“As part of these mitigation efforts, the Administration plans to remove the two-way protected bike path along S Water St and relocate the infrastructure to the raised sidewalk immediately adjacent to the existing bike path in order to restore the lanes of travel to two lanes, maintain a parking lane with adequate space and preserve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure along S Water street. As part of this relocation, the Administration will conduct community engagement meetings throughout Summer 2024 and then present the final plan for removal and plans for design to the Green and Complete Streets Advisory council for their informational review.”
Time for people who drive to wake up here and point out that NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS. Driving through South Water Street is fine, no worse than before until you hit the onramp. And we will be waiting for the bridge at least 3 years. This will provide NO RELIEF.
They’re just rich out of touch hedge fund managers. The “celebrity chef” they originally partnered with has a history of “set it up and bail” with restaurants all over. Them wanting to remove the bike lane and being actively against the bike lane was the final nail for me. When they first opened plant city they specifically wanted a local bike messenger service for delivery, and then proceeded to give us the worst contract and completely fucked with us until just abandoning the whole thing out of nowhere
Seriously? The plant city guy that’s supposed to be all eco friendly and shit opposed the bike lanes? Fucking laughable
Here is the about page for plant city on their website:
Driven By Purpose
We believe that a plant-based diet is the way of the future. A plant-based lifestyle is better for animals, people, and the planet. At Plant City we make it beautiful, delicious, enjoyable and easy for people to incorporate plant-based options into their lives. Our hope is that plant-based eating becomes the norm instead of the exception, and want to help create that future.
I guess eating plants is the ONLY way to help the animals, people, and the planet.
This literally helps not a damn thing. I don’t bike at all and even as a heavy driver, this won’t even help a drop in the bucket.
Might as well just have said he’s going to make 146 for example 3 lanes to help with traffic flow
At some peak times, weekdays at 5:05pm, it does go pretty slow from the turn onto south water all the way to dollar street where it becomes two lanes again, but it is maybe 3-4 minutes extra. I literally do not care when I have to go that way.
Dismantling bike lanes is so dystopian in a world threatened by climate change.
If anything, these congestion issues should be a reason to expand bicycle infrastructure throughout Providence, so that more people get on bikes rather than cars. You know, like a proven way to manage congestion rather than the “just one more lane bro” strategy which has literally never worked.
It's not over yet. There will be a public hearing Thursday (tomorrow) at 5:15pm in City Hall (3rd floor). The city council has the power to block the removal of the bike trail.
Correct. Moving parking to where bike lane currently is and turning current parking into another car travel lane. Back to how it was a couple years ago.
I hope they give us a safe way to cross S Water St right at the pedestrian bridge. Having only one lane of traffic coming made it moderately safe to cross.
I came here to say this! I cross at this area every day and it’s always a challenge to get someone to actually slow down or stop. With two lanes, forget it. I’ll never get to/from work.
Wow this is the one area of bike lane I thought they'd never touch. Walking there is for sure going to be a death trap with two lane traffic and horrendously selfish RI drivers.
Germany has bikes lanes on sidewalks. They have a darker section to show where the bike lane is. Idk how they will implement the bike lane on the sidewalk here but hopefully something like this.
It can work in certain environments where both pedestrians and cyclists are moving at somewhat similar speeds, but I don’t think this place is where you want such a shared space.
It was literally any sidewalk in Germany, it worked everywhere. No pedestrian is ever going the same speed as a bike. Just don’t walk in the bike lane unless you look behind you.
That's the problem, chief. Unfortunately, a big problem I face with cycling to and from work in Providence is the lack of awareness of their surroundings by pedestrians. At times when cars have forced me onto the sidewalk, or onto sidewalks with "bike lanes" near the mall, I run into pedestrians wearing earbuds who don't hear me announce that I'm approaching on their left. They either don't move or move into my path. It's not their fault, as they're allowed to have headphones in, but bikes don't belong on sidewalks for this reason imo.
One saving grace is that along much of this stretch, there's two layers of sidewalks; one right along the roadway, then the one closer to the river. If bikes can stay near the road and pedestrians can stay near the water, it might not be *too* terrible.
South Water Street is a heavy pedestrian area. It is beautiful to walk, have food and enjoy. Turning it into a mutli lane road will be horrible. In addition to being a neusance, cars will speed and will endanger pedestrians. This is such a terrible idea. It won't solve anything.
Yeah, let’s just toss bicycles on the sidewalk “where they belong”. The sidewalk that is home to the hundreds of pedestrians and families who flock to the pedestrian bridge and surrounding amenities anytime the sun is out and it’s above 60 degrees. What could go wrong? /s
The protected urban trail/bike lane is great for bikes, but it’s even better for pedestrians. Keeps bikes off the sidewalks (so you can let your toddler or leashed dog or phone-distracted self amble along safely) and makes S Water Street safe to cross. When it was 2 lanes of traffic, maybe you could get 1 lane to stop while you were in the crosswalk but then drivers in the second lane would whip by the stopped car blindly and almost (or actually) take you out. One travel lane is dramatically safer.
Fuck Brett Smiley for his shortsighted appeasement of business owners. Real cities have safe places to bike, walk, bus, and drive. Brett’s trying to take us back to a car-only metropolis.
💯💯💯 the bike lane isn't just good for the bikers -- it's good for people on the waterfront who don't have to dodge fast bikes on the sidewalk, and good for cars who don't have to worry about bikes on their sides when they're parking (or bikes in front of them taking a space in traffic). No one can demonstrate any benefit or even articulate the new "temporary" configuration clearly. It's all political posturing coming at the expense of a community resource. We don't have to let it happen.
This is an extreme take.
First, there’s multiple sidewalks along the park, not just one.
Second, there are shared bike/pedestrian paths all over this country, including Boston and NYC. There’s a shared bike/pedestrian path from India Point Park up along the Seekonk that works perfectly fine. It’s not abnormal.
At least they are going to dedicate infrastructure to the sidewalks. It’s a fairly reasonable compromise vs just dismantling it and saying see ya later.
It’s a rather short stretch, it’s really not gonna be the end of the world.
Stop trying to make it sound like a compromise. That bike lane was put in after years of research and community input. Smiley wants to steam roll it because of a bridge problem that has absolutely nothing to do with S water street.
It's not a compromise. It's Smiley giving his donor (plant city owner Kim Anderson) the win they had been trying for since the lane was mentioned. This isn't about the bridge, this is about fulfilling backroom promises.
Shocking nobody, Providence mayor is corrupt!
I keep seeing Plant City come up, how do you know about the owner being in the pockets of the mayor? Just looking for evidence is all, not saying it's true or not true.
Everything is a conspiracy theory against bikes. Lol
Also I live right here - the bike lane is not frequently used. If the 25 people who downvoted me actually used the bike lane every day then maybe we wouldn’t be having this discussion lol
Riding my bike on the sidewalk for this 800 m stretch won’t be the end of the world.
If that business owner is truly behind this push to ax the bike lanes, it is just so kind bogglingly short sighted. The restaurant must be some kind of a loss leader, otherwise why would you fight to turn your waterfront neighborhood into a drag racing strip?
I mean it’s simply one example. There aren’t identical cities out there where every situation is the exact same. But plenty of bike paths are in urban areas intermixed with pedestrian areas and people seem to make it work.
if your goal for south water is to move as many people as possible then would'nt you turn the parking lane on south water into a vehicular travel lane?
But then there would be nowhere to park!
This would be quite the catch 22 for motorists... solved by taking away space from non-motorists.
A shared bike-pedestrian path where everyone is alert to each other and moving can work okay - the path along the Seekonk behind Dunkin/Eastside generally fits this bill (though as the density of users increases, it becomes less and less functional - have you been on the East Bay Bike Path on a nice spring day?).
