DOT says it will re-assess Broad Street plans

CUMBERLAND – State DOT director Peter Alviti Jr. told Cumberland officials last week that his department will take another look at restoring $2 million in funding for the Broad Street Regeneration Project so that it includes the complete reconstruction of roadway from Church Street to Mendon Road in Cumberland.

Attending the Jan. 24 meeting with Alviti were Cumberland Mayor Jeffrey Mutter, Town Councilman Michael L. Kinch, Town Planner Jonathan Stevens and the town’s legislative delegation, including state Reps. James N. McLaughlin and Alex Marszalkowski and Sen. Ryan Pearson.

Alviti agreed to meet with the Cumberland delegation to discuss the town’s concerns about the portion of the project in Cumberland, which has been scaled back by the DOT to save money. The project is a two-year initiative to improve a 3.2-mile-stretch of Broad Street through Pawtucket, Central Falls and Cumberland.

At a Town Council meeting last month, Kinch and District 1 Councilwoman Stephanie M. Gemski introduced a resolution that requests the DOT restore $2 million in funding to include the complete reconstruction of the roadway from Church Street north to Mendon Road rather than a cursory repaving of the area.

That resolution was brought to the attention of Alviti at last week’s meeting.

“As a result of that meeting, Director Alviti said he would do everything he can to see if funds can be allocated to get the full project up to Blackstone Street and perhaps all the way to Mendon Road,” Stevens said Wednesday

Town officials are keeping their fingers crossed in light of the news that DOT has made $120 million in cuts over six years to the state’s Transportation Improvement Program because of a rejection of addi- tional funding requests in the governor’s budget.

“I think if we stay focused on this we should be good,” Kinch said.

The Broad Street Regeneration Initiative has a long history, with organized efforts to improve the area actively in the works from 2007 to 2012, but hitting a wall and stalling for a while from 2013 to 2016.

A renewed energy around the BSRI came in 2017 with an $11.5 million commitment in funding from the State Transportation Improvement Program.

The Broad Street Regeneration Initiative began in 2007 when the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council (BVTC) received a Preserve America grant from the National Park Service to undertake a region-

al planning project along the roadway. An action plan was produced that identified several priorities including historic preservation, façade improvements, pedestrian and streetscape improvements, traffic and parking management, community safety, and business growth.

Since then, the Initiative and its partners have supported efforts to promote local small businesses and public events, develop bicycle infrastructure, encourage sidewalk dining, connect merchants

with available public and private resources, and nurture community identity for those that “live, work, play, and pray” on Broad Street. Due to a lack of funding, the project paused in 2012.

With the announcement of $11.5 million in State Transportation Improvement Program funds dedicated to Broad Street starting in 2018, the cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls, the Town of Cumberland, and the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council relaunched the Broad Street Regeneration Initiative in 2016. A grant from the Rhode Island Foundation allowed for the hiring of a part-time coordinator in March 2017.

The project highlights includes resurfacing the entire length of road through Central Falls and Cumberland (the road in Pawtucket has

already been resurfaced); streetscape improvements, including sidewalks, crosswalks, trees and plantings, traffic lights, and more; and drainage improvements, including repairs to existing features as well as some new ones, like “green infrastructure” that will use plants to filter stormwater naturally.

Construction in phases was expected to begin in April and be completed in April 2021. but the start of the project has been delayed until mid summer.

“This is an area that has been neglected,” noted Mutter. “I am appreciative that this investment is going to be made and I think that matters to the small businesses on Main Street.”