Street Stories: Court King

Street Stories is an interview series with Providence residents about how they move around the our city by local photographer Brittanny Taylor

Name, age, any personal identities you feel like sharing, neighborhood where you live, who you live with/care for, the school you go to, type of work you do or hope to do.

Court King, 35, Black queer femme. I live in the West End! I have two roommates, but I grew up in the neighborhood, so there’s lots of love and care around here. The house I grew up in/my parents live in is only a couple of streets away. I love that about my neighborhood. I’m a youth development worker, I do consulting around anti-racism, and I’m part of the Adult Kindergarten duo with fellow artist Lo Smith.

How do you typically travel around Providence? 

I use the scooters mostly, Uber, if necessary. I’ll forever miss the Jump bikes.

Is that working for you?

Not realistically. There’s only so much I’m willing to risk on a scooter. The biggest factor is where I’m traveling to on the scooter. If it’s to the store, it’s fine, but if it’s a distance that requires a bus/Uber/borrowing a car. I wish that I felt more inclined to use a car-sharing service like ZipCar in the city, but I don’t. 

How does it affect your life, your job, your family? 

It means I have to plan more because I can’t just get up and go. So that’s pretty sickening, but I also appreciate not having to walk a lot of places. I pay way too much for things to get me from Point A to Point B. If I want to grab any kids, I have to Uber. I don’t want to be another car on the road. 

How would you ideally like to get around Providence, and what would need to happen to make that a reality?

I would love the options for scooters, bikes, cars, free bus transportation, and all these options as equitable as possible. It’s past time to figure out more ways to make Providence more pedestrian and otherwise friendly.

Do you feel safe when traveling around Providence? Where do you feel safe, and where do you not? 

The streets are pretty terrible. I’m mostly on this side of town-West End/South Side/Olneyville. Bike lanes, sometimes there aren’t any. It’s pretty stressful riding at night. I wish there were more acceptable of other forms of transportation.

How could the City or RIPTA improve your experience getting around?

Listening to community, implementation, review, revise, repeat. That is the beginning and the end of every answer about how to make things better.