>> Providence Downtown Area

[Cotuit]

Weird. I'd love to see Trinity get another floor (or 3). I'd also love to see more illuminated signage in LaSalle Square. I'm trying to picture how those faces would look on the parking garage.

Maybe the brick up there needs repointing or something.

[runawayjim]

Weird. I'd love to see Trinity get another floor (or 3). I'd also love to see more illuminated signage in LaSalle Square. I'm trying to picture how those faces would look on the parking garage.

Maybe the brick up there needs repointing or something.

[eman_revelc]

if only they could improve their beer slightly

[runawayjim]

Slightly?

It's saying something when the best beer they have on tap is Narragansett Porter.....

[Frankie811]

DAVID BRUSSAT has his say on downtown development.

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS in downtown Providence await the demolition of two derelict buildings. One is the Fogarty Building, an eyesore pure and simple. The other is the old police/fire headquarters

http://www.projo.com/opinion/columnists/co...K7H.4356d2.html

[runawayjim]

DAVID BRUSSAT has his say on downtown development.

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS in downtown Providence await the demolition of two derelict buildings. One is the Fogarty Building, an eyesore pure and simple. The other is the old police/fire headquarters

http://www.projo.com/opinion/columnists/co...K7H.4356d2.html

[Frankie811]

here he goes again... modernism bad, traditionalism good.

he's even suggesting that TPG won't be able to get the approval for a modernist building.

[runawayjim]

The part that get's me is that he doesn't even have a degree in architecture.

[Recchia]

That was a pointless article. Not a bad one, just stupid. Yes Brussat we know you don't like modernism, and therefore any article you write about any proposed development will be stating that it should be designed traditionially. There we go, I've covered his column for the next two years.

[Frankie811]

That was a pointless article. Not a bad one, just stupid. Yes Brussat we know you don't like modernism, and therefore any article you write about any proposed development will be stating that it should be designed traditionially. There we go, I've covered his column for the next two years.

[Cotuit]

That was a pointless article. Not a bad one, just stupid. Yes Brussat we know you don't like modernism, and therefore any article you write about any proposed development will be stating that it should be designed traditionially. There we go, I've covered his column for the next two years.

[basachs]

Thank you, I couldn't bring myself to read another sad story about GTECH.

[inProv]

Interesting letter to the editor in today's Projo that reflects what some of us have been saying about Downcity's image problem:

Letter to the Editor

[Cotuit]

I'd say I agree with most of what she wrote except I have a slight issue with the idea that the area is dirty. The Yellow Jackets do an amazing job keeping the area clean. I think 'dirty' is from the fact that there is still a lot of vacancy down there, and there are a lot of infrastructure problems still. I think actual dirt and trash have lessened dramatically since the introduction of the DID. The simple fact that the area is too dark leads one to think it is dirty too.

Living off Atwells Avenue, I know what dirty is, Westminster Street ain't it. Westminster is probably our cleanest retail district.

[Jenkins]

I'd say I agree with most of what she wrote except I have a slight issue with the idea that the area is dirty. The Yellow Jackets do an amazing job keeping the area clean. I think 'dirty' is from the fact that there is still a lot of vacancy down there, and there are a lot of infrastructure problems still. I think actual dirt and trash have lessened dramatically since the introduction of the DID. The simple fact that the area is too dark leads one to think it is dirty too.

Living off Atwells Avenue, I know what dirty is, Westminster Street ain't it. Westminster is probably our cleanest retail district.

[inProv]

I agree and thought the same thing about the area, it really is not dirty. The feeling one gets from the darkness, lack of people, roads/sidewalks being kind of old, is that it is dirty, but there really is very little actual trash around. This dawned on me one day as I was walking around Downtown Crossing area of Boston where I work. I took a critical look around and there was over flowing trash bins and trash all over the place, much worse than Downcity.

[markOne]

The outdoor marketplace at Grant's block will also help combat the dead, abandoned feeling that currently plagues much of the area.

[inProv]

I wish Downcity merchants would speak up more loudly regarding this issue. What is their take on Downcity's image problems and what proposals do they have for addressing it? They don't seem very well organized. They also need to keep rattling cages at city hall to address the lack of lighting in the area. This basic infrastructure problem cannot be ignored.

[Cotuit]

There is a new Director at the Downtown Merchants Association and I actually met with him a few weeks ago. He's very enthusiastic about Downcity and is getting out there hussling talking to the decision makers and trying to get things done. I'm cautiously optimistic that between the Open Market, the DMAs work, the DIDs continued work, and some more retail moving in that this will be a good year for Downcity.

[markOne]

I'd like to see some street vendors, and I don't mean just some more guys with shopping carts selling glow sticks by the DD Ctr.

I'm a season ticket holder at PPAC and it would be great to be able to grab a bag of hot fresh roasted peanuts, or the like, after a show. Pretzels, hot dogs, sausages, etc. would be good sometimes too. I know there is often a food vendor working late by Club Hell, there are the Haven Bros. but they somehow have a different feel. Maybe because they are trucks and seem to cater to a late night crowd. I've seen a guy selling sausages and dogs on the corner of Exchange St. and Kennedy Plaza at lunch time, but I don't know how often he is there.

Also, how about a NYC style news stand or 2? NYC laws limits the max size to 72 square feet, so they are basically small sheds with 1/2 a convenience store packed into them. Somehow those always seem very urban to me and they should have very low overhead, no?

[inProv]

I'd like to see some street vendors, and I don't mean just some more guys with shopping carts selling glow sticks by the DD Ctr.

I'm a season ticket holder at PPAC and it would be great to be able to grab a bag of hot fresh roasted peanuts, or the like, after a show. Pretzels, hot dogs, sausages, etc. would be good sometimes too. I know there is often a food vendor working late by Club Hell, there are the Haven Bros. but they somehow have a different feel. Maybe because they are trucks and seem to cater to a late night crowd. I've seen a guy selling sausages and dogs on the corner of Exchange St. and Kennedy Plaza at lunch time, but I don't know how often he is there.

Also, how about a NYC style news stand or 2? NYC laws limits the max size to 72 square feet, so they are basically small sheds with 1/2 a convenience store packed into them. Somehow those always seem very urban to me and they should have very low overhead, no?

[jencoleslaw]

i think you would have to revise the ordinances for peddlers and hawkers... a few years ago the city council tightened up the language so much on the ordinance that it pretty much put everyone who sells pretzels and hotdogs etc out of business. Which i think is wildly unfortunate. I had actually toyed with the idea of getting a bento cart...

[runawayjim]

downtown providence (and just about every other area, especially touristy areas) could use signs like these (they were taken in philly).

this sign tells you were things are and what direction they're in.

this sign shows a map, and the previous sign is color coded based on this map.

you'll notice that the first sign at the top tells you what district you're in (which can be seen in the second map). they're labeled "walk philadelphia". in all the bus stops (i think, at least all the ones i've been in) in center city (philly's downtown area), there's also these walk/bus philadelphia maps. they show the route(s) of the buses that stop at that stop along with the routes of all connecting buses and all the nearby attractions and how to get there by bus or walking. unfortunately, this signage doesn't exist outside of the main tourist areas, such as university city (west of center city, where drexel and upenn are, and my fiancee happens to live). i picture signage like this in downtown and maps showing the east side (thayer and wickenden, and maybe wayland sq and hope village) and federal hill (atwells and maybe broadway) as well as downcity, capitol center, and the JD. depending on what happens with teh valley area, that might show up on those maps as well, along with smith hill.

[runawayjim]

interesting idea on how to deal with parking...

TED: Eliminate parking meters

[Cotuit]

This is what we need to see Downcity: