In 2014, Rhode Island voters approved $35 million in bonds dedicated to funding enhancements to mass transit hub infrastructure, which would likely mean replacing or upgrading Providence’s Kennedy Plaza.
Ten years later, the Rhode Island Public Transport Authority has yet to decide what this improved hub will look like or where it will be located.
RIPTA has stated that the revamped hub will improve the rider experience by providing an environment that is “safe and controlled,” “does not require riders to cross many streets” and is “interconnected to other transit options.”
According to RIPTA, space constraints and the fact that RIPTA does not own the land on which Kennedy Plaza currently sits mean that RIPTA’s ability to expand service during weekday peak hours is limited. RIPTA would also not be able to build an indoor hub at the current location.
To solve these issues, transportation officials appear poised to position the hub near the Providence train station.
John Flaherty, a principal at the urban planning firm Green Street Associates, seconded the benefits of many of these amenities, including having an indoor facility and decreasing the walk between transfers. Flaherty said that for a transport authority with a history of infrequent service, quick transfers are important since the alternative “increases the risk that people are missing connections” and are delayed in reaching their final destination.
For Flaherty, the issue of timely service and transfers is pivotal, and he called on “state leaders to properly fund the service” and take steps towards implementing its Transit Master Plan.
“The hub is of little consequence to people who use transit if the service isn’t there,” he added.
Amy Joy Glidden, an advocate with RI Transit Riders, took issue with many of the purported benefits of moving the hub. “Kennedy Plaza is already fairly safe for pedestrians. Transfers are already pretty easy,” she said.
“A lot of the things that you could do to make riders’ lives better could be done in the plaza where it is right now,” Glidden said.
Randall Rose, a local advocate, said that moving the hub will complicate travel for riders whose final destination is Kennedy Plaza. “Instead of taking one bus into Kennedy Plaza and getting off at their final destination, they have to go somewhere else and take another bus,” he said.
Mary Simmons, a RIPTA rider and wheelchair user, said that she likes the location of Kennedy Plaza because it’s convenient for her. She also stated that benefits like an indoor hub or easier transfers did not appeal to her, describing herself as “pretty self-sufficient.”
Earlier this month, in an effort to reflect some riders’ opposition to the hub’s movement, Providence’s city council moved to strike language suggesting there is community support for relocating the hub from the city’s comprehensive plan, which aims to set a vision for urban development in the city, according to the Rhode Island Current.
But the organization RI Transit Riders is not opposed to a new hub in any form, Glidden said, as long as RIPTA demonstrates that riders will benefit. Enhancements like an indoor waiting area for passengers and bike storage, Glidden said, would be a step in the right direction: “A lot of people tell me, ‘oh, I would totally ride my bike to the city, but, you know, there’s no place to store my bike.’”
Glidden added that fixing the bathrooms at Kennedy Plaza would be a positive improvement, a sentiment that Flaherty shared. She also added that improving security at the hub would be a positive. “I’ve been downtown plenty of times, and the terminal building will not even be staffed and it will be open. That’s potentially a really dangerous situation,” Glidden said.
Rose suggested improving “basic transit upkeep” in lieu of constructing an entirely new hub. While “being indoors is a plus, it’s not higher on the priority list of riders” that he’s spoken with, he said.
Both Flaherty and Glidden expressed opposition to a May workshop hosted by RIPTA where participants were given the option to choose between seven locations for the bus hub, none of which were Kennedy Plaza.
Tony Stackhouse, another RIPTA rider, said he supported a relocated hub due to the large number of unhoused people in Kennedy Plaza and the after-school fights that occur. He added that recently, he observed two workers who did not intervene to stop a fight from happening at the Plaza.
Last Thursday, RIPTA agreed to continue funding “two designated officers to be on duty for eight hours each weekday, in addition to the assigned police already on shift,” according to WPRI.
Simmons expressed concerns about drug use at the Plaza.
Rose also expressed uncertainty at the idea that Kennedy Plaza would see increased safety if a new hub was built. “I can’t believe they will take care of two locations effectively when they’re not taking care of one,” he said.
According to RIPTA's website, RIPTA will still service Kennedy Plaza. RIPTA representatives did not address a request for comment regarding safety at Kennedy Plaza.
Glidden questioned how far the new hub would go in solving existing problems. “The homeless people and the drug users, they’ll go somewhere, right? They’re going to exist.”
Mikayla Kennedy is a Metro editor covering housing and transportation. They are a junior from New York City studying Political Science and Public Policy Economics.
