In September, 2011, RIPTA and the City of Providence announced their recommendation for a new streetcar route connecting Upper South Providence with College Hill. Three public open houses will be held to hear your feedback on this proposal:

1. Tuesday, November 1, 2011 from 5 PM to 7 PM
CCRI Liston Campus, 1 Hilton Place, Upper South Providence
Informal drop-in session, with formal presentation at 6 PM

2. Wednesday, November 2, 2011 from 12:30 PM to 2 PM
Providence Municipal Office Building (Dept. of Planning & Redevelopment)
444 Westminster St., 1st Floor, Providence
Informal drop-in session, with formal presentation at 1 PM

3. Wednesday, November 2, 2011 from 5 PM to 7 PM
Brown RISD Hillel Center, 80 Brown St., Providence
Informal drop-in session, with formal presentation at 6 PM

Please join us at one of these events, or download our press announcement here.

After twelve months of detailed study and listening to public comments from many different groups, RIPTA and the City of Providence have recommended that a new streetcar route be developed to connect Upper South Providence with College Hill.  This route would connect the major activity centers and cultural venues in our downtown core, would spur significant levels of new development, and would create more than 6,000 new jobs. Bringing modern streetcars to Providence would also enhance the vitality, livability and attractiveness of our Capital City. Click here to view Providence Journal, Brown Daily Herald and WPRI-12 updates on the Core Connector project.

The costs and benefits of two Streetcar alternatives and an Enhanced Bus alternative are now being evaluated and compared by RIPTA and the City of Providence.  Visit our Project Details page to learn more about streetcars and Enhanced Bus technologies, and to better understand how these options for new transit service would benefit Providence.

More than 5,400 individuals took a Core Connector survey in May. These included an online questionnaire aimed at those living or working in Providence, and surveys of RIPTA riders, pedestrians, and users of Brown and RI Hospital shuttle systems. Your input will be used to help us predict ridership on a future Core Connector route.

On May 31st, the Transit 2020 Action Group invited local business and property owners to come learn more about a potential streetcar in Providence, express any concerns, and find out how we are working to make this project a reality for our City.  If you missed it, view the presentation here.

About 50 individuals dropped by the Commerce Center on April 25th to hear an update on the technical work being performed throughout the Core Connector study area.  Attendees learned how a new transit route might serve RI Hospital, College Hill and the train station, where a streetcar maintenance facility would be located, and how traffic and parking might be affected. Click here to see the materials. More work will continue this spring, including the development of more detailed project cost estimates and ridership projections.   Stay tuned!

A potential new transit route through Providence’s downtown core has been identified, connecting the Hospital District in Upper South Providence with Downtown and College Hill. Both streetcar and enhanced bus transit are now being studied as future modes of service along this route.

This milestone in the Core Connector study was achieved by evaluating a range of possible paths for their ability to meet project goals and key performance measures (see summary here). Members of the public were able to weigh in at a December Public Forum and at more than a dozen meetings with businesses, institutions and neighborhood groups along the corridor. Information continues to be gathered along three segments of this route:

• Along Dudley Street in Upper South Providence, where new streetcar or bus service could terminate in the vicinity of Women & Infant’s Hospital or closer to Prairie Avenue.
• Through the Jewelry District, where more engineering review is needed to identify the best way to traverse the narrow streets of this emerging Knowledge District.
• Between Kennedy Plaza and the Train Station, where a mix of modes will be considered to determine the best means of connecting rail passengers and others living, working and shopping in Capital Center.

In his inaugural address on January 3, 2011, Providence Mayor Angel Tavares indicated a need to “develop a 21st century public transportation system for our residents and commuters” as part of a broader effort to help business prosper, create well-paying jobs, and put our citizens back to work. You can view his full remarks here.

The Providence Journal published an editorial discussing the possibility of introducing a streetcar to Providence. Click here to read this November 30, 2010 article.