Dear Neighbor,
Providence is home to diverse neighborhoods, a bustling downtown, college campuses, and so much more. Throughout our City, you’ll also find incredible parks and greenspaces maintained by our Parks Department.
Since 2015, our team has invested over $40 million to improve our parks. The Providence Parks Department has made significant improvements to most of our City’s 120 parks as part of my commitment to making Providence a vibrant, thriving community. We’ve averaged around 40 major park improvements a year since taking office and currently, the Parks team is working on 80 additional projects throughout the City.
Recently, we were thrilled to join the Roger Williams Park Conservancy, the Rhode Island Foundation, and other community partners to celebrate investments made in Roger Williams Park – a true gem of our City and entire State. Maintaining beautiful parks, playgrounds, and green spaces is essential to building inclusive, thriving communities and I’m proud to say that in addition to the contributions of our partners, the City has recently invested over $12 million in Roger Williams Park. Check out this video from our partners at the Roger Williams Park Conservancy highlighting some of our recent park improvements. Also, please take a moment to complete this survey to help us understand our community’s vision for the visitor space at the new Roger Williams Park Gateway, which we broke ground on this summer.
Additionally, we know our parks are only as great as our talented employees. I am excited to share that this past Sunday, our Deputy Parks Superintendent Brian Byrnes was named 2021 “Partner of the Year” by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, one of the organization’s most prestigious awards. Deputy Superintendent Byrnes was recognized for his work on the Providence Stormwater Innovation Center in Roger Williams Park. Our Parks Department works year-round to keep our parks and facilities in great condition for our residents and visitors to enjoy and this is just one example highlighting their contributions. To check out the awards ceremony, view the recording here.
As winter starts to approach, I hope you’ll enjoy this wonderful fall weather by getting outside and enjoying one of our City’s incredible parks. You can find the park nearest you by visiting our Parks Department website.
Sincerely,
Jorge O. Elorza