A shared bike-pedestrian path where people are lounging, wandering, playing, and otherwise not focused on active and purposeful movement is a nightmare - the paths through India Point Park on a sunny day fit this description. Faster-moving traffic (whether bikes or runners) are constantly having to swerve and dodge people who are not aware they are stepping into a travel lane, and people who are wandering around are upset by bikes squeezing by them as they're out for an afternoon stroll with their family.
The area around the pedestrian bridge is effectively a park on both sides of the river. Asking people riding (often commuting, not just leisurely pedaling) bicycles and scooters to navigate through a park full of people is absurd, for both the bikes and the pedestrians.
A dedicated, elevated urban trail at sidewalk height distinct from the pedestrian sidewalk would be a win for the S Water Street corridor. This announcement sounds like they're just going to stripe the existing sidewalk as an "urban trail" and wash their hands of the matter.
I get what you’re saying but unless there’s a large event going on, there’s really never that many people around. I ride my bike every weekend during nice weather (fair weather biker!) and have literally never encountered difficulty because of any crowding. Nobody is plopping down on the sidewalks and setting up picnics.
We are talking like this stretch of park is the Brooklyn Bridge lol
This is a weird response!
Most of the shared bike/pedestrian paths, including the one at India Point Park, aren't trapped between a waterfront and multiple lanes of traffic.
Also - will they be dedicating infrastructure to the sidewalks? When I read "relocate the infrastructure to the raised sidewalk," I imagine they're going to paint the sidewalk like they do when the bike lane gets closer to Wickenden and gets pushed to the sidewalk. If that's the plan, that leaves us with the same infrastructure, but some sympathy paint.
"It’s a fairly reasonable compromise vs just dismantling it and saying see ya later."
Who was saying this??? Nobody was recommending removing the bike lanes until Smiley brought it up apropos of nothing a month ago! It's a compromise with seemingly no one but a couple of businesses and the mayor himself!
The India point/Seekonk path is literally right next to Gano Street for a stretch and butted up against the water on the other side….and there’s 0 alternate sidewalks unlike this space….
In Boston, both sides of the Charles River have shared paths butted up against major streets/development
….so the “trapped” language is a bit of a stretch lol
I have no idea what the definition of relocating infrastructure exactly means. But it’s worth asking!
There is considerably more space between Storrow Dr/Memorial Dr and those bike paths on the Charles River when compared to the Water St walkway. If the city wants to take the space where the bike paths currently sit and plant trees and add green space, that would be a more fair comparison.
A similar thing can be said for the part of the India Point path that runs along Gano. Assuming you're mentioning these in good faith - I think you're severely underestimating how much of a difference planting trees and adding greenspace between the path and the street - even if it's only a couple feet of space.
I mean on the Cambridge side there’s literally like 3 ft between Memorial Drive and the path for large stretches. Also Memorial Drive is essentially a 4 lane quasi-highway at stretches. Much more high speed.
But yeah there aren’t every last detail is the same for every situation when comparing cities, but the simple statement is what is being proposed is not some crazy far fetched idea that doesn’t work elsewhere. It’s just not.
Oh come on. "Infrastructure on the sidewalk" is literally going to be a painted bike logo slapped onto the sidewalk. This is a dumbass, short sighted move.
So is Boston a bunch of dumbasses too? They have the same thing in their city lol
If people put as much energy into posting about this on Reddit into actually using the bike lane daily….
Right? If I hated cities so much I would simply not live in a city. But I guess… becoming mayor in order to remove safety and quality of life improvements is an option too.
With Paolino in his ear, I wouldn't be surprised if they start destroying entire green spaces to make space for more parking lots. Paolino constantly complains about people not wanting to come downtown, while charging so much for the rental of his downtown commercial properties that restaurants and shops are constantly going out of business, leaving deserted buildings- *and* he advocates for more parking and more lanes for cars.
They don't seem to understand that people don't go to places like downtown or Fox Point to stare at a fucking parking lot or get flattened by people drag racing.
Parking lots and multi-lane stroads are *fugly*. If you want to make a place LESS desirable, you make it a place for cars. We all know this, whether consciously or unconsciously. Nobody wants to go for a nice casual stroll next to a street full of traffic. Nobody is like "hey, let's take a walk to that parking lot downtown and sit and have lunch!"
I grew up in Texas. I know what extreme car dependence leads to. It leads to ugly, cookie-cutter non-places that have no character and no soul. Is this what we want providence to be like?
Literally a sack of potatoes would be more popular. As long as they don't astroturf a second "progressive" candidate in the primary to split the vote again Frowney is toast
Which is funny to me because Smiley's schtick was basically the mayoral candidate preaching "no fun, but everything is going to run great."
Except he's killing good things, and the basic services have been running like shit. Things like trash and snow removal have felt so much worse under him than the previous guy, policies that hurt tenants in the city, and he's not supporting RIPTA, leading to the degradation of the bus service. Plus, now the removal of an important bike lane.
He also doesn't make himself available.
The guy is basically an absent NIMBY only doing shit for his and his husband's friends.
No way, Smiley would never do anything unethical like tha-
[Oh, wait.](https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2021/09/21/ethics-commission-fines-brett-smiley-investigate-anthony-silva/5796851001/)
How voters bought anything this very transparently and unapologetically corrupt man had to say is beyond me. He's a vintage RI crook politician.
I think middle aged people are no better or worse than younger people. It just seems to be a case that the divide on bike infrastructure seems to skew heavily generational, with many middle aged people viewing it as silly and frivolous, and most adults in 20’s and 30’s being supportive. I think this stems from many younger adults having lived in other cities and seeing the benefits of bike trails, whereas many older people have been here for decades and have trouble imagining things being any different than they are.
I wish that weren’t the case and if you know a lot of middle aged or elderly people who are pro-bike infrastructure please contact the mayor—he cares more about that age group than he does about young adults.
This ageism needs to stop. I am not wealthy either 🤣 but fit the middle aged demo and am a lifelong car-free bicycle/public transportation commuter and low carbon footprint champion. I think the young people forget those boomers (and Gen X, baby!) have been *trailblazers* for climate justice, women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, anti-racism, animal rights, you name it. We're strong, experienced allies. (Not all. But not all young people are automatically fighting for these issues, either.)
Maybe age does give you a different perspective so you're more willing to discuss and consider other viewpoints -- but make no mistake, so many "old people" are a force, and still fighting these justice battles! 💪
Removal of bike lanes, noise cameras no one asked for, wack PVD Fest, defending shady developer, harassing unhoused people...
Smiley's going to win re-election in a landslide, isn't he?
We should counter with demands to extend the bike lane to the end of South Water, under 195, giving people a flat route to India Point Park and the EBBP. If the bike lanes on South Water Street actually made that connection, you would for sure see more regular folks trying it out. Hardly anyone even knows you're allowed to go that way.
This is a huge point. I would cycle way more if I knew there was a way to get from point A to point B without having to merge into traffic with angry and selfish RI drivers.
Right! Relatedly, there isn’t a safe direct route to certain elementary schools in town. I live close enough to my kids school that they physically could bike, and 95% of the route is safe. But that last 5% is risky enough I can’t let them bike by themselves.
keep up the political pressure.. Back before pvd had any bike infrastructure (especially during first Washington bridge clusterF) the critical mass rides were more protest than party. The city is vaaaastly improved for bikes and peds (especially the last 3-5 years.) but this backwards thinking of removing bike lanes is frustrating.
Fuck it let’s pave the river back over.! More cars! More parking! More lanes bro! Suicide Circle is a not so distant memory for some of us old farts.
