RITR Comments:

Today, the commission in charge of the land where Interstate 195 used to be is set to consider a preliminary deal with RIPTA over a plot of land that, officials say, could well be the new location for the bus hub after it’s moved from Kennedy Plaza.  This plot of land, Parcel 35 of the I-195 district, is between Clifford St, Friendship St, and East Franklin St, nearly a mile from central downtown in an area where bus riders don’t want to go.  (See map.) RIPTA put out a press release Thursday saying that RIPTA and “stakeholders” want to include Parcel 35 in their “evolving list of potential Transit Center sites to be assessed”.  This is the location that Gov. McKee was thinking of last month when he said that “We’re not going to try to put it out in Siberia at someplace”.  But the transit advocates I know say that it’s still so remote that it counts as Siberia, so people have been calling it a Siberian hub.  Rumors say that Next Wave (the company working with RIPTA on moving the bus hub) and RIPTA will be announcing a lot of other potential sites for the hub in the coming weeks, so I don’t want to focus exclusively on Parcel 35, but Parcel 35 does seem to be the most prominent candidate location now. At the I-195 Commission meeting at 5pm today, the I-195 Commission will consider a preliminary deal which would take Parcel 35 off the market until October 1 so as to give RIPTA time to decide whether to move the hub there.  I don’t know if they will actually vote to approve this preliminary deal today: some people say they may not, but at least it is on today’s agenda.  If the 195 commission does approve this preliminary deal, RIPTA may feel under pressure to commit to this site by October for fear that the land might be put back on the market. 

We should urge the commission to not make any deal with RIPTA on this parcel, because it’s bad for the bus system to move there!

Boston Globe Coverage

Leading off, by Dan McGowan

State leaders have been talking about moving the bus station out of Kennedy Plaza for a while now, but tonight could be one of the first formal steps to begin that process.

The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission is meeting at 5 p.m. to consider voting to allow the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority to explore the feasibility of building a new transit center on Parcel 35 between Clifford and Friendship streets in Providence.

Assuming the I-195 Commission votes to move forward, it will agree to not market Parcel 35 to any other potential buyer until at least Oct. 1, 2024.

RIPTA is working with Next Wave Rhode Island Partners, a newly created consortium that includes Gilbane Development Company, Gilbane Building Company, Marsella Development, Plenary Americas, CUBE 3, and Jacobs. State officials are calling this the first phase of a public-private partnership.

During the first phase, RIPTA and Next Wave are expected to complete site studies and assessments and begin developing cost estimates for the project. While tonight’s vote is specifically about Parcel 35, the partners aren’t ruling out exploring other potential sites on the I-195 land.

State and city leaders have been trying to move the bus station out of Kennedy Plaza for several years, but the plan has repeatedly been derailed for various reasons. But both Governor Dan McKee and Mayor Brett Smiley have said they support the concept of building a new transit center on the I-195 land, although they have been careful to not specifically identify the possible location.

RIPTA advocates are likely to oppose the new transit center, especially at a time when the agency is proposing severe cuts to bus lines to close a budget gap.