ALTERNATIVE TRANSIT Boosters press case for more bike-friendly Providence BY IAN DONNIS

In examining different parts of the capital city, advocates for increased walking and bicycling have made a not-quite-unexpected finding — Providence, which is potentially well-suited for such alternative modes of transit, has a lot of room for improvement.

Recent meetings of the Providence Walkable-Bikeable Audit, a joint effort by the Sierra Club and Groundwork Providence to document the city’s suitability in these areas, have revealed an excess of broken glass alongside the Allens Avenue bike lanes, for example, as well poorly maintained and narrow sidewalks, broken traffic signals, cars moving at excessive speeds, and similar impediments around town. While alternative transit offers hope for relieving the downtown parking crunch and other headaches, Alicia Karpick, Rhode Island director of the Sierra Club, notes that progress is unlikely to occur without deliberate effort. "We really need to be thinking about how to be doing these things right," she says.

Karpick’s is enthusiastic inenvisioning more walking and bicycling in Providence, which is compact, largely flat, and pretty easy to negotiate. "I think Providence could be the most wonderful alternative transit city," she says. As it stands, though, bicycling in the city more often seems the province of college students and denizens of the West Side arts community. As Karpick notes, the key to greater bike usage rests in making people believe that it’s easy and pleasant to wheel around Providence. A transit-coalition under the mayor’s jurisdiction would also be beneficial, she says.

Such efforts could get a boost next spring. A plan to add bike lanes on major thoroughfares throughout the city, as well as signage meant to promote better relations between motorists and bicyclists, may be implemented as soon as May 2004, according to Thomas Deller, director of Providence’s Department of Planning and Development. Although the effort, which will be carried out with a $300,000 federal grant, has been in the works for years, it has taken time to reach consensus on the details and prepare the final document, Deller says.

Meanwhile, walking and biking proponents will take to the streets again this Saturday, December 13 from 11 a.m. to noon, gathering at Olga’s Cup and Saucer, for a transit audit of the area around Allens Avenue and nearby hospitals. For more info, contact Karpick at alicia@sierraclubri.org or Beshka Candelaria at beshka@groundworkprovidence.org