The Providence Great Streets Initiative is based on one guiding principle: that every street in Providence should be safe, clean, healthy, inclusive, and vibrant. Our streets are our largest public asset, covering over 13% of Providence’s total land area (over 1,500 acres), and play a central part in shaping our neighborhoods and impact that the way we live, work, play, and move around our city.
Learn more about Great Streets by reading the Great Streets Master Plan available here.
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Great Streets Updates: Several Great Streets improvement projects are either recently complete or in process for construction this year, including:
- Creation of a new Urban Trail segment along San Souci Drive behind Olneyville Square as part of the Woonasquatucket Greenway (COMPLETE);
- Creation of a new Urban Trail segment adjacent to Gano Street in Fox Point, connecting the Blackstone Bike Path to India Point Park and the East Bay Bike Path; (COMPLETE)
- Creation of a new Urban Trail segment along Clifford Street in Downtown (COMPLETE);
- New bike lanes on Pine and Friendship streets in Upper South Providence (COMPLETE);
- Urban Trail improvements in Downtown including new segments on Empire, Chestnut, South Water, and Richmond streets (CONSTRUCTION STARTING AUGUST 2021);
- Presentation to South Water St abutting businesses in August 2021 here.
- Creation of a new Urban Trail segment along Manton Avenue between San Souci Drive and Aleppo Street (CONSTRUCTION STARTING AUGUST 2021);
- Upgrade of the existing bike lanes on Broadway to a two-way Urban Trail (IN DESIGN);
- Creation of a new Urban Trail segment along Mt Pleasant Avenue (IN DESIGN);
- Creation of a new Urban Trail segment along Dean Street between Kinsley Avenue and Smith Street (IN DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION ANTICIPATED IN 2021-22);
- Creation of a new Urban Trail segment along Broad Street between Hawthorne Avenue and Hayward Street (IN DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION ANTICIPATED IN 2021-22);
- Creation of neighborhood greenways along (CONSTRUCTION STARTING JULY 2021):
- Aleppo St from Manton Ave to Riverside Park
- Delaine Street from Manton Ave to Harris Ave
- Tuxedo Avenue and Amherst Street from Atwells Ave to Valley St/Donigian Park Bikeway
- Sonoma Court from Donigian Park Bikeway to Delaine St
- Oxford Street and Ontario Street from Elmwood Ave to Allens Ave
- Sackett Street from Elmwood Ave to Broad St
- Farragut Avenue and Vermont Avenue from RWP/Greene Memorial Blvd to Michigan Ave
- Peace Street and Waverly Street from Prairie Ave to Service Road 1
- Knight Street from Atwells to Washington
- Washington from Knight to Winter
- Winter from Washington to Westminster/Fricker
Neighborhood meetings about Great Streets projects:
- June 17, 2021 at 6:00 pm: Lower Manton Ave Road Safety Improvement Pre-Construction Information Session held virtually. View recording here. Q&A will be posted soon.
- June 17, 2021 at 5:00 pm: Downtown Road Safety Improvement Pre-Construction Information Session held virtually. View recording here. Q&A will be posted soon.
- June 10, 2021 at 6:00 pm: Neighborhood Greenways Pre-Construction Information Session held virtually. View recording here. Q&A will be posted soon.
- November 16, 2020: Broad Street Safety Improvements Public Meeting held virtually. View the event flyer in English here, and in Spanish, here.
- August 25, 2020: Neighborhood greenways public information session (Vermont Ave, Farragut Ave, Sackett St, Oxford St, Ontario St, Peace St, Waverly St, Lockwood Ave, Fricker St, Winter St, Washington St, Knight St, Tuxedo Ave, Amherst St, Delaine St, Sonoma Ct, Aleppo St) held virtually
- March 3, 2020: Smith Hill & Wanskuck improvements (Douglas Ave & Upper Dean Street) at Brooklyn Coffee Tea and Guest House
- February 25, 2020: Downtown improvements (Empire, Chestnut, Richmond, and Fountain streets) at 444 Westminster Street
- February 11, 2020: Federal Hill improvements (Broadway, Knight St, Washington St, Winter St) at West Broadway Middle School
- February 4, 2020: Olneyville improvements (Aleppo St, Lower Manton Ave, Delaine St, Sonoma Ct) at D’Abate Elementary School
Great Streets Documents
- Q + A from Neighborhood greenways presentation
- Neighborhood greenways presentation from August 25, 2020
- Schedule of neighborhood meetings in March 2019
- Neighborhood meeting presentation in English and in Spanish
- Final Great Streets Plan
- Presentation from June 12 public presentation
- More documents will be available here as they become available
Community Engagement for Great Streets
Throughout the planning process for Great Streets, the Department of Planning and Development created a public engagement strategy that prioritized the voice of community members who utilize our streets in their everyday lives.
Over the course of several months, the City hosted a series of neighborhood meetings to gather input on the Providence Great Streets Initiative, during which more than 275 comments were collected from more than 180 attendees about topics ranging from traffic calming to street lighting to bike lanes. Comments and ideas gathered at the neighborhood meetings were then translated into draft recommendations for project. Read more, here.
Contact Us
Alex Ellis, Principal Planner
401-680-8522
Facebook: @ProvPlanning
Twitter: @ProvPlanning
Stay tuned for additional information!
Whenever possible, the City brings the planning process to existing community gathering places. This includes attending standing community meetings, tabling at special events, and canvassing out in the neighborhood. If you are interested in having City staff or our Street Ambassadors conduct outreach at your event, please contact Alex Ellis at 401-680-8522 or