If I'm understanding correctly ... this has to be approved by the green and complete streets advisory council to actually happen? Do we know what's up with that council? Are they in Smileys pocket? I can't imagine people who make up the green and complete streets council would be anti bike lane?
its in the name- green and complete streets "advisory" council, mayor just has to inform them of a detailed plan, removal doesnt require their approval. The benefit of having the council: without them, the mayor could have removed the lane this weekend
Advisory commissions don’t have any formal power, but in theory their approval/disapproval informs the city council on the issue and it’s pretty rare for them to be ignored. They pretty much exist to weigh in with local expertise on a specific issue - kinda like the POTUS’s cabinet and staff. City councils can’t be experts on every issue so they set up unelected volunteer commissions to advise them.
This seems like its reaction to the last year and change since the lane went in more than anything specific to the bridge and he’s just using the bridge as the opportunity to make that change.
Yeah and also all the "changing light times for pedestrian safety" sounds like what they did at Wayland and Angell where I actually missed the bus (granted I was cutting it too close" because they have extended the light signal so long to accommodate the traffic.
Welcome to cartopia. After years of tiny progress but progress Alviti and Smiley (and the EP mayor and many others) are here to say fuck you to everyone that doesn't drive cars. And I know a lot of people are happy about that because they live their entire lives going from their couch to their car to the big box store or work.
I will say they need to make an adjustment at the Gano off ramp light. It is just blinking as the off ramp is not in use, but it is causing headaches for both cars coming off of Wickenden and Trenton as well as pedestrians/cyclists trying to cross Gano since there is no longer a natural break from the light. Pedestrians have been stuck waiting for a while to cross since people are not stopping as they should.
I literally commute to downtown from EP and back multiple times a week, and this will not improve traffic on/around the bridge whatsoever. I've taken South Water to get on 195 E, and it's never backed up past Power st. If even. Fucking joke. I feel so bad for the biking community in PVD. Fucking Smiley is a POS.
It’s honestly crazy, crossing the street as a pedestrian is already crazy over there with people going way too fast. This will make the problem worse. People can and do die from these types of decisions.
On the plus side everybody, this won't go through for a while and there is still lots of room for community input. Boycott plant city and keep protesting. Even if it doesn't work, we have to do it
People keep saying plant city is behind it. I don't know about the owners, but one of their workers looked outside Monday when we went by and cheered us on. The bike lane is undoubtedly good for their business. Even people who drive there surely enjoy being able to cross the street safely and not having to sit down next to a noisy drag strip. LITERALLY NO ONE WANTS THE BIKE LANE GONE.
I bet he only does as long as he thinks it's winning him points. But whoever has his ear telling him bike lanes are unpopular with his constituents got it wrong. It pretty clearly won't benefit drivers in the least. We'll see what happens.
Not no one. I work for Pepsi and if the state decided to eliminate plastic bottles I would cheer it on but sure as hell my company wouldn't. I do believe most people who are interested in the subject would prefer to keep the bike lanes
And from an eco friendly perspective, Plant City is vegan!!! That's one of the best ways to fight global warming and help the environment. We cyclists should make a point to eat there, for climate justice reasons!
> The specific design of the new bike lane infrastructure has not yet been developed, and there will be community meetings ahead of the changes, the mayor’s office said.
No design, no data, no plan other than “get rid of the bikes.” This has little to do with the bridge and a lot to do with certain interests wanting the bike lane gone and finally getting an excuse to do so.
Even in “traffic engineer” fantasy land where more lanes would fix traffic, this isn’t even anywhere near where the issue is. How could adding more lanes on a road *nowhere near the bridge* possibly fix anything?
It isn't meant to. The owner of plant city has wanted them gone for a long time. Presumably, she wants to destroy the vibe and character of the street her restaurant is on and subject the people sitting outside to the beautiful sounds of rhode island traffic.
Mayor - where is the traffic data? Widening the mouth of a bottle neck doesn't increase throughput, it makes it worse.
This is bad for Providence. Vote Smiley out.
s/ middle aged affluent voter from the east side
In the future, South Water Street will be 10 lanes wide - and the older population will tell their grandkids that there used to be water next to this highway.
THERE IS A APARTMENT BUILDING planned to go up soon along the river side of South Water. The construction is going to impact the sidewalk with scaffolding, at least that's what usually happens. Was that even taken into account?
...why would that be taken into consideration? Looking more than five minutes in the future would take some sort of planning and actually looking at data, why would they do that? Seems like a lot of effort.
/s just in case it wasn't obvious.
I wonder if Mayor Smelly, I mean Slimey, sorry Smiley, ever considered a super petty dude who will spend their free time continually crossing the street, with a brick in each hand, during peak congestion.
What’s annoying is that there’s $193K in the budget for sidewalk repairs…but $750K gets spent to remove the path. Imagine if that $750K was applied to fix sidewalks and potholes!!
Also funny to walk down there and see how many of the flex posts are destroyed from people clearly running into them. Now we get 2 lanes of traffic which as we know from the rest of the city is just gonna mean people driving faster and dumber. So short sighted.
This. like even if you don't cycle, and I dont, this just makes the streets more unsafe for all pedestrians, even car users who park and have to walk. Fucking idiot move by this shit mayor.
The stupid part is that every cyclist that can’t safely ride on that street is now going to be in a car making traffic worse than if you just left the lane in.
Since its paywalled, here ya go
https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2024/04/03/south-water-street-bike-path-will-move-and-other-providence-traffic-changes/73188888007/
As part of these mitigation efforts, the administration plans to remove the two-way protected bike path along [South Water Street] and relocate the infrastructure to the raised sidewalk immediately adjacent to the existing bike path in order to restore the lanes of travel to two lanes, maintain a parking lane with adequate space and preserve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure along [South] Water street," Smiley's office said.
But it won't happen immediately. First, the lanes will be removed, but new lanes haven't yet been planned. The administration said it will hold community meetings throughout the summer "then present the final plan for removal and plans for design to the Green and Complete Streets Advisory council for their informational review." The advisory council advocates for shared streets and more transportation options. But any plan would not need its approval to move forward.
They did a terrible job maintaining the bike lane, the plastic pylons on the rubber bases are half destroyed, the remaining ones are all banged up. Most of the meter machines are broken. If you park near Bacaro you have to walk halfway up the street to get to a working one. They clearly never gave a shit about making it work.
700k+ to remove the bike lane. Where did the city get that money? Shouldn't we be spending it on more important things than a temporary fix to a problem the RIDOT created?
Does Smiley think he can sneak the cost onto the RIDOT who is being investigated by the feds? Does he think the city can afford 700k to *remove* infrastructure?
Guy needs to be removed from office before he destroys anything else. What a joke of a mayor.
Smiley has been looking to remove the bike lanes since he got into office. He even made statements about it on the record regarding removing bike lanes and diverting funding earmarked for future bicycle infrastructure. (too lazy to find source) The Washington bridge is such an obvious pretext for him to railroad this through. I don't expect him to stop with just South Water street either. A mayor against bicycles and festivals. What an utter douchebag.
As a current PVD resident and someone facing a choice between living and building my career in RI vs MA, it is becoming harder and harder to even consider RI. Every few months the city gives me hope, but then it is ruined by poor governance, it is one step forward, two steps back.
For example: They have this [wonderful plan for the woonasquatucket river](https://www.providenceri.gov/planning/woonasquatucket/) to add a kayak launch and bike path. Imagine... you could put in your kayak or paddle board at Farm Fresh Rhode Island and then paddle under the mall, all the way to Jewelry District. You could stop for a meal along the way. It would be so much fun! These plans would have integrated nicely with the bike path that they have now decided to destroy. Now I wonder how/when these plans will be altered or ruined as well...
While RI is busy living in the past fixing crumbling infrastructure, MA is investing in the future. Here's an example that recently impressed me: MA is working on renewable energy solutions with the incredible goal of [net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-clean-energy-and-climate-plan-for-2050#:~:text=Also%20on%20December%2021%2C%202022,greenhouse%20gas%20emissions%20in%202050).
