I travel mostly by car and walking. This works for Jim and I and we’re lucky to live in a walkable city like Providence. I’ve lived in cities like Chicago though, and was an active user of their public transportation because it was reliable and accessible. Increasing public transportation access and accountability would undoubtedly increase ridership in our city and state. We’re a small enough community that we could make it work well.

I travel mostly by car, whether in my own or via Uber, although I try to use my bike as often as possible. Before, when I had a regular job schedule, I took the bus several times a month, depending on schedule and weather. I would like to increase my bike travel as it is fun, occasionally quicker than using a car in the city and also helps me get some exercise in. I think I would have to have a much more reliable schedule in order to consistently bike to work.

I drive, ride the bus, and ride my bike to get around Providence. I am lucky to live within walking distance of two bus lines, the R and 1 line. The rise of gas prices has become a significant financial burden on many people in Providence, including myself. When my car broke down in February, I relied on the bus, my bike, and walking to get around. During the spring and summers, my family and I try to ride our bikes more often for our commute, especially now with the rise of gas prices and the ongoing climate crisis.

As a City Council member, I have sponsored initiatives such as the Green and Complete Streets’ ordinance which paves the way for safer streets in Providence, while codifying the City’s commitment to developing infrastructure that is safe, reliable, sustainable, and accommodating to all residents. That means people who drive cars, bike, walk or use a wheelchair should have access to safe streets to travel. We need to ensure that we are doing a citywide survey of our streets to begin taking what we have learned in doing the N. Main St. study and apply it to other parts of the City so that every neighborhood has access to safe streets with multi-modal options.

I personally travel around Providence in many different ways: by foot, by bike, by Uber/Lyft, and very occasionally by bus. My partner and I share a car, and I’ve made the very intentional decision to live as close as I can to my workplace. As such, Monday through Friday, I walk a little over a quarter mile to work in the morning and then a little over a quarter mile back home in the afternoon. I used to bike to work, but then my bike was sadly stolen, so I’ve just walked to work and have been doing so for years. Even going to places like City Hall requires only a 20-minute walk from me (if I’m not in rush. Plus, it allows me to reflect, take a call, exercise and clear my head.) Going to the grocery store or farmers’ market or longer distances may call for a vehicle, but generally speaking, Providence is a walkable city, and I love the proximity of everything. I wouldn’t change much about the way I get around.

I walk and drive. I’d prefer not to drive as much as I do and would prefer to use the bus. RIPTA needs to increase bus routes and to make the service more user friendly.

I love to bike when I can, but I use my car most often. Providence lacks a strong bike infrastructure. From where I live on Lippitt Street, I have to either brave Hope Street or North Main- two high-traffic thoroughfares- in order to get anywhere, competing with cars, trucks, and the like. Ideally, I’d go to work, to see my friends and girlfriend in the West End, and go out to eat on Thayer and Hope all via bike. In order for that to happen, we need better bicycle infrastructure that makes alternative transportation safer and more accessible.

In order to be a leader in environmental and mobility justice, Providence must build the foundation on which its residents can thrive.

I currently drive an electric vehicle, a 2015 Volkswagen E-Golf, to work in Cranston and walk and drive the spin scooters on most trips outside of the grocery store. I would ideally drive my own electric bike or scooter. I’m planning to buy one, and previously, I drove the spin scooters to work every day when I worked in Providence. I’ll be saving up for a scooter of my own, but I’ve had some dangerous experiences scootering on North Main Street, in the Whole Foods plaza, and on Olney street, which has bike lanes on opposite sides.

I get around Providence mostly by either walking or driving my Electric Vehicle (Bolt EUV ’21). My husband and I trade off use of our one car, and he often also takes RIPTA to work at Brown.

I would love to use public transit more often, but have found that it doesn’t readily connect to many of the places I need to go in a timely mannner. I understand the challenges that RIPTA faces, and would love to see us invest more not only in electrifying the fleet, but in expanding routes and enabling faster service. When we lived in California, I almost exclusively commuted using a combination of commuter rail, buses, and subways – and my kick scooter.

I also used to more regularly get around on a non-motorized kick scooter. When residents talk with me about the quality of the sidewalks as a barrier to active mobility, I understand. I have not regularly used my kickscooter since moving to Providence because of the uneven quality of our sidewalks and roads, which makes scooting less safe. Prioritizing this kind of quality of life improvement would be a top priority for me as Councilor – ensuring we have adequate funding for fixing sidewalks and investing in complete streets. From my work as a climate policy advocate, I am also no stranger to negoating with utilities and would ensure that utilities are paying for and actually doing repair on roads after they cut into them to do repairs on their infrastructure. Providence residents should not foot the bill for poor quality road work done by our utilities.

