PROVIDENCE – The city has hired a Boston firm to help develop three design alternatives for the reconstruction of the 6-10 Connector.
Utile, a design and planning firm, will work with the city over the next few months, according to ecoRI News. Community workshops will also be held, beginning July 19.
While the city has not chosen a project design, it did hold a public forum in March on the 6-10 Connector’s reconstruction that focused on highway-to-boulevard conversions. An advocacy group, Moving Together Providence, has championed a highway-to-boulevard conversion.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation has already selected a preferred capped-highway design.
Bonnie Nickerson, the city’s director of planning and development, and Peter Garino, RIDOT’s deputy director, each discussed the project at the June 21 “Power of Place Summit” organized by Grow Smart Rhode Island.
“No one in the city sees this as city versus suburbs; neighborhoods, city, state and region can and will benefit from this investment,” Nickerson said. •
