PROVIDENCE – A contested city project to build a bike lane along the Providence waterfront is already achieving its intended safety effects, according to analysis shared by the city on Thursday.
A mid-October review from consultant McMahon Associates showed the two-way bike lane along South Water Street had reduced speeding by vehicles, the city said. Since the bike lane was completed, simultaneously reducing the two-lane road to a single lane of traffic, average vehicle speed decreased by 27%, with 84% to 96% decrease in the percent of vehicles exceeding 30 miles per hour and a 17-mile-per-hour cut to the maximum speed recorded, the review found.
“With the completion of the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge and surrounding parkland in 2019, more people than ever began visiting our riverfront,” Liza Burkin, organizer at Providence Streets Coalition, said in a statement. “And yet they still faced a significant risk of traffic violence from the two-lane, one-way configuration of South Water Street that sent drivers speeding, drag racing, and leaving the city as fast as they could. Now, the South Water Street trail allows all travelers to safely access the parks, river, businesses, and the homes to come in this neighborhood. It’s not a highway anymore – it’s a destination.”
The news accompanied a Thursday ribbon-cutting celebration in which city officials and transportation advocates celebrated the completion of the bike lane along with several other elements of Mayor Jorge O. Elorza’s Great Streets Initiative plan. Since 2017, the city has completed 33 miles of “urban trail networks” which aim to connect the city and make it safer for all types of transportation, including drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and other forms of traffic, the release stated.
The half-mile bike lane along South Water Street drew backlash in recent months from some business and property owners who cited traffic congestion along a key entry point to Interstate-195. Some also said they were not notified of the project, though it was included in the original master plan Elorza announced in 2020 which has been subject to more than 20 in-person and virtual meetings and over 1,800 direct mailings, according to the city.
The project also drew concern from the R.I. Department of Transportation, which threatened legal and financial penalties but later said it would not pursue a lawsuit after federal highway officials declined to get involved. The city has continued to defend the project and the process through which it solicited feedback and gave notice to area property owners.
“The South Water Street urban trail and other Great Streets projects will attract sustainable interest in our city, providing a myriad of benefits for our neighborhoods,” Councilman John Goncalves, said in a statement. “Street safety combined with transit options and environmentally friendly road infrastructure will improve quality of life for our residents and visitors, alike.”
Another bike lane originally proposed for Mount Pleasant Avenue did not go ahead as planned due to opposition from neighborhood residents and Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan, who represents that community.
Debate over bike lane safety on busy city roads may continue, as some of the 100-plus projects laid out in the Great Streets plan have yet to be completed. Construction on a section of bike lane along Manton Avenue between Delaine and Aleppo streets and upgrades to the existing bike lane on Broad Street are among the next projects to begin, as well as many of the neighborhood greenways – essentially similar projects but on less busy, suburban streets, according to the city website.
Asked why the ribbon-cutting event was held when all of the projects included in the master plan have yet to be completed, Timothy Rondeau, city planning department spokesman, said in an email, “We have made so much progress since the inception of Great Streets. We felt it was an appropriate time to step back for a moment and celebrate the 33 lane-miles of the Urban Trail Network that have been completed or improved thus far, every mile of which keeps our residents safer, reduces our carbon emission output, and enhances people-focused infrastructure and placemaking.”
Update: Adds comment from the city planning department in paragraph 10.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
Ugh! These stupid bike lanes!! How much has business dropped off for businesses on Water Street and South Main Street due to that stupid thing?
If you want to ride a bike then go to a park or watch where you’re going on a street!
Businesses down there are hurting, and Elorza doesn’t give a damn!
Thank goodness he’ll be out of office soon!