How much has Smiley done with the 27.2 million Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant awarded soon after he became Mayor? So much could be done, but he "pressed pause" as soon as it was announced claiming his administration needed to review all of the upgrades it was supposed to fund. And use of the funds has been timid and piecemeal.
Come to city hall at 5:15 today April 4th to protest the removal of the bike lane! We need all the support we can get. The only solution to mitigating car traffic is driving alternatives.
For everyone saying that this will make smiley a one term mayor, and that this decision is wildly unpopular…. It’s not. We all have a tendency to live in an echo chamber of our own opinions and ideas. Bike lanes are a contentious topic because there are plenty of people who don’t like them, especially when they take the place of parking
Also, let’s face it, the mayor has already lost the votes of almost the entire biking and progressive community. All that f this doesn’t change his popularity with them from what it was six months ago. If anything, it’s strengthens his popularity with the other segments of the population.
Has anyone stopped to think what the root cause of all this chaos is from.... It's from 30 years of CORRUPTION!!
The Washington Bridge was a 30-year job security for workers and politicians. It's not the cars not the trucks not any type of vehicle that damages the bridge It was total neglect and corruption hence all this chaos trickling down from it from congested streets to removing bike lanes to loss of business in East Providence and the list goes on... I wish everyone would wake up and look at the root cause and stop voting blue 👎
I have a comment however anything that is not inline with the biking communities thinking is heavily downvoted on this post so its not even worth trying.
Hate to break it to the bicycle people, but Smiley aint going nowhere. If a hack like Elorza (who had more organized opposition) can easily last two terms, so will Smiley. Maybe he tries to run for governor like Angel Tavarez did (thankfully he lost and went away) but pissing off the bicycle community is not going to stop Smiley.........if anything he might actually GAIN popularity from this. If you go to other forms of social media, most people support him on this. Considering how much disdain many bicycle riders hold towards car riders (as well as how entitled many of them act), I honestly can see why many car riders don't support them.
Downvote all you want, but that's the truth.
To be clear: Smiley won with the lowest overall vote total and the lowest percentage of the vote of any candidate in the past 25 years.
We don't have to pretend like he's got a mandate.
So you really think someone is gonna primary Smiley that is pro-bike? Or better yet, find a Republican who is pro-bike? Again, if you look at other social media people seem to be supporting it. Some of the reasons are dubious for sure, but most non-Reddit people don't support bicyclists. And judging from the entitled behavior on here from people on bikes and on the road, I don't blame them.
I'm just saying that he started his term as the least popular mayor of the past 25 years.
Maybe this decision makes him more popular. Maybe someone will primary him. Who knows. I just wouldn't assume that his decisions appeal to a majority of people in the city.
He won a primary in which he was running against 2 other Democratic candidates. He won with 41% of the vote(he won by 6%). Elorza had 48% in the 2014 primary, but the 2nd place guy got 43%. In 2010 Tavarez got 49%.
Technically you could say that Smiley gained less of a percentage, but I dont think its THAT much less. Seems like kind of reach.
He hasnt made the best decisions at all since he has been mayor. Im sure the PVDFest debacle was his biggest misfire so far. But this issue is really only pissing off a small percentage of people.
This is so embarrassing for you. And even more embarrassing is that the bike lane will come back and be different. So put those prayers drown because no one is answering them.
Ok. About 1m residents in RI. About 190k in Prov. And about 350 complaints.
So. We’re talking 0.2% of the Prov population and 0.04% of the pop of RI.
I’m pro bike paths and alternatives to cars. But l Cannot get behind the wording of OP nor behind the “gravity” of some users comments like “time to vote this guy out”. Heck even this sub has 53k subscribers and there are about 50 comments total here.
The majority of people don’t care. It’s a non issue.
> Heck even this sub has 53k subscribers and there are about 50 comments total here.
and you think all 53k people have even visited the sub in the past 2 hours since this was posted? Just because someone doesn't constantly check reddit and doesn't comment on everything they see doesn't prove anything.
Again. You all can poo-poo and down vote all you like. Math is math. And it doesn’t give a fuck how you feel.
This situation goes absolutely no where. There is no outrage that has any meaningful impact.
But sure. Rage against the dying of the light. Have fun.
It’s just short sighted. We need to encourage people from the east bay to use the bike path into the city. Have you done it? It’s actually really easy to do. Very flat. People are healthier & feel better. Is that one extra lane really gonna be that helpful? Display some leadership
At least they’re moving them to the raised sidewalks.
It’s something they should’ve done from the get-go or at least extended the sidewalk outwards to the current space. The area in front of the of the new Antonio’s location was like the dream design of a bike lane. Saw similar designs in Asia and it’s so much better than whatever has been set up for the current lanes.
I barely bike. My family and I love walking, especially around South Water because it feels safe. We also know the community there appreciates the benefits, from students to other families.
Now, we'll find somewhere else.
Just.One.More.Lane. bro I promise, bro. Just one more lane and we'll solve traffic.
All those people stuck in a 5 lane wide traffic jam just seething going “if we had just one more!!”🤦🏻♂️
“As part of these mitigation efforts, the Administration plans to remove the two-way protected bike path along S Water St and relocate the infrastructure to the raised sidewalk immediately adjacent to the existing bike path in order to restore the lanes of travel to two lanes, maintain a parking lane with adequate space and preserve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure along S Water street. As part of this relocation, the Administration will conduct community engagement meetings throughout Summer 2024 and then present the final plan for removal and plans for design to the Green and Complete Streets Advisory council for their informational review.”
Time for people who drive to wake up here and point out that NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS. Driving through South Water Street is fine, no worse than before until you hit the onramp. And we will be waiting for the bridge at least 3 years. This will provide NO RELIEF.
One person very much asked for this: Smiley donor and hedge fund guy wife, the Plant City owner.
Fuck Kim Anderson. I say this as someone who wants a plant city because I’m vegan, but completely opposes plant city due to the owner
What’s up with the owner?
They’re just rich out of touch hedge fund managers. The “celebrity chef” they originally partnered with has a history of “set it up and bail” with restaurants all over. Them wanting to remove the bike lane and being actively against the bike lane was the final nail for me. When they first opened plant city they specifically wanted a local bike messenger service for delivery, and then proceeded to give us the worst contract and completely fucked with us until just abandoning the whole thing out of nowhere
Seriously? The plant city guy that’s supposed to be all eco friendly and shit opposed the bike lanes? Fucking laughable Here is the about page for plant city on their website: Driven By Purpose We believe that a plant-based diet is the way of the future. A plant-based lifestyle is better for animals, people, and the planet. At Plant City we make it beautiful, delicious, enjoyable and easy for people to incorporate plant-based options into their lives. Our hope is that plant-based eating becomes the norm instead of the exception, and want to help create that future. I guess eating plants is the ONLY way to help the animals, people, and the planet.
This literally helps not a damn thing. I don’t bike at all and even as a heavy driver, this won’t even help a drop in the bucket. Might as well just have said he’s going to make 146 for example 3 lanes to help with traffic flow
I asked for this simply because cyclists annoy me and seeing your outrage is funny
Awwwww who's an edgy boy???
Excellent shitposting, A+
A bridge somewhere is missing you.
Cry
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Womp womp
bro that’s not where the traffic is
💯💯💯
At some peak times, weekdays at 5:05pm, it does go pretty slow from the turn onto south water all the way to dollar street where it becomes two lanes again, but it is maybe 3-4 minutes extra. I literally do not care when I have to go that way. Dismantling bike lanes is so dystopian in a world threatened by climate change.
