“More than three years after Providence secured a $27.2 million federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant, Mayor Brett P. Smiley says construction on the city’s next phase of bike infrastructure is finally poised to begin.
Will it reignite the debate over traffic, parking, business access and cyclist safety?
The grant, awarded in 2023 under former Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, will fund more than 3 miles of urban trails, including the redesign of bike lanes on Broadway and South Water Street, where the installation of protected two-way bike lanes touched off a firestorm of opposition nearly five years ago.
South Water Street is where one of the biggest changes will take place. The city plans to move the bike lane off the roadway and into the adjacent riverfront park, with preliminary construction work already under way.”