Planning & Development
Fung On Board With Transit Oriented Development
Cranston Mayor Allan Fung was recently selected to attend the Northeast Session of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design. The two and a half day seminar was an opportunity for mayors to present urban development challenges to teams of city planning and design professionals. After each presentation, mayors and designers identified key issues, offered advice, and discussed potential solutions.
“It was extremely positive,” Fung reported. “It was a great opportunity for the city to get some free advice from nationally renowned architects and urban planners.”
Fung, with the help of city planning director Peter Lapolla, chose to present the Wellington Avenue transit oriented development (TOD) concept. The concept calls for a mixed-use development anchored by a commuter rail station in the vicinity of the Wellington Avenue-Elmwood Avenue industrial corridor. It’s an idea that has existed in one form or another since 2007. And passenger station has been a part of the Auburn landscape since the 1800s.
Fung said that another benefit of vetting the TOD idea to the Institute was the feedback from other mayors with similar projects. Like any big project, this one has plenty of hurdles. “The biggest might be to secure an MBTA commuter rail stop,” noted Fung. Jef Nickerson of Greater City: Providence outlined other reasons why adding stops to the MBTA commuter rail line could be problematic, and suggests that the state might have to look beyond the MBTA to meet its commuter rail needs.
With the right ingredients, a TOD can make a very positive impact on the city. A well designed, transit-oriented district can be an economic boon for a city. It can also reduce sprawl, protect existing neighborhoods, and improve the character of a city by encouraging more pedestrians and reducing traffic.
The selection of this project for the Institute makes it clear that the city can see its potential, and is serious about keeping the momentum going. As the TOD project moves ahead, I hope the process remains as transparent and as democratic as possible; open to all business interests.
[where: 02910]Comment
Wednesday May 12, 2010
Thee Euston-Fairweather Registry of Hyper Links: Trashing the New Comp Plan Edition
This edition of the Registry offers a short collection of projects from Cranston’s ugly development front. All of these developments required numerous zoning variances and comp plan amendments, all of them are out of character with their respective locales, and all of them will benefit their developers at the expense of Cranston’s residents, its character, environmental well-being, and fiscal health.
moreMonday May 3, 2010
Losing the War on Drugstores
After about a 15 month flatline, it looks like the Cranston Recklessly Approved Project index (the city’s leading economic indicator), is on the rise again. We can all rejoice that developers are back at work – looking for ways to get variances and cut corners on the road to grabbing... more
Monday January 11, 2010
Skip the Bag, Save the River
On Tuesday, January 12 at 7pm, the City Planning Commission will consider the Stop & Shop proposal slated for the Warwick Nurseries property. One of the concessions that the neighborhood was looking for was a moratorium on plastic bags. It’s a great idea, and I have to admit I’m anti-disposable... more
Monday November 23, 2009
Fixing Rolfe Square: Pimp Your Storefront Edition
Ruth’s Lingerie storefront during a sale last year Things are starting to look up for Rolfe Square. Soon they will be looking fabulous. The Artists’ Exchange has teamed up with students from Rhode Island School of Design to redesign six storefronts. Artists’ Exchange Director Elaine McKenna-Yeaw says “the idea is to... more
Saturday October 24, 2009
The Park Cinema Reopens for a Sequel
At 5 PM last night, the Park Cinema officially re-opened as the Rhode Island Center for Performing Arts. Rolfe Square took on a completely different feeling when the theater was illuminated and pods of people spilled out onto the neighboring streets. It was especially striking to see the Park sign... more