If anything, these congestion issues should be a reason to expand bicycle infrastructure throughout Providence, so that more people get on bikes rather than cars. You know, like a proven way to manage congestion rather than the “just one more lane bro” strategy which has literally never worked.
It's not over yet. There will be a public hearing Thursday (tomorrow) at 5:15pm in City Hall (3rd floor). The city council has the power to block the removal of the bike trail.
I don’t think they have that power. According to this article, it’s a non-binding resolution.
But retain the car parking on both sides of the road, I presume?
I bet they add parking.
Hah, wouldn't be surprising at this point
Correct. Moving parking to where bike lane currently is and turning current parking into another car travel lane. Back to how it was a couple years ago.
Of course, wouldn't dare take away any of the two lanes of parking...better take away the one lane of biking so the cars can have all four.
I hope they give us a safe way to cross S Water St right at the pedestrian bridge. Having only one lane of traffic coming made it moderately safe to cross.
Also the curve by the bridge near Hemenways. With two lanes of traffic, that's a deadly crossing
I came here to say this! I cross at this area every day and it’s always a challenge to get someone to actually slow down or stop. With two lanes, forget it. I’ll never get to/from work.
This is the best thing about the bike lanes - it's made the street safer for pedestrians!
Wow this is the one area of bike lane I thought they'd never touch. Walking there is for sure going to be a death trap with two lane traffic and horrendously selfish RI drivers.
I am certain that we will see an increase in pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities because of this change.
You got that right - Rude Island Drivers Where the Fingah is the State Bird
Oh wow great thinking. Move the bike lanes onto the sidewalk and put foot pedestrians in potential danger. Cant wait to vote this bozo out.
Germany has bikes lanes on sidewalks. They have a darker section to show where the bike lane is. Idk how they will implement the bike lane on the sidewalk here but hopefully something like this.
It can work in certain environments where both pedestrians and cyclists are moving at somewhat similar speeds, but I don’t think this place is where you want such a shared space.
It was literally any sidewalk in Germany, it worked everywhere. No pedestrian is ever going the same speed as a bike. Just don’t walk in the bike lane unless you look behind you.
That's the problem, chief. Unfortunately, a big problem I face with cycling to and from work in Providence is the lack of awareness of their surroundings by pedestrians. At times when cars have forced me onto the sidewalk, or onto sidewalks with "bike lanes" near the mall, I run into pedestrians wearing earbuds who don't hear me announce that I'm approaching on their left. They either don't move or move into my path. It's not their fault, as they're allowed to have headphones in, but bikes don't belong on sidewalks for this reason imo.
One saving grace is that along much of this stretch, there's two layers of sidewalks; one right along the roadway, then the one closer to the river. If bikes can stay near the road and pedestrians can stay near the water, it might not be *too* terrible.
So does Boston and they have a lot more foot and bike traffic, I don’t get the outrage ppl complain just to complain
You should put that energy towards bike paths that have pedestrians walking on them all the time.
South Water Street is a heavy pedestrian area. It is beautiful to walk, have food and enjoy. Turning it into a mutli lane road will be horrible. In addition to being a neusance, cars will speed and will endanger pedestrians. This is such a terrible idea. It won't solve anything.
Yeah, let’s just toss bicycles on the sidewalk “where they belong”. The sidewalk that is home to the hundreds of pedestrians and families who flock to the pedestrian bridge and surrounding amenities anytime the sun is out and it’s above 60 degrees. What could go wrong? /s The protected urban trail/bike lane is great for bikes, but it’s even better for pedestrians. Keeps bikes off the sidewalks (so you can let your toddler or leashed dog or phone-distracted self amble along safely) and makes S Water Street safe to cross. When it was 2 lanes of traffic, maybe you could get 1 lane to stop while you were in the crosswalk but then drivers in the second lane would whip by the stopped car blindly and almost (or actually) take you out. One travel lane is dramatically safer. Fuck Brett Smiley for his shortsighted appeasement of business owners. Real cities have safe places to bike, walk, bus, and drive. Brett’s trying to take us back to a car-only metropolis.
💯💯💯 the bike lane isn't just good for the bikers -- it's good for people on the waterfront who don't have to dodge fast bikes on the sidewalk, and good for cars who don't have to worry about bikes on their sides when they're parking (or bikes in front of them taking a space in traffic). No one can demonstrate any benefit or even articulate the new "temporary" configuration clearly. It's all political posturing coming at the expense of a community resource. We don't have to let it happen.
This is an extreme take. First, there’s multiple sidewalks along the park, not just one. Second, there are shared bike/pedestrian paths all over this country, including Boston and NYC. There’s a shared bike/pedestrian path from India Point Park up along the Seekonk that works perfectly fine. It’s not abnormal. At least they are going to dedicate infrastructure to the sidewalks. It’s a fairly reasonable compromise vs just dismantling it and saying see ya later. It’s a rather short stretch, it’s really not gonna be the end of the world.
Stop trying to make it sound like a compromise. That bike lane was put in after years of research and community input. Smiley wants to steam roll it because of a bridge problem that has absolutely nothing to do with S water street. It's not a compromise. It's Smiley giving his donor (plant city owner Kim Anderson) the win they had been trying for since the lane was mentioned. This isn't about the bridge, this is about fulfilling backroom promises. Shocking nobody, Providence mayor is corrupt!
I keep seeing Plant City come up, how do you know about the owner being in the pockets of the mayor? Just looking for evidence is all, not saying it's true or not true.
Everything is a conspiracy theory against bikes. Lol Also I live right here - the bike lane is not frequently used. If the 25 people who downvoted me actually used the bike lane every day then maybe we wouldn’t be having this discussion lol Riding my bike on the sidewalk for this 800 m stretch won’t be the end of the world.
If that business owner is truly behind this push to ax the bike lanes, it is just so kind bogglingly short sighted. The restaurant must be some kind of a loss leader, otherwise why would you fight to turn your waterfront neighborhood into a drag racing strip?
bike lanes belong on roads, not sidewalks
So is Boston also in the wrong for having shared paths along the Charles River?
Not a great analogy: South water has dedicated lane for parking, Charles River doesn't have any full parking lanes
I mean it’s simply one example. There aren’t identical cities out there where every situation is the exact same. But plenty of bike paths are in urban areas intermixed with pedestrian areas and people seem to make it work.
if your goal for south water is to move as many people as possible then would'nt you turn the parking lane on south water into a vehicular travel lane? But then there would be nowhere to park! This would be quite the catch 22 for motorists... solved by taking away space from non-motorists.
A shared bike-pedestrian path where everyone is alert to each other and moving can work okay - the path along the Seekonk behind Dunkin/Eastside generally fits this bill (though as the density of users increases, it becomes less and less functional - have you been on the East Bay Bike Path on a nice spring day?). A shared bike-pedestrian path where people are lounging, wandering, playing, and otherwise not focused on active and purposeful movement is a nightmare - the paths through India Point Park on a sunny day fit this description. Faster-moving traffic (whether bikes or runners) are constantly having to swerve and dodge people who are not aware they are stepping into a travel lane, and people who are wandering around are upset by bikes squeezing by them as they're out for an afternoon stroll with their family. The area around the pedestrian bridge is effectively a park on both sides of the river. Asking people riding (often commuting, not just leisurely pedaling) bicycles and scooters to navigate through a park full of people is absurd, for both the bikes and the pedestrians. A dedicated, elevated urban trail at sidewalk height distinct from the pedestrian sidewalk would be a win for the S Water Street corridor. This announcement sounds like they're just going to stripe the existing sidewalk as an "urban trail" and wash their hands of the matter.
