Does the R.I. Public Transit Authority have a new contender for an improved, centralized bus depot? Gov. Daniel J. McKee certainly thinks so.
State officials are eying a parcel in the I-195 Redevelopment District in Providence as a site for a state-of-the-art indoor transit center to replace operations at Kennedy Plaza, based on comments McKee made during a Dec. 8 interview on WPRO radio with Gene Valicenti.
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Twenty six acres of former state highway land flanking the Jewelry District were turned over to a quasi-public agency in 2011 to redevelop with a focus on economic development.
McKee made the announcement after Valicenti asked him whether he supports a call by transit advocates to invest an additional $110 million in RIPTA’s budget to address shortfalls and improve service. The governor was noncommittal, saying his office was reviewing all department budgets.
“But we have to continue to embrace the idea that public transit is important,” McKee added. “Hopefully we’ll have an announcement very shortly on the bus terminal issue down in the city of Providence.”
“Tell me right now, give me a preview,” Valicenti said. “Tip your hand.”
“Tip the hand? We’re looking at a place in the 195 District that I believe will finally get something done,” McKee said. “We’ll see what happens on it over the next few weeks.”
That was a surprise to transit advocates and it appears, even RIPTA administrators, who for years have wanted a new transit center that offers larger indoor waiting areas, expanded restrooms, digital screens indicating bus arrivals and departures, WiFi, and other amenities lacking in Kennedy Plaza.
After McKee’s radio interview, advocacy group R.I. Transit Riders made a map of the area it believes McKee was talking about, showing the bus hub site as the edge of the I-195 district along East Franklin Street. RIPTA spokesperson Cristy Raposo Perry on Monday declined to confirm if that was the correct location or even say how many other sites are contenders for the bus hub.
“We are vetting all possible options,” she said. “We are looking forward to presenting a finalized contract to the Board that delivers a world-class transit center that will benefit riders, the downtown, Rhode Island’s economy, and our environment.”
Raposo Perry declined to comment further on the matter. RIPTA’s board of directors canceled its meeting scheduled for Wednesday Dec. 20, 2023, and nothing has yet been scheduled for January 2024.
The plan to improve or create a new bus hub has been in the works for decades.
In 2014, Rhode Island voters approved $35 million in bonds for mass transit center infrastructure.
RIPTA has used city-owned Kennedy Plaza as a centralized bus depot since the early 1980s. In 2002, the agency opened an Intermodal Transportation Center at the site, featuring underground heat devices, a small waiting room for up to 35 people, restrooms, and a police substation to keep the plaza secure.
In 2020, the R.I. Department of Transportation unveiled a replacement, multi-hub plan — a depot at Kennedy Plaza [but with a quarter of its routes], the Amtrak Station, and Dyer Street outside the city’s Jewelry District. That three-hub plan was scrapped in 2022 amid criticism from riders and business groups, in favor of one centralized bus terminal at the intersection of Dorrance and Dyer Streets. The project, envisioned as a mixed-use space with first-floor retail and residential housing on the upper floors, was estimated to cost $77 million, funded through a combination of the already-approved state bonds and private investment
A nationwide request for proposals issued last January for a developer to build the new Dorrance Street terminal led to only one response, from Next Wave, a group of six Rhode Island-based companies. Last August, RIPTA’s board of directors unanimously voted to negotiate a contract with Next Wave. That contract is still under negotiation, Raposo Perry said.
Transit advocates have doubts about the feasibility of the I-195 site. RI Transit Riders and Kennedy Plaza Resilience Coalition said in a joint statement Saturday that the site is too far from most downtown Providence destinations.
“The case for the I-195 District will need to account for factors such as the convenience of getting to/from passengers’ desired destinations, travel trip time comparisons to existing conditions in Kennedy Plaza or the previously proposed hub at Dorrance St., intermodal connectivity with rail and intercity bus, security, and transit center amenities,” the joint statement read.
The state’s focus, advocates say, should be on improving Kennedy Plaza and funding the Transit Master Plan (TMP) — which calls for shifting to cleaner transportation alternatives like frequent buses and light rail.
“In the long run, the service improvements called for in the TMP provide the only real opportunity to increase ridership across the state, to help address our acute housing crisis, and to alleviate the worst effects of climate change,” the joint statement said.
RIPTA board chairman [and RIDOT Director] Peter Alviti Jr. said Monday that he had no comment on the advocates’ calls. “I haven’t seen their statement,” he said.
Asked if he was aware of the I-195 land as a potential site, Alviti replied, “I think the governor made that statement out a couple weeks ago.”
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s office offered little comment on the I-195 site, saying it is waiting to see a full proposal from the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission.
“Kennedy Plaza is the transportation hub of Providence and the mayor is committed to ensuring that any plan to relocate this space fully meets the modern transportation needs of the many residents, workers, students and visitors that utilize this bus hub,” Smiley’s spokesman Josh Estrella said.
Cara Cromwell, spokesperson for the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, which would also have to approve any proposal for use of the site, declined to comment.
Former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino, who is also managing partner for Paolino Properties LP, a real estate developer of downtown properties, called the I-195 site “a choice property.” But he said he was unaware the state had the site under consideration.
“During the day time, I work,” Paolino said. “I don’t have time to listen to the radio — this is all news to me.”
Paolino, a vocal critic of the Kennedy Plaza bus depot, said a new transit center would be welcome and hoped state officials will be diligent in their approach.
“It’s got to be good for transit riders and the city,” he said. “But it certainly doesn’t work where it is now.”
Greg Pare, a spokesperson for Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, said in an email Tuesday that Ruggerio supports moving the bus hub to former state highway land “in concept,” but would need to review the details.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said in a separate emailed statement that he will wait for McKee’s fiscal 2025 budget proposal, as well as analysis from RIDOT.
Sen. Sam Bell, a Providence Democrat, on X Sunday called the I-195 site “yet another effort to marginalize our bus riders.”
“Honestly, kicking the riders out of Kennedy Plaza was bad enough,” he said. “Sending them this far away is rather impolite, to say the least!”
Rep. David Morales, a Providence Democrat, shared similar concerns on X.
“Any hub relocation must prioritize the interests of people who actually ride the bus,” he said.
Christopher Shea is a staff writer for the Rhode Island Current.
Any place is better than Kennedy Plaza.