Environment Council of Rhode Island

Problem

India Point Park offers the only broad expanse of Narragansett Bay shoreline accessible to the public in Providence. This beautiful urban park, a centerpiece of Rhode Island history and heavily used by a diverse population, faces two major threats:

A) a dramatic increase of traffic resulting from the relocation of Route 195, and
B) high-voltage power lines that run the length of the Park and are scheduled to be replaced. New overhead wiring would permanently deface the Providence shoreline, which is one of the city's most valuable natural resources, and central to it's identity as the capital city of the Ocean State.

Solutions

To reduce the impact of increased waterfront traffic, we should EXPAND INDIA POINT PARK to connect it with the city's riverwalks, creating a continuous waterfront greenway from East Providence to Waterplace Park and beyond. The resulting public parkland would be a major boon to the civic life of Providence and the region.

Since the power lines have to be moved anyway because of the relocation of Route 195, we should BURY THE WATERFRONT POWER LINES under India Point Park and both the Providence and Seekonk Rivers. Burying these wires would dramatically improve the waterfront, and would provide long-term economic and psychological benefits for the city. These benefits derive from the fact that the waterfront is a keystone of the city's economic future because of it's importance to tourism (especially with the opening of Heritage Harbor Museum), and underground wires would encourage additional waterfront improvements, while new overhead ones would reinforce the view of the shoreline as a backwater.

Strategies

India Point Park Expansion

The state and city should:

1. Recognize the historic, cultural, and recreational value of the unique promontory of shoreline west of India Point Park.
2. Find the resources to make this area a public park, keeping the working tugboats there.
3. Locate marine transportation facilities in the expanded park near downtown to accommodate ferries, water taxies, the historic Sloop Providence, and other excursion boats.
4. Protect the land between the shoreline and the relocated Route 195 and prevent it from being encumbered by large buildings that would obstruct the public's physical and visual access to the water.
5. Promote small scale waterfront facilities that would reflect the state's maritime heritage, such as a fish market and small marina, as well as other public amenities such as a bike shop, and a waterside restaurant that would be on government-owned land, allowing the government to prevent it from becoming another raucous night club.
6. Insure that the former Shooters nightclub building be removed or reduced in size so it obstructs less of the shoreline and that it be reserved for public uses.

Burying The Power Lines

The federal, state, and city governments should find the resources, with the help of the private and nonprofit sectors if possible, to bury the power lines rather than relocate them above ground. The state should adjust the timetable for relocating Route 195 if necessary, to allow time to raise the additional $4 million needed to bury the power lines.