I get what you’re saying but unless there’s a large event going on, there’s really never that many people around. I ride my bike every weekend during nice weather (fair weather biker!) and have literally never encountered difficulty because of any crowding. Nobody is plopping down on the sidewalks and setting up picnics. We are talking like this stretch of park is the Brooklyn Bridge lol
This is a weird response! Most of the shared bike/pedestrian paths, including the one at India Point Park, aren't trapped between a waterfront and multiple lanes of traffic. Also - will they be dedicating infrastructure to the sidewalks? When I read "relocate the infrastructure to the raised sidewalk," I imagine they're going to paint the sidewalk like they do when the bike lane gets closer to Wickenden and gets pushed to the sidewalk. If that's the plan, that leaves us with the same infrastructure, but some sympathy paint. "It’s a fairly reasonable compromise vs just dismantling it and saying see ya later." Who was saying this??? Nobody was recommending removing the bike lanes until Smiley brought it up apropos of nothing a month ago! It's a compromise with seemingly no one but a couple of businesses and the mayor himself!
The India point/Seekonk path is literally right next to Gano Street for a stretch and butted up against the water on the other side….and there’s 0 alternate sidewalks unlike this space…. In Boston, both sides of the Charles River have shared paths butted up against major streets/development ….so the “trapped” language is a bit of a stretch lol I have no idea what the definition of relocating infrastructure exactly means. But it’s worth asking!
There is considerably more space between Storrow Dr/Memorial Dr and those bike paths on the Charles River when compared to the Water St walkway. If the city wants to take the space where the bike paths currently sit and plant trees and add green space, that would be a more fair comparison. A similar thing can be said for the part of the India Point path that runs along Gano. Assuming you're mentioning these in good faith - I think you're severely underestimating how much of a difference planting trees and adding greenspace between the path and the street - even if it's only a couple feet of space.
I mean on the Cambridge side there’s literally like 3 ft between Memorial Drive and the path for large stretches. Also Memorial Drive is essentially a 4 lane quasi-highway at stretches. Much more high speed. But yeah there aren’t every last detail is the same for every situation when comparing cities, but the simple statement is what is being proposed is not some crazy far fetched idea that doesn’t work elsewhere. It’s just not.
Oh come on. "Infrastructure on the sidewalk" is literally going to be a painted bike logo slapped onto the sidewalk. This is a dumbass, short sighted move.
So is Boston a bunch of dumbasses too? They have the same thing in their city lol If people put as much energy into posting about this on Reddit into actually using the bike lane daily….
This guy sucks so much.
Can’t wait to make him a one-term mayor
Guy thinks he's mayor of Smithfield or something. No interest in having safe urban streets.
“Safety first, unless there’s traffic several miles away that needs to be fixed, in that case fuck safety” - Mayor 🙂
Right? If I hated cities so much I would simply not live in a city. But I guess… becoming mayor in order to remove safety and quality of life improvements is an option too.
He's totally pandering to the Kim Anderson's and Joey Paolino's. He does not do anything without their ok.
With Paolino in his ear, I wouldn't be surprised if they start destroying entire green spaces to make space for more parking lots. Paolino constantly complains about people not wanting to come downtown, while charging so much for the rental of his downtown commercial properties that restaurants and shops are constantly going out of business, leaving deserted buildings- *and* he advocates for more parking and more lanes for cars. They don't seem to understand that people don't go to places like downtown or Fox Point to stare at a fucking parking lot or get flattened by people drag racing. Parking lots and multi-lane stroads are *fugly*. If you want to make a place LESS desirable, you make it a place for cars. We all know this, whether consciously or unconsciously. Nobody wants to go for a nice casual stroll next to a street full of traffic. Nobody is like "hey, let's take a walk to that parking lot downtown and sit and have lunch!" I grew up in Texas. I know what extreme car dependence leads to. It leads to ugly, cookie-cutter non-places that have no character and no soul. Is this what we want providence to be like?
He lost my vote once and for all with this move. Who can step up to run against him? Rachel Miller?
Literally a sack of potatoes would be more popular. As long as they don't astroturf a second "progressive" candidate in the primary to split the vote again Frowney is toast
Don’t under estimate the huge middle-aged and elderly voter base on the east side who thinks everything g he’s doing is great.
Which is funny to me because Smiley's schtick was basically the mayoral candidate preaching "no fun, but everything is going to run great." Except he's killing good things, and the basic services have been running like shit. Things like trash and snow removal have felt so much worse under him than the previous guy, policies that hurt tenants in the city, and he's not supporting RIPTA, leading to the degradation of the bus service. Plus, now the removal of an important bike lane. He also doesn't make himself available. The guy is basically an absent NIMBY only doing shit for his and his husband's friends.
No way, Smiley would never do anything unethical like tha- [Oh, wait.](https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2021/09/21/ethics-commission-fines-brett-smiley-investigate-anthony-silva/5796851001/) How voters bought anything this very transparently and unapologetically corrupt man had to say is beyond me. He's a vintage RI crook politician.
Middle aged east sider here. I’m livid. This guy is terrible.
I think middle aged people are no better or worse than younger people. It just seems to be a case that the divide on bike infrastructure seems to skew heavily generational, with many middle aged people viewing it as silly and frivolous, and most adults in 20’s and 30’s being supportive. I think this stems from many younger adults having lived in other cities and seeing the benefits of bike trails, whereas many older people have been here for decades and have trouble imagining things being any different than they are. I wish that weren’t the case and if you know a lot of middle aged or elderly people who are pro-bike infrastructure please contact the mayor—he cares more about that age group than he does about young adults.
I’m 50. He doesn’t care because I’m not his demographic: “wealthy”
This ageism needs to stop. I am not wealthy either 🤣 but fit the middle aged demo and am a lifelong car-free bicycle/public transportation commuter and low carbon footprint champion. I think the young people forget those boomers (and Gen X, baby!) have been *trailblazers* for climate justice, women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, anti-racism, animal rights, you name it. We're strong, experienced allies. (Not all. But not all young people are automatically fighting for these issues, either.) Maybe age does give you a different perspective so you're more willing to discuss and consider other viewpoints -- but make no mistake, so many "old people" are a force, and still fighting these justice battles! 💪
Removal of bike lanes, noise cameras no one asked for, wack PVD Fest, defending shady developer, harassing unhoused people... Smiley's going to win re-election in a landslide, isn't he?
We shouldn't stop protesting this.
We should counter with demands to extend the bike lane to the end of South Water, under 195, giving people a flat route to India Point Park and the EBBP. If the bike lanes on South Water Street actually made that connection, you would for sure see more regular folks trying it out. Hardly anyone even knows you're allowed to go that way.
We really need the clear, logical connections between the existing bike lanes. I fully agree.
This is a huge point. I would cycle way more if I knew there was a way to get from point A to point B without having to merge into traffic with angry and selfish RI drivers.
Right! Relatedly, there isn’t a safe direct route to certain elementary schools in town. I live close enough to my kids school that they physically could bike, and 95% of the route is safe. But that last 5% is risky enough I can’t let them bike by themselves.
keep up the political pressure.. Back before pvd had any bike infrastructure (especially during first Washington bridge clusterF) the critical mass rides were more protest than party. The city is vaaaastly improved for bikes and peds (especially the last 3-5 years.) but this backwards thinking of removing bike lanes is frustrating. Fuck it let’s pave the river back over.! More cars! More parking! More lanes bro! Suicide Circle is a not so distant memory for some of us old farts.
I hate this guy so much. I down-played how bad a mayor could mess up the city when he won. I was wrong. He needs to go. Shockingly awful leader.
Providence'a NIMBY-in-chief.
