The Providential Gardener

RI Food Day Events ~ October 24, 2011

The RI Food Policy Council released its first RI Food Assessment report this morning at the State House in a standing-room-only presentation. The assessment is the topic of a two-hour public discussion later this afternoon. Come to this presentation of a statewide food assessment and share your ideas for making RI's food system stronger, sustainable, and more equitable. Help launch the RI Food Policy Council and add your voice to the movement!

• Community Presentation on RI Food Assessment, URI Providence - 4:00pm

Also today:

• Film: Urban Roots, Johnson & Wales Harborside Campus Providence - 7:00pm

See What Grows On in RI for other discussions of local food security in Newport and North Kingstown later in the week.

The RI Food Policy Council will create partnerships, develop policies, and advocate for improvements to the local food system that increase and expand its capacity, viability, and sustainability. Working groups will be formed in 2012 to carry out its mission.

What do You Think about What the 2010 Candidates for Governor Say about Rhode Island's Environment?

Let Your Voice Be Heard!

Comment on the Gubernatorial Candidates' Remarks about RI's Environment!

Rhode Island's environment is greatly impacted by political decisions and budget constraints, and of course with the economy in its present sluggish state and not enough revenue coming in, the priorities the next governor sets are of the utmost importance. Rhode Islanders who see that our environment is really at the heart of things ~ that responsibly attending to environmental matters is necessary for our continuing to live in this place and essential to our health and well being ~ will want to listen to the candidate's views and express their concerns as comments on the YouTube videos of the recent environmental debate.

We need a governor, legislative leadership, and local news media -- in fact the whole population of the state -- to grasp the systemic nature of the problems we face. We need to reframe our problems in order to develop viable long-term solutions. The central problem for human beings is not "the economy" which is an abstraction focused on money, but on flesh and blood, our lives. Our bodies are part of the environment, not separate from it. The beating heart of the matter for each of us is being alive, having a living,* living our full length of days, and living fully ~ not so many [millions of] dollar bills here or there. When we rearrange our thinking and make human life central rather than money, budgets, and deficits, the fog can lift and we can begin to see our way toward a vibrant society for all Rhode Islanders.

Voice Your Views at the Providence Waterfront Charrette

Some day they will complete the I-Way construction project, and India Point Park will be more accessible again. But what will the view be at the waterfront when the dust settles?

Friends of India Point Park urge all interested Providence residents and Rhode Islanders to voice their views at some or all of the waterfront charrette sessions being held at Johnson & Wales University June 9-12, 2008. The sessions are also listed in What Grows On in Rhode Island, the state's most comprehensive environmental calendar. FIPP writes:

Next week's citywide waterfront charette is a crucial chance to speak out about waterfront public space and the future of the city's greatest natural asset. PLEASE COME!

WHEN:    Mon-Thurs, June 9-12, day & evening sessions.

[Final Schedule Waterfront Charrette, June 9-12, 2008]

Most important session: TUES, June 10, 2-4pm on waterfront public use.

Other workshops important for public space issues:
      -- evening sessions, 6-9pm, on consultant's four scenarios for the waterfront
      -- Tues, 11:30-1:30: examples of waterfront mixed uses in other cities
      -- Wed, 2-4: revenues from the waterfront

WHERE:  Johnson & Wales Harborside Campus, 265 Harborside Blvd in Fields Point. [Directions]

WHY:  Broad public support is essential to creating a public Gateway at the head of the Bay.

WHO:  All interested citizens are welcome. Pick & choose sessions you want to attend.

THE VISION:  The Shooters site offers a golden opportunity to create a public destination that will benefit the city and region for generations to come. Its unique advantages include:

• Geographic: the intersection of interstate highways, major bike paths, and riverfront greenways at a deepwater port half a mile from the Jewelry District and downtown Providence.
• Historic: Our city's 300-year maritime tradition can be revitalized with a recreational boating center, in tandem with keeping the working waterfront on Allens Avenue.
• Economic: A Bay-front destination will encourage tourism and full use of India Point Park for festivals, concerts, and regattas that bring millions of dollars to other mid-size cities.
• Scenic: Sweeping views down the Bay attract visitors and residents, and generate real estate values as far into the city as views of the Bay can be seen.

PUBLIC SUPPORT:  Two indications of broad public support for our vision: 

1 The priorities_charts filled out by participants at the Fox Pt neighborhood charrette, May 8. The item with the most dots reads, "Encourage the development of the former Shooters site for public use."