People of all ability levels (wheelchairs, walkers, people pushing strollers, etc) should be able to get around our city.

I have for a number of years have taken public transit.
I would like to see a safer Kennedy Plaza.
I know that a safer bus terminal will definitely encourage more ridership. Most people would not do business with a store or in a shopping center if it is deemed unsafe and a bus terminal is no different.

Most of my personal travel around Providence has been by car. It is working in the sense that a car has been able to accommodate and provide my wife and I with a level of convenience when traveling with our 6-month year old daughter. Mobility is everything. The freedom to move to your destination when you need to is a fundamental human right and can’t be overstated enough. Ideally, I’d like to get around Providence by bicycle but the thought of riding during the frigid winter months has given me some hesitation, and the cost to purchase a commuter bicycle has often served as financial barrier for me. However, upon reflection, perhaps the cost to maintain a car far exceeds the price tag of a commuter bicycle.

I commute most days on the bus. I very occasionally commute on my bicycle. I’m very fortunate in that I am able to use public transport in order to travel to my job downtown. If I am going to other parts of the city, or if I am running errands, I often do use my car because public transportation or biking do not feel like viable or safe options.

I am very fortunate that I and many members of my community in Providence are able to move around the city, however most are reliant on cars. Additionally, many Providence residents are not so fortunate. Mobility affects nearly every aspect of people’s lives, not just mine. For example, I was talking with a Ward 5 resident who uses a wheelchair to get around and because of the lack of curb cuts and safe sidewalks, he has a hard time moving around the city. Additionally, with the addition of removing masking on the bus, commuters may decide that the risk of getting COVID (and its constantly evolving sub-variants) is not worth the risk.

In places that I have lived in the past I have been a full-time bike commuter. That is not something I feel safe doing in this city. I have been hit by cars twice, despite wearing bright colors and running bike lights, and those experiences have shaken me. We need an infrastructural overhaul in this city. We need to build contiguous, protected bike lanes, fix the sidewalks, and make bus routes more efficient when it comes to going places that are not downtown. If we can make other transit options viable, we can cut down on vehicular traffic which will make alternative options even more accessible and safe.

I mostly travel by automobile and walk. My husband and I of 34 years have lived on Pleasant Valley Parkway for over 30 years. My office is two miles away downtown. For more than 23 years my husband and I car pool. I drop him at the train station and he commutes into South Station. In the evening I pick him up and depending upon my schedule he will sometimes take a RIPTA bus from the station to City Hall to catch the balance of a City meeting or hearing. During the day, once downtown I can walk from my office to City Hall to conduct City business. We also live a block from the Chalkstone Avenue business corridior. We regularly walk up to shop or go to one of the several great restaurants on the Avenue. Pleasant Valley Parkway is a City park and we really enjoy walking it in all seasons. We are fortunate to have our two grown children live nearby so we often walk over to visit them and vice versa. Our neighborhood is very walkable as it was platted long before automobiles were ubiquitous so there is a nice balance with the commercial corridor and the residential area of the surrounding streets.

I drive or walk to wherever I’m going! I am looking to purchase an electric scooter to get around my neighborhood, I think creating some sort of incentive for residents to do this makes sense. I would also like to ride my bicycle more but I am honestly terrified of our drivers. We need to create a City that gives residents multiple transit options so we are not just relying on cars.

Thoughts? I find your line of questions racists and geared to a few and not to all, you can’t have more space on the roads and tie it in to equity that doesn’t make sense , every question is geared towards race , I have many projects to unite my ward plans where everyone prospers .I have plans for less congested roads ,I have plans to bring neighborhoods together ,I have plans for empowering disadvantage citizens and their children to enhance their lives even the new people to our community which is a sanctuary city , if you do what’s good for the people equatiy will follow , thanks for reaching out

The reality is that mist people travel by vehicle. Therefore to make it a reality, gas prices need to be regulated to be affordable for travel.

Providence needs public transportation that is free, effective and safe that so that residents do not have to relay on cars. Currently the city offers bike and scooter shares which I think are great ways to increase ridership and public engagement of our public transportation.

