RIDOH funds short-term projects promoting physical activity and active transportation

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Health recently announced it awarded funding to seven organizations to support projects that promote physical activity and transportation.

The funds were awarded by RIDOH’s Healthy Eating and Active Living, or HEAL, and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Program, ADRD, through the Rhode Island Streets Transformation Project.

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“Being physically active is one of the most important ways to improve your health now and into the future,” said Director of Health Dr. Jerome Larkin. “Supporting strategies to improve community design is an important way that we are helping people of all ages and abilities be physically active in communities throughout Rhode Island.”

The grant recipients include:

• Lefty Loosey Bike Collective: $4,500 to operate 10 free bicycle repair clinics and refurbish and redistribute 20 bikes to the community.

• Partnership for Providence Parks: $4,806 to hold a summer walk series for older adults living at Fox Point Manor and to coordinate other programs like Senior Splash.

• Providence Streets Coalition: $3,566 to hold family-friendly bike rides throughout Providence as part of their 2025 “Fam Jam” Ride series

• Town of Bristol: $1,650 to install a bike repair station and bike pump near the East Bay Bike Path in Bristol

• Tri-County HEZ: In partnership with the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, $4,950 to host two bike workshops to teach people how to ride safely, rules of the road and basic bike maintenance as well as two supervised rides through the Greenway.

• Trinity Square Together: $4,950 to install signage directing pedestrians, motorists and cyclists to key resources like health services, transportation and community centers.

• Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council: $4,950 to hold a summer fitness series along the Woonasquatucket River and Greenway.

The HEAL Program focuses on increasing access to physical activity and transportation by working with partners throughout the state to promote policy, system and environmental change. It’s funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and uses funding from the State Physical Activity and Nutrition Grant and Preventative Health and Health Services Block Grant to implement activities to make Rhode Island safer and healthier.

The ADRD Program uses CDC Building Our Largest Dementia funding to implement statewide efforts that boost brain health and reduce the risk of dementia.

The Rhode Island Streets Transformation Project has awarded 19 demonstration projects across the state. They have included public education and community engagement efforts, cycling safety classes, open streets events and the creation of Rhode Island’s first traffic garden. 

Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at castellani@pbn.com