearly being hit while using the crosswalk. The goal of this new traffic calming feature is to send the signal to slow down to those driving so they can see & stop for our neighbors using the crosswalk.
One Ways between Benefit and North Main Street: The streets between North Main Street and Benefit Street from Church Street South to South Court Street have been authorized to become alternating one-way streets. These streets are very narrow and having two directions of traffic plus parking was creating safety concerns, with cars needing to back up either onto Benefit or North Main to avoid crashes on occasion. This was a request from the Administration, which I supported through the passage of a resolution on Council. While it was a request, I have also received many reports from residents who felt allowing two-way traffic here felt unsafe, given the narrow dimensions of the roadways.
Lippitt Park Additional Improvements:
In response to the engaged residents of Ward 3 - and thanks to the amazing work of the Parks Department - there are some additional improvements occurring this fall at Lippitt Park.
The Parks Department has replaced 4 trash cans. They are also in the process of adding 4 new trash cans, adding 4 additional benches along the walking paths (shout out specifically to Lucy on 10th Street for this request!), adjusting some drainage issues, and fixing the path near North Street. These should be in before the New Year, barring any unexpected delays.
Tree Planting Across Ward 3:
A big thank you to our friends at the Summit Neighborhood Association, the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program, the City Forester Sam, and so many of our neighbors who planted 50 trees across the Ward last Saturday. I was so glad to join them and get my hands dirty! I awarded a small Council grant to SNA to hire Garden Time's tree team to ensure the trees thrive with regular watering and care through this season.
Trunk or Treat at Billy Taylor Park - October 31rst:
On Halloween, stop by Billy Taylor Park to Trick or Treat with your local representatives! I'll be there handing out candy in our annual Trunk or Treat celebration with Rep. Rebecca Kislak and Senator Tiara Mack! Want to sign up to hand out candy and/or decorate your car - just shoot me a note!
Upcoming Meetings & Events:
The Providence City Council meets on the 1rst and 3rd Thursday every month at City Hall at 6pm. All public meetings are posted on the City's open meetings portal.
The Finance Committee meetings on Tuesdays at 5:30pm. Agendas and links to the Zoom/YouTube can be found on the open meetings portal.
There is no North Main Street Task Force this month! Our regularly scheduled meeting was canceled due to conflicts with the Ordinance Committee and the School Board.
Last Public Hearing on Comprehensive Plan in Ordinance Committee: Wednesday, October 16th 5:30pm.
Election Day: Tuesday, November 5th. Early voting is at City Hall, starting on October 16th. Make a plan right now for when you will vote and how - and put it in your calendar. You can find all the info you need to vote at Vote.RI.gov I was excited to participate in Clean Water Action's ElectoberFest with my of my colleagues in government recently.
Providence School Board Meeting, October 16th at 6pm at the Providence Career and Technical Academy.
The primary agenda item will be a discussion on PPSD's current budget. You may have seen the recent news that the Superintendent reached out to Mayor Smiley with an urgent demand for an additional $10 million for the PPSD budget. While I am firmly in support of our Providence Public Schools - and worked hard with my colleagues on the Finance Committee to secure an increase in their funding in our recently-passed FY25 budget - I agree with Council President Miller and Mayor Smiley that additional increases being sought should be contingent on an independent audit of the district's finances. Our kids' education is not a political game - and kids learn civics not only from their textbooks but by watching us. We need to take investing in their education seriously, and transparently work together to fund our shared priorities without gamesmanship or political maneuvering.
Comprehensive Plan Updates:
The updates to the Comprehensive Plan are in the home stretch. One of the things I was most excited about in deciding to run for Council was the opportunity to weigh in on the Comprehensive Plan, which guides the land use and zoning decisions in the City for the next decade. I am so grateful to the many Ward 3 residents and other Providence constituents who have attended community meetings, public hearings, submitted written testimony, or shared ideas with me over coffee on Hope Street. Having transparent, responsive processes is a top priority of mine, and I have been so impressed by the public comment we have received. I joked with our amazing Clerk Tina recently - what will we do with all our free time after we are no longer carefully reviewing all the public comment being shared about the Comprehensive Plan?
I also want to extend deep gratitude and respect to the City's Planning Department (particularly Bob Azar and Tim Shea) and our own Council Staff led by Chief June Rose and Deputy Chief Aaron Easter Gardner who have spent countless hours working hard and with great respect for the enormity of the task to ensure that this Plan will reflect the spirit of Providence and the challenges and opportunities ahead of us.
The Council released our proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan last week. You can view the redlined version of the plan at this link. I am pleased so see so many of the changes that I advocated for included. These included increased density across the City to address our housing crisis, a strong and consistent commitment to environmental justice, economic development that benefits people and families - like the kind found in the small businesses on Hope Street, adaptive reuse of buildings, commitments to safe streets and active transportation, supporting public transit that works for riders, and so much more. I am also supportive of the Design Review process proposed by Councilwoman Anthony. I believe that done in the way it is envisioned, this type of process can ensure not only that we are building high quality housing, but also that housing actually gets built by front-loading input and engagement instead of long, contentious processes. I am excited that the increased density allowed in the Plan will encourage the additional building that we so desperately need, and I want to ensure that we are building housing that in 20 years will still be high quality and housing residents.
You can see coverage of the Council's amendments in Steve's Alquist's substack here. The final Ordinance Committee Public Hearing will be on October 16th at 5:30pm in Council Chambers. You can still submit testimony to the clerk at CityClerk@providenceri.gov.
Gratitude:
Thank you so much for the honor of representing Ward 3 on the Council. The City has some big opportunities and challenges ahead of us, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to increase the transparency of - and include more voices and perspectives in - the decisionmaking in our City. Even when we aren't 100% in agreement, we do so in ways that are respectful and inquisitive, and I am so impressed every day by the people of Providence and Ward 3 and how much I've learned from you. Please know that I take every concern seriously - from the broken tree branches in front of your home to the big policy questions we are grappling with and am working hard to represent you every day.
As always, please reach out any time if you have questions or concerns!
With Gratitude,
Sue AnderBois
Deputy Majority Whip, Providence City Council
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