As the state continues to push the bus hub out of Kennedy Plaza, opposition grows
The Providence City Council unanimously opposed the idea, and a bill from Representative Enrique Sanchez seeks to stop the move.
“I've been following this issue to see where the City Council and the Mayor's office stand - either keeping the bus hub at Kennedy Plaza or relocating it to a different part of the city,” said State Representative Enrique Sanchez (Democrat, District 9, Providence) at a Kennedy Plaza Resilience Coalition press conference at the Rhode Island State House on Thursday. “The Mayor's office supports the proposal to relocate the bus hub while the Providence City Council unanimously opposed the move.”
In a press release the Providence City Council explained:
“The Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority (RIPTA) and, separately, the Special Committee on Environment and Resiliency recently allowed public comment on the proposed relocation of Rhode Island’s central bus hub. A resolution opposing this move was reintroduced with key changes, including a push for RIPTA to consider Kennedy Plaza as a viable site for the upgraded bus hub. The resolution supports eliminating Parcel 35, near Interstate 95, as an option due to its distance from essential downtown services. As this process continues, it is crucial that the needs of bus riders are prioritized. Ensuring that these key stakeholders are valued in this conversation will empower the city to leverage public transportation as a tool to mitigate climate change and connect our communities.”
“It is crucial that the voices of bus riders in our communities are front and center in any decisions about changes to Rhode Island’s central bus hub,” said Providence City Council Member Sue AnderBois (Ward 3), who explaining the reason for the resolution she introduced. “Without the backing of community members who bus across the city every day, we jeopardize the environmental, social and economic benefits of public transportation. Solutions need to work for current riders and to entice additional new riders.”
“I’m going to continue to try to champion that development because I think it will enhance the rider experience,” said Providence Mayor Brett Smiley in an interview with WLVI Channel 12.
“I've introduced this bill [H8281] to address the troubling and controversial proposal to move Rhode Island's main bus hub out of Kennedy Plaza,” said Representtaive Sanchez. “This project has been pushed forward despite opposition from bus riders and transit advocates. There are few signs that such a move would be beneficial. It comes with many drawbacks.”
The bill from Representative Sanchez would “prohibit RIPTA from using state funds or the proceeds of any bond or bonds to pay for any work performed after September 1, 2024, pursuant to the ‘transit center joint development project’ request for proposals (RFP) and/or pursuant to related the preliminary services agreement.”
“Bus riders and transit advocates have repeatedly made it clear that it is important to have a bus hub in the center of Downtown Providence rather than at one of the more distant sites that have been proposed,” continued Sanchez. “Most of the thousands of riders who take the bus to Kennedy Plaza are not there to transfer buses but as their final destination. Moving the bus hub elsewhere would force them to transfer to an extra bus to complete their journey, which adds delays and inconveniences.
“Second, the project to move the bus hub would be expensive. Its overall cost is estimated at $200 to $250 million. A report given to the RIPTA Board in December marks it as one of the more expensive projects in the state.
“I've been vocal about my opposition to the relocation of the central bus hub. We understand what's at stake here. They're not putting the interest of public transportation riders first. This project has been pushed forward in the dark with no chance to debate its benefits… The plan is to pay Next Wave nearly $17 million for this initial design contract, which is pretty expensive for a project riders don't want. That $17 million is being taken out of the bond money that voters approved in 2014, for enhancements and renovations to mass transit hub infrastructure throughout the state. It would be far better to use that bond money for actual renovations in Kennedy Plaza, instead of wasting it on this unwanted bus hub relocation.”
Senator Tiara Mack (Democrat, District 6, Providence) also supports the effort to keep the bus hub in Kennedy Plaza:
“To make sure that we have a bus hub that represents the opinions of the community and preserves the character of Providence is important,” said Senator Mack. “We know that many parcels of land, especially in the coveted downtown area, are hotspots for luxury real estate developers and folks who have a vested interest in not making Providence a city that works for every person, but as a potential satellite city for Boston that attracts luxury developments and doesn't respect that transit is a central part of what makes any city thrive and run.
“The treatment of the bus hub issue shows that our leaders and the folks at RIPTA do not understand the issue of making transit a central part of any plan while also involving community voices.
“Without community input, there have been many plans to move the bus hub. This plan will spend millions of dollars to have a consultant say what we already know: the bus hub does not need to be moved without community input. The community meetings that RIPTA has had do not include keeping the bus hub where it is and investing in infrastructure where it is. There have been meetings that many folks can't make it to in the middle of the day and not a lot of communication about who is driving the conversation about moving this bus hub.
“I'm glad that some folks are working to hold RIPTA's board accountable for the bus hub removal while keeping the conversation about funding RIPTA centered around how we can ensure that RIPTA works for the people who need it to work.
“Moving the bus hub does not fit into the plan to keep RIPTA working. I hope that more people come to understand that when we move a bus hub, we are moving a community of people who receive critical resources - whether it is first responders to people facing the opioid crisis or first responders assisting people who are facing chronic and consistent homelessness. Kennedy Plaza continues to be where many people get the necessary resources and outreach to community resources.”
“Nobody wants the bus hub moved,” said Dorothy Hetherington, a disabled passenger who has used RIPTA daily since 2012. “The disability community doesn't want the bus hub moved. Kennedy Plaza isn't just a bus hub, it's a living monument to our 35th president who was assassinated in office.
“It's a living monument, it's a bus hub, it's downtown Providence - where everybody wants to be - where people go for celebrations, to be immersed in the history of Providence, and where people go for their everyday needs.”
Robin Barradas is a Providence resident and bus rider.
“I think some of my concern comes from a historical perspective. I grew up here. I remember when we had an actual downtown, there was no mall and we had that beautiful view of the State House. There have been projects aside from what they did with Kennedy Plaza a few years back, including Water Place Park, which is now, post-COVID, in a state of disarray.
“It's not sentimentality, it's a firm belief in the city. It's not Warwick, it's not Cranston, it's not Barrington. And it's certainly not Thames Street in Newport. It's Providence, but there seems to be a desire to change the flavor, the feel, and the look of the core of Providence, which is Kennedy Plaza.
“I've seen some terrible things happen in Kennedy Plaza, but I've also seen some very nice things. I've seen homeless people being fed. I've seen people in the park singing and playing music. There seems to be a movement in this country to disenfranchise poor people, sick people, homeless people, and people who suffer from substance abuse. We have devolved into a throwaway society. I would hate to see Kennedy Plaza become emblematic of that because I see this issue as a small piece of a much larger issue nationally.”
Opposition to moving the bus hub is shared by the Rhode Island Transit Riders.
“My group, the Rhode Island Transit Riders, also supports your bill,” said Barry Schiller, a bus rider and former RIPTA Board member. “And if you ask for a hearing and you get one we'll send someone to testify in favor. We're in favor for three basic reasons:
Our view is that it's ridiculous for an agency facing imminent deficits, starting in about five weeks, and higher deficits coming, to undertake an expensive move we don't want.
We were around in 2014. The Rhode Island Transit Riders were part of a coalition to pass that bond, and we were told by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation that if it passed there would be stakeholder meetings about how to spend that money. That never happened. We were misled.
We have heard that the most likely alternate location for the bus hub is what we call Siberia - Governor McKee's word for a remote location - Parcel 35 where no one wants to go and the reason it's a possible location is that there are so few abutters... The site isn't even on a map of downtown!”
Hope opposition continues to grow!!👍🤞🤞