Fox Point’s past is defined by its two rivers, but the future of the city’s oldest neighborhood could be shaped by two man-made rivers you will never see that stretch for 5.2 miles underground. The first runs three miles from near the State House to the Fields Point treatment facility and has collected 1.6 billion gallons of sewage and stormwater since opening in 2008. The second tunnel runs along the Seekonk River for 2.2 miles to the Bucklin Point treatment plant in East Providence, and it’s due to go online in 2028.
The goal, at a cost of nearly $2 billion, is to undo the damage done by 300 years of population growth and industrialization. In June, Jamie Salmon, public affairs manager for the Narragansett Bay Commission, took Brown sociologist Scott Frickel and Fox Point Neighborhood Association (FPNA) communications director Peter Phipps down 300 feet for a tour during a dry day in the tunnel, but it was a different story on May 23, when torrential rains swept across Rhode Island. On Brook Street at Campus Fine Wines, the owners piled sandbags in front of their doors to hold back the rush of stormwater.
To protect the plant and the tunnel, operators had closed dozens of emergency gates in the Narragansett watershed. Sewage and stormwater flushed out into the bay. When the weather cleared, the operators started pumping the sewage up to the treatment plant to be cleaned. The system isn’t perfect, but Salmon and other Narragansett Bay Commission officials are proud of the results. The commission says it has cut discharges by 60 percent, the state now allows 110 more days of shellfishing a year, and Governor Dan McKee announced that Crescent Park Beach in East Providence would be opened for swimming in 2026. And what about a beach at India Point? “I think there’s good reason to be optimistic,” Salmon said.
The Mile of History Association’s (MoHA) Heritage Signage project is proceeding, albeit slowly. A few of the signs will be installed on public property, which required approval of government officials, a process that has delayed the installations and ribbon cutting. MoHA appreciates the contributions and efforts of the many neighbors who are supporting this project. Those who walk along Benefit Street are well-aware of the hazardous condition of the sidewalk in many areas. For the past several years, MoHA has been advocating to the City of Providence, which is responsible for maintaining the sidewalks, to address the problem, and hopes that this will be the year the city takes constructive action.
Former MoHA president Vincent Buonanno recently hosted a garden party with the neighbors at the northern end of Benefit Street, celebrating the restoration of houses in the area over the past several years and the contributions of those who attended to sustain the legacy of the historic street. Roz Rustigian also hosted a garden party at her home toward the southern end of Benefit Street, featuring remarks by Senator Whitehouse on the state of affairs in Washington, DC.
In spite of the heat, the Jewelry District Association (JDA) is hard at work on a number of fronts on its own and in partnership with other organizations. Foremost is updating the Providence Comprehensive Plan. This massive and vital document has run through numerous iterations, often with scant time for neighbors to digest the proposed changes ahead of hearings. A draft went to the City Council on July 11, and the JDA is prepared for a new round of hearings before it becomes final, emphasizing how crucial it is to “get it right” because it sets the rules for development in the city for the next 10 years.
Discussions recently resumed on a plan called E183 Undergrounding to bury the high-tension power lines that run across the Providence River and tower over India Point Park. The JDA has been working with the Friends of India Point Park for 22 years to make this significant quality-of-life improvement to the neighborhoods.
The JDA continues to encourage RIPTA to rethink the future of transit as it relocates Providence’s bus station from Kennedy Plaza to a new site. It’s an opportunity to make the city’s transit system truly intermodal, which is why the transit hub needs to be close to downtown and the Providence Train Station. Parcel 35 in the Jewelry District meets neither of these conditions.
Also high on the list is licensing cannabis retail locations. The JDA is urging that the regulations stipulate the same public scrutiny as liquor stores. Proposed regulations give applicants free reign in D-1 zones. The JDA wants neighborhoods to have a say in granting these licenses by requiring special use permits.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here