The two items with the next highest number of dots call for 1) keeping any development of the Brown warehouses next to the Radisson Hotel low enough to preserve water views from I-195, and 2) connecting a pedestrian way from Blackstone Park around India Point to the Providence River.

2 - PROJO ARTICLE excerpt about turnout urging public use of the Shooters site at the charrette, May 7.

Providence Tomorrow ~ Rethinking the Northeast Section of the City

A series of workshops for the Mount Hope, Hope, and Blackstone neighborhoods next week should produce some interesting ideas, because a lot of neighbors are taking a strong interest. See the Providence Tomorrow website for details, as well as the post on What Grows On in Rhode Island: Mount Hope, Hope (Summit), & Blackstone Neighborhood Workshops ~ September 24 ~ 27, 2007.

Greg Gerritt has circulated some thoughts about the plan on the Summit Neighborhood Association discussion board. I've posted them here to give them a wider audience. He is particularly concerned to see that vegetable gardens be planted in as many places as possible to give Providence food security. The Providential Gardener wholeheartedly supports this. I've added hotlinked some of the groups or references in Greg's and Southside Community Land Trust's ideas, e.g., US Green Building Council, so readers can easily find more background. ~ SK

Meeting Thursday, July 19, about Route 1 in Washington County

Plans to preserve the rural nature of Route 1 in Charlestown are under consideration. See the Providence Journal article in the Charlestown area edition, published on July 11, and an article in The Day, published on July  16 for details. The report will be made public by the end of the month. From The Day:

Charlestown, R.I. — Maintaining the village and rural character of the Route 1 corridor through South County will be the subject of a Washington County Regional Planning Council meeting on Thursday.

Gates Leighton Associates and Maguire Group, consultants hired by the council, will present a draft report containing zoning and safety suggestions for Route 1 from Westerly to North Kingstown....

The consultants, accompanied by planners from the five towns, will be presenting their suggestions to the council and the public and looking for input. Jerome Williams, director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, is also expected to attend.

Because the report is only a preliminary draft, there will be no documents available to the public at the meeting. Westcott expects the final draft, honed with comments made at the meeting, to be completed by the end of the month. It must be approved by the Rhode Island Division of Planning before it can be released to the public.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center, 50 Bend Road in Charlestown. For more information, call (401) 874-6493.

India Point Park ~ Moratorium Hearing

Note: The Providential Gardener will post notices of relevant meetings in the public interest. Send  meeting info.

From David Riley, of Friends of India Point Park (Providence)

Dear Friends of India Point Park,

Providence City Council Public Hearing  next MONDAY, 6/25, 6 PM, Council Chambers, City Hall, 3rd floor (see attached public notice).

   Subject: proposed Moratorium on waterfront development south of I-195, pending completion of the Comprehensive & Neighborhood Plans. This moratorium will give us a chance to plan carefully for the future of the strategically located waterfront between the Seekonk & Providence Rivers.

If ever there was a PRIME TIME TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT for waterfront public space, this is one of those times!  PLEASE come. Everyone will have a chance to be heard.

The area's importance as the gateway to the head of the Bay gives it the potential to be a public attraction with major benefits to the City and the region for generations to come. This opportunity will be lost forever if we allow development to wall off the waterfront and block what will be the city's most spectacular view down the Bay from the new I-195. Hope to see you there!  ~ David

David Riley
Co-Chair, Friends of India Point Park
PO Box 603172, Providence, RI 02906
401 521-7929 ~ info@friendsofindiapointpark.org

www.friendsofindiapointpark.org

Dexter Training Ground (Providence) Park Proposal

Of interest to Providence residents: June 19th (today) is the last day to submit comments on the plans for Dexter Training Ground, where a dog park has been proposed. The Parks Department has put up a page on the Providence city website with the two proposed options and the schedule for reviewing the public's comments. It's very helpful to residents when towns and cities make this extra effort to inform and involve the public in making decisions that literally affect people where they live. The problem is knowing what's happening in enough time to participate. Here is an excerpt from the Parks Department's Dexter Training Ground webpage:

• To comment today, use the on-line comment form.
• June 26, 2007 Preferred option  selected after a review of the public comment.
• June 28, 4:30 PM Residents are  invited to join Parks staff on a walk through of the preferred option  at the Park

       

Dexter Training Ground is near the Armory in Providence. It's one of the lucky parks that has a Friend's group to watch over it. Do your neighborhood parks have friend's groups?