Public Street Waterfront Access Project

In 2021, after years of public advocacy, Public Street, between Allens Avenue and the Providence River, was designated a public right of way by the State’s Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC). This designation, which guarantees access to the waterfront in perpetuity, is important since South Providence and Washington Park residents’ access to the waterfront is severely limited by I-95 and the Port of Providence.

 

 

Project History

In 2015, Public Street was identified in the City of Providence  Harbor Management Plan (HMP)  as a potential waterfront access point by the Coastal and Resources Management Council (CRMC) and the Providence Harbor Management Commission. From 2016-2020, ensuring public access at Public Street was an important goal for residents from port adjacent neighborhoods, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), and the City’s Planning and Sustainability Departments. In 2021, Public Street was officially designated a CRMC Public Right-Of-Way. The designation codified community access to the Providence River waterfront, but the deteriorated condition of the site continues to limit its ability to provide meaningful access and enjoyment.

Project Engagement

Later in 2021, the City contracted with Fatema Maswood, a local landscape designer to facilitate community engagement for the Public Street waterfront access site. This was followed by a site analysis and preliminary conceptualization with the goal of improving the waterfront space to be a more accessible, inclusive, safe, sustainable, and well-connected area. In 2022, Maswood, created a report that included a preliminary site analysis, a distillation of community engagement conducted at Public Street, and a set of design recommendations to facilitate safe and joyful waterfront access at the Public Street right-of-way.  The report’s envisioned a public space that honors the land and surrounding community and becomes one of many ecologically-rich access points to the Providence River. Read the report here.

Project Design

In 2022,  CIVIC, Inc.  is contracted by the Department of Sustainability for design and engineering services at Public Street. Building on the work of the earlier report, CIVIC, Inc. developed a more detailed site analysis to identify existing conditions, uses, and context including history, geography, landmarks, accessibility, culture, coastal flows, abutting operations, and pollutants, and to begin to understand opportunities and challenges associated with the site. Read the analysis here.

From October 2022 to February 2023, the Sustainability Department, in partnership with CIVIC, Inc. and CBOs conducted a series of stakeholder meetings and community workshops. We met with abutting property and business owners, regulatory agencies, local academic institutions, community organizations, partners, and residents with the goal of understanding how the site is currently used and developing a shared vision for the site’s future.

 

 

Based on this engagement, Civic, Inc. developed a schematic plan that provided safe and meaningful access to the waterfront, green stormwater infrastructure, and shade trees and other vegetation, while accommodating the operational needs of neighboring property owners and businesses.

With this design in hand, the Sustainability Department secured multiple Federal and State grants and the City dedicated local funds, enabling the City to hire an engineering firm – Fuss & O’Neill – to fully design and engineer the plans.

 

Current Activity and Updates

Permitting: 

The Sustainability Department submitted an application and supporting documents to CRMC and RIDEM in April and May for review and approval. RIDEM approved their portion of the project on September 29, 2026, paving the way for CRMC to conduct its review of the application. You can view the plans on CRMC’s website.

After securing the required permits and approvals, the Department will go out to bid for a construction contractor with a goal of constructing the project in late winter and spring 2027.

Infrastructure Issues:

The Sustainability Department is also working on resolving a separate infrastructure issue at the Public Street right of way. A stormwater pipe that travels the length of the project area to an outfall at the Providence River sporadically discharges an oily sheen into the river. The Department is working to clean out sediment from the stormwater pipe so that it can be videoed. This will allow RIDEM to review the interior of the pipe and determine if the oil is infiltrating the pipe within the project area. The Department issued an RFP for a contractor to conduct this work and is working through the bid-review and approval process. The Department aims to award a vendor in mid-October and to conduct the cleaning in November 2026.

Check out our Public Street Waterfront Access Project GIS story map here!