Kennedy Plaza public bathrooms to reopen Wednesday

PROVIDENCE – A compromise has been reached to reopen the restrooms at Kennedy Plaza, which were closed to the general public more than a year ago.

The bathrooms will be reopened on Wednesday, according to a news release by the R.I. Public Transit Authority, which operates the facility in a building on property leased from the city of Providence.

RIPTA no longer offers passenger services in the building. The bathrooms there had been used exclusively by bus drivers since the pandemic started in 2020. Starting on Wednesday, the public will have access to the bathrooms there, and the bus drivers will use restrooms at the city-owned public skating rink across the street.

The skating rink bathrooms will be modified so bus drivers have a secure access.

A week ago, RIPTA had said it could not relinquish the exclusive use of the bathrooms in its Kennedy Plaza service building because it could not enforce a federal mandate that people wear their masks while in the building.

On Wednesday of last week, the city assured RIPTA, through a letter, that it was working on the issue and that it intended to continue an active RIPTA presence at Kennedy Plaza into the future.

Gov. Daniel J. McKee made a statement on Tuesday — saying reopening the bathrooms is a necessary, public step in emerging from the pandemic.

“From the start, I urged all parties to come together to find a solution,” he said.

Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.