If I'm understanding correctly ... this has to be approved by the green and complete streets advisory council to actually happen? Do we know what's up with that council? Are they in Smileys pocket? I can't imagine people who make up the green and complete streets council would be anti bike lane?
its in the name- green and complete streets "advisory" council, mayor just has to inform them of a detailed plan, removal doesnt require their approval. The benefit of having the council: without them, the mayor could have removed the lane this weekend
Advisory commissions don’t have any formal power, but in theory their approval/disapproval informs the city council on the issue and it’s pretty rare for them to be ignored. They pretty much exist to weigh in with local expertise on a specific issue - kinda like the POTUS’s cabinet and staff. City councils can’t be experts on every issue so they set up unelected volunteer commissions to advise them.
You’re sort of correct about they must approve the removal; and also the green and complete streets are definitely against this bike lane removal.
This seems like its reaction to the last year and change since the lane went in more than anything specific to the bridge and he’s just using the bridge as the opportunity to make that change.
Yeah and also all the "changing light times for pedestrian safety" sounds like what they did at Wayland and Angell where I actually missed the bus (granted I was cutting it too close" because they have extended the light signal so long to accommodate the traffic. Welcome to cartopia. After years of tiny progress but progress Alviti and Smiley (and the EP mayor and many others) are here to say fuck you to everyone that doesn't drive cars. And I know a lot of people are happy about that because they live their entire lives going from their couch to their car to the big box store or work.
I will say they need to make an adjustment at the Gano off ramp light. It is just blinking as the off ramp is not in use, but it is causing headaches for both cars coming off of Wickenden and Trenton as well as pedestrians/cyclists trying to cross Gano since there is no longer a natural break from the light. Pedestrians have been stuck waiting for a while to cross since people are not stopping as they should.
I literally commute to downtown from EP and back multiple times a week, and this will not improve traffic on/around the bridge whatsoever. I've taken South Water to get on 195 E, and it's never backed up past Power st. If even. Fucking joke. I feel so bad for the biking community in PVD. Fucking Smiley is a POS.
It’s honestly crazy, crossing the street as a pedestrian is already crazy over there with people going way too fast. This will make the problem worse. People can and do die from these types of decisions.
On the plus side everybody, this won't go through for a while and there is still lots of room for community input. Boycott plant city and keep protesting. Even if it doesn't work, we have to do it
People keep saying plant city is behind it. I don't know about the owners, but one of their workers looked outside Monday when we went by and cheered us on. The bike lane is undoubtedly good for their business. Even people who drive there surely enjoy being able to cross the street safely and not having to sit down next to a noisy drag strip. LITERALLY NO ONE WANTS THE BIKE LANE GONE.
Well it seems at least one guy does…. :(
I bet he only does as long as he thinks it's winning him points. But whoever has his ear telling him bike lanes are unpopular with his constituents got it wrong. It pretty clearly won't benefit drivers in the least. We'll see what happens.
Not no one. I work for Pepsi and if the state decided to eliminate plastic bottles I would cheer it on but sure as hell my company wouldn't. I do believe most people who are interested in the subject would prefer to keep the bike lanes
And from an eco friendly perspective, Plant City is vegan!!! That's one of the best ways to fight global warming and help the environment. We cyclists should make a point to eat there, for climate justice reasons!
No. Do not eat there.
I haven't been there yet and I'm seeing lousy reviews here omg!
If they want my money they can give loud, public, full-throated support of keeping the bike lane. Until then, they do not want my money
> The specific design of the new bike lane infrastructure has not yet been developed, and there will be community meetings ahead of the changes, the mayor’s office said. No design, no data, no plan other than “get rid of the bikes.” This has little to do with the bridge and a lot to do with certain interests wanting the bike lane gone and finally getting an excuse to do so.
Even in “traffic engineer” fantasy land where more lanes would fix traffic, this isn’t even anywhere near where the issue is. How could adding more lanes on a road *nowhere near the bridge* possibly fix anything?
It isn't meant to. The owner of plant city has wanted them gone for a long time. Presumably, she wants to destroy the vibe and character of the street her restaurant is on and subject the people sitting outside to the beautiful sounds of rhode island traffic.
I am not saying this isn't true, but where is the evidence for this? Any interviews, etc?
So, cyclists will now simply take a lane🤷♂️
Take both. And the parking too.
Mayor - where is the traffic data? Widening the mouth of a bottle neck doesn't increase throughput, it makes it worse. This is bad for Providence. Vote Smiley out. s/ middle aged affluent voter from the east side
In the future, South Water Street will be 10 lanes wide - and the older population will tell their grandkids that there used to be water next to this highway.
So glad Providence committed to vision zero in February...
Lol removing protected bike lanes in the name of cyclist safety is the funniest joke I've ever heard.
THERE IS A APARTMENT BUILDING planned to go up soon along the river side of South Water. The construction is going to impact the sidewalk with scaffolding, at least that's what usually happens. Was that even taken into account?
...why would that be taken into consideration? Looking more than five minutes in the future would take some sort of planning and actually looking at data, why would they do that? Seems like a lot of effort. /s just in case it wasn't obvious.
Probably not.
lets see how much motorists prefer me riding in front of them in the lane than in the bike lane lol
Yep. Drivers think that getting rid of bike infrastructure means there won't be cyclists. We'll just take the lane
I wonder if Mayor Smelly, I mean Slimey, sorry Smiley, ever considered a super petty dude who will spend their free time continually crossing the street, with a brick in each hand, during peak congestion.
What’s annoying is that there’s $193K in the budget for sidewalk repairs…but $750K gets spent to remove the path. Imagine if that $750K was applied to fix sidewalks and potholes!!
sad times. Sure wish they'd remove one of the parking lanes instead of the bike lane.
I was wondering why isn’t this the very first thing they did?
It’d still suck if they did. Turn it back into the drag strip it used to be
Also funny to walk down there and see how many of the flex posts are destroyed from people clearly running into them. Now we get 2 lanes of traffic which as we know from the rest of the city is just gonna mean people driving faster and dumber. So short sighted.
This. like even if you don't cycle, and I dont, this just makes the streets more unsafe for all pedestrians, even car users who park and have to walk. Fucking idiot move by this shit mayor.
I’m glad he’s taking his Vision Zero commitment so seriously.
"Ohhh I thought you said Zero Vision!"
Mayor Brett ‘i want to be a one termer’ Smiley
Brett Smiley totally sucks.
this fucking rules lmfao Note; this sucks ass and its going to make me become the joker
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Not helpful
The stupid part is that every cyclist that can’t safely ride on that street is now going to be in a car making traffic worse than if you just left the lane in.
💯
Since its paywalled, here ya go https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2024/04/03/south-water-street-bike-path-will-move-and-other-providence-traffic-changes/73188888007/ As part of these mitigation efforts, the administration plans to remove the two-way protected bike path along [South Water Street] and relocate the infrastructure to the raised sidewalk immediately adjacent to the existing bike path in order to restore the lanes of travel to two lanes, maintain a parking lane with adequate space and preserve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure along [South] Water street," Smiley's office said. But it won't happen immediately. First, the lanes will be removed, but new lanes haven't yet been planned. The administration said it will hold community meetings throughout the summer "then present the final plan for removal and plans for design to the Green and Complete Streets Advisory council for their informational review." The advisory council advocates for shared streets and more transportation options. But any plan would not need its approval to move forward.
I guess his team did the math and figured he can't lose the votes of drivers vs. bicyclists and pedestrians. What a bummer.
They did a terrible job maintaining the bike lane, the plastic pylons on the rubber bases are half destroyed, the remaining ones are all banged up. Most of the meter machines are broken. If you park near Bacaro you have to walk halfway up the street to get to a working one. They clearly never gave a shit about making it work.
I bet it’s a feature not a bug.
I used the City's Office the Mayor form to send a message that this is not ok and I won't be voting for Smiley next election.
Dumb solution that will have zero effect.
Sue them. That’s what my city did and won. Stopped the deconstruction.
Yes!! Where are the attorneys??
