I think it’s a wonderful thing to want to beautify the neighborhoods in our city and to provide opportunities for those that live in those neighborhoods. And the North End Urban Development Plan appears to want to do that. However, no one knows the experience of what it is like to live in a particular neighborhood in Newport better than the residents that actually live there.
So if we’re going to develop a certain part of our city, they should ALL be consulted as to what THEY need to have a thriving, and safe neighborhood. Their quality of life is going to be impacted no matter what the development is and that should be our #1 priority.
I understand that there were workshops and opportunities to hear from the residents when the North End Urban Development Plan was being created, however, according to the residents that I spoke to those opportunities were few and far between and as such they feel as though this plan is just another way for their community to be segregated and pushed out of Newport.
Smart Growth America and the North End Local Advisory Group but together the North End Equitable Development Strategy has wonderful suggestions, plans, and opportunities that will help to meet the needs of those that live in the North End and that’s something that we really need to take seriously and look into implementing.
I think that this is a good opportunity to improve safety for multi-modes of transportation and increase the connectivity of the North End to downtown Newport but I also have concerns about it. As RIDOT has put together a plan that is currently being implemented, there are still some unknowns such as what will happen to the land that the state currently owns? And, how Newport can use that land to benefit the residents or help in assisting the decrease in traffic and parking congestion in the city.
The implementation of this project is going to change traffic patterns and that will impact neighborhoods that haven’t experienced traffic issues before. However, I look forward to the roll out of the Transportation Master Plan and how it will make the streets safer and easier for residents and visitors. And it will take coordination with planners and engineers as to how to this plan will ensure that the traffic patterns in Newport will be more fluid and less cumbersome on the residents.