As a teacher and social worker, my daily life is intertwined with that of schools which require functional transportation systems to work. Most of my students take public transportation, walk, or bike. I drive a car about half the time I leave the house. It works, but only in a certain way. I transport large classroom materials daily; my car makes this easy for me, especially when I have to transport clients for work. 

My next vehicle, car or bike, will be electric. It’ll save me money, and lessen my carbon footprint.  Ideally, I would walk everywhere and bike around for fun, too. About one-third of the neighbors I’ve spoken with prefer to walk and bike everywhere. Elmwood is already a walkable neighborhood with fantastic food, inspiring schools, active libraries, local fresh and affordable produce, great haircuts, and the best park in Providence, Roger Williams. As a council member, I will build on these strengths.

If electric buses reliably came every 11 minutes, had free charging for phones, and secure WIFI, I would bike and bus more and other people would too. I used to drive my step-son to school most mornings because there was no bus-line that worked for him in middle school. Now he takes the bus most days. I strongly believe that all teenagers should be able to take a safe and reliable city bus for free, year-round. It’s good for social and professional development to know how to navigate the city.

Something else I’d like to add:  About half of my Ward 9 neighbors I know were not born in the United States. They have lived in other parts of the country and the world. They have experienced a variety of city service systems and types of government. They know when a city service could be less corrupt and easier to access. This is not a trivial lived-experience! Every neighborhood’s potential comes from its neighbors. Every Elmwood neighbor I talked with wanted cleaner, safer, simpler transportation options, regardless of their party, voter status, or demographic. People asked for slower streets that are safe for children to bike on, sidewalks that are accessible to elders, and more frequent, reliable bus service. Some of my neighbors also reflected on subway systems in other countries, which had unarmed police members walking in public spaces. Contrast this with what we generally have here in the United States: armed police in large cars. The ways we direct our public safety officers to engage with neighbors or passersby  – whether they travel by foot, bike, bus, wheelchair, or car – directly impacts our sense of safety.

The nature of my job requires a car. I jokingly call it my mobile office because I typically work out of my car in between client visits. However, I wish for a day that I only had to go to one office and can bike/walk to work. It’s healthier for people and the environment. Engagement of the community in the benefits of healthy transportation will allow residents to be vested in the investments and projects to increase pedestrian and alternate modes of transportation that may improve our environment.

Me myself I travel around Providence all kinds of ways. I walk. Take the bus. Ride a bike. Drive. Get rides from friends and family. Lift, and Uber. Ideally I get around pretty good, but I’m real big on helping others so having a vehicle is real important to me. I can help more with a car. I would need more money.

I travel through Providence by my personal vehicle. It works for the most part, although, My husband and I do sometimes have to share the vehicle. Insurance is high, gas is expensive. I would prefer a safer, cleaner, more efficient way for me and my family to travel through providence. Working and living here, public transit would make life much easier.

I mostly drive or walk. Ideally, I would more frequently bus or ride! I have been riding more as bike lanes have expanded and I have felt like it was a safer option to go cross neighborhood. The bus is a great option if you are traveling along one of the spokes that go east/ west primarily and not a great option if you’re doing a lot of north/south travel in Providence. On the state level, we need to expand and invest in RIPTA. On the city level – we need to keep moving forward in making our streets safe for everyone – walk, roll, ride, or drive.

I most often drive if I am going somewhere that is further than a walk, especially if I have my kids with me. I have commuted by bike in Providence and typically walk if I’m going shorter distances. I would ideally like to ride the bus more. I have spent a lot of money maintaining a car. Ideally buses would run frequently enough, including at nights and on the weekends, and would be cheap enough to use regularly.

Lately it’s been walking! Canvassing and meeting my neighbors has been a wonderful way to get out and walk. We’ve been campaigning as a family so it’s been lovely to stay local and go to our favorite places in the neighborhood. Both my husband and I work about 30-45 minutes away and are required to be in-person during the academic year so we have to drive daily during those months. I am originally from Peru so one of the beautiful things was having local everything within walking distance–little markets, shops, restaurants were always available. We’re starting to see some of that pop up here on the Admiral Street corridor but the reality is that not everyone in our neighborhoods can walk or ride bikes so having more localized transportation or shuttles available that make local stops to local markets, stores, laundromats etc would be something lovely for those that don’t have that access. Better yet, how cool would a bicycle service be for some young entrepreneurs in the area? Running errands for our neighