Providence Mayor Brett Smiley today announced official plans to remove the bike lanes from South Water Street.
Smiley wants to add in an extra lane of vehicular traffic, which he says will help alleviate congestion in Fox Point following the closure of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge, and move the bike lane to the existing sidewalk adjacent to the current roadway. In total, the plan affects nearly a half-mile of protected bike lanes from roughly in front of the Laborer’s Union International building to Hemenway’s Restaurant.
“I understand the concerns and frustration our neighbors are experiencing, and I am committed to doing everything we can to ease the impact this is having on our city,” Smiley said in a press release.
The announcement comes after protests on Monday from members of the public and the pedestrian transit advocacy group PVD Streets Coalition, as well as weeks of pushback from ward council member John Goncalves, who plans to introduce legislation for the city council to formally oppose the bike lane removal.
At the start of 2023, the city had 7.41 miles of protected bike lanes.
In a text message statement, Goncalves said the mayor is not being rigorous enough in considering the removal of the bike lanes on South Water Street.
“There remain unanswered questions concerning the expenses involved, the financing sources, the detailed plan of action, and the absence of data to justify the removal of the bike lanes,” he wrote.
In the press release, Josh Estrella, a spokesperson for the mayor, said the mayor reached the decision after studying traffic patterns over the past few weeks. He also wrote that the city, along with RIDOT, has been changing traffic light times on certain streets across the East Side in order to improve the flow of traffic amid backups related to the Washington Bridge.
The city will hold a public comment period on the bike lane removal during Thursday evening’s city council meeting. Goncalves plans to introduce his resolution to oppose the bike lane removal at the same meeting. Council President Rachel Miller, and Councilors Sue AnderBois, Shelley Peterson, Justin Roias, Miguel Sanchez, and Ana Vargas are co-sponsoring Goncalves’ resolution.
During a stop in Providence last month at a groundbreaking ceremony for a protected bike lane in Olneyville, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg also warned the mayor about the safety implications of removing the protected bike lanes on the East Side.
“This isn’t just about recreation, though recreation matters economically and for quality of life, this is really about the safety, about getting around our communities,” he said.