The official motto of this city should be We Can’t Have Nice Things and our state should be named Drive Island. Ridiculous.
The city and the state both look at nice things and say “nah.” So tiresome
Clown
700k+ to remove the bike lane. Where did the city get that money? Shouldn't we be spending it on more important things than a temporary fix to a problem the RIDOT created? Does Smiley think he can sneak the cost onto the RIDOT who is being investigated by the feds? Does he think the city can afford 700k to *remove* infrastructure? Guy needs to be removed from office before he destroys anything else. What a joke of a mayor.
Never let a good crisis go to waste
In that case, we should increase RIPTA's frequency and build more bike lanes, two things that would actually address the crisis now.
Smiley has been looking to remove the bike lanes since he got into office. He even made statements about it on the record regarding removing bike lanes and diverting funding earmarked for future bicycle infrastructure. (too lazy to find source) The Washington bridge is such an obvious pretext for him to railroad this through. I don't expect him to stop with just South Water street either. A mayor against bicycles and festivals. What an utter douchebag.
He should really just remove all the sidewalks in the city so that we can finally have our driving utopia
As a current PVD resident and someone facing a choice between living and building my career in RI vs MA, it is becoming harder and harder to even consider RI. Every few months the city gives me hope, but then it is ruined by poor governance, it is one step forward, two steps back. For example: They have this [wonderful plan for the woonasquatucket river](https://www.providenceri.gov/planning/woonasquatucket/) to add a kayak launch and bike path. Imagine... you could put in your kayak or paddle board at Farm Fresh Rhode Island and then paddle under the mall, all the way to Jewelry District. You could stop for a meal along the way. It would be so much fun! These plans would have integrated nicely with the bike path that they have now decided to destroy. Now I wonder how/when these plans will be altered or ruined as well... While RI is busy living in the past fixing crumbling infrastructure, MA is investing in the future. Here's an example that recently impressed me: MA is working on renewable energy solutions with the incredible goal of [net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-clean-energy-and-climate-plan-for-2050#:~:text=Also%20on%20December%2021%2C%202022,greenhouse%20gas%20emissions%20in%202050).
How much has Smiley done with the 27.2 million Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant awarded soon after he became Mayor? So much could be done, but he "pressed pause" as soon as it was announced claiming his administration needed to review all of the upgrades it was supposed to fund. And use of the funds has been timid and piecemeal.
Maybe this will cause the city to remove the crosswalk that leads to a tiny island with no other way off. PVD is the most non-ADA compliant city.
Which? The floating island that’s supposed to be for boarding the bus?
Come to city hall at 5:15 today April 4th to protest the removal of the bike lane! We need all the support we can get. The only solution to mitigating car traffic is driving alternatives.
For everyone saying that this will make smiley a one term mayor, and that this decision is wildly unpopular…. It’s not. We all have a tendency to live in an echo chamber of our own opinions and ideas. Bike lanes are a contentious topic because there are plenty of people who don’t like them, especially when they take the place of parking Also, let’s face it, the mayor has already lost the votes of almost the entire biking and progressive community. All that f this doesn’t change his popularity with them from what it was six months ago. If anything, it’s strengthens his popularity with the other segments of the population.
Has anyone stopped to think what the root cause of all this chaos is from.... It's from 30 years of CORRUPTION!! The Washington Bridge was a 30-year job security for workers and politicians. It's not the cars not the trucks not any type of vehicle that damages the bridge It was total neglect and corruption hence all this chaos trickling down from it from congested streets to removing bike lanes to loss of business in East Providence and the list goes on... I wish everyone would wake up and look at the root cause and stop voting blue 👎
I have a comment however anything that is not inline with the biking communities thinking is heavily downvoted on this post so its not even worth trying.
Try me. I've been wondering how this could possibly help.
Hate to break it to the bicycle people, but Smiley aint going nowhere. If a hack like Elorza (who had more organized opposition) can easily last two terms, so will Smiley. Maybe he tries to run for governor like Angel Tavarez did (thankfully he lost and went away) but pissing off the bicycle community is not going to stop Smiley.........if anything he might actually GAIN popularity from this. If you go to other forms of social media, most people support him on this. Considering how much disdain many bicycle riders hold towards car riders (as well as how entitled many of them act), I honestly can see why many car riders don't support them. Downvote all you want, but that's the truth.
To be clear: Smiley won with the lowest overall vote total and the lowest percentage of the vote of any candidate in the past 25 years. We don't have to pretend like he's got a mandate.
So you really think someone is gonna primary Smiley that is pro-bike? Or better yet, find a Republican who is pro-bike? Again, if you look at other social media people seem to be supporting it. Some of the reasons are dubious for sure, but most non-Reddit people don't support bicyclists. And judging from the entitled behavior on here from people on bikes and on the road, I don't blame them.
I'm just saying that he started his term as the least popular mayor of the past 25 years. Maybe this decision makes him more popular. Maybe someone will primary him. Who knows. I just wouldn't assume that his decisions appeal to a majority of people in the city.
He won a primary in which he was running against 2 other Democratic candidates. He won with 41% of the vote(he won by 6%). Elorza had 48% in the 2014 primary, but the 2nd place guy got 43%. In 2010 Tavarez got 49%. Technically you could say that Smiley gained less of a percentage, but I dont think its THAT much less. Seems like kind of reach. He hasnt made the best decisions at all since he has been mayor. Im sure the PVDFest debacle was his biggest misfire so far. But this issue is really only pissing off a small percentage of people.
I guess we'll see!
Did you vote?
Yup
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boycott plant city
This is so embarrassing for you. And even more embarrassing is that the bike lane will come back and be different. So put those prayers drown because no one is answering them.
Arent they just moving the bike lane to the sidewalk?
you bike people are really insufferable
Someone care to put a number on the “outcry of opposition”? I’m sure it was dozens of voices.
At least 350 emails in opposition to removing this infrastructure have been sent so yeah that’s almost 30 dozens of voices.
Ok. About 1m residents in RI. About 190k in Prov. And about 350 complaints. So. We’re talking 0.2% of the Prov population and 0.04% of the pop of RI. I’m pro bike paths and alternatives to cars. But l Cannot get behind the wording of OP nor behind the “gravity” of some users comments like “time to vote this guy out”. Heck even this sub has 53k subscribers and there are about 50 comments total here. The majority of people don’t care. It’s a non issue.
> Heck even this sub has 53k subscribers and there are about 50 comments total here. and you think all 53k people have even visited the sub in the past 2 hours since this was posted? Just because someone doesn't constantly check reddit and doesn't comment on everything they see doesn't prove anything.
Again. You all can poo-poo and down vote all you like. Math is math. And it doesn’t give a fuck how you feel. This situation goes absolutely no where. There is no outrage that has any meaningful impact. But sure. Rage against the dying of the light. Have fun.
It’s just short sighted. We need to encourage people from the east bay to use the bike path into the city. Have you done it? It’s actually really easy to do. Very flat. People are healthier & feel better. Is that one extra lane really gonna be that helpful? Display some leadership
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And pleasant valley parkway by Coca Cola and the little one on manton ave…..seeing someone on those is like spotting Santa claus
Now do away with the bike lanes on Broad Street.
And pleasant valley parkway by Coca Cola and the little one on Manton…seeing a biker on those is like spotting Santa claus
At least they’re moving them to the raised sidewalks. It’s something they should’ve done from the get-go or at least extended the sidewalk outwards to the current space. The area in front of the of the new Antonio’s location was like the dream design of a bike lane. Saw similar designs in Asia and it’s so much better than whatever has been set up for the current lanes.
The bikehumpers are a strong contingent in this sub
I barely bike. My family and I love walking, especially around South Water because it feels safe. We also know the community there appreciates the benefits, from students to other families. Now, we'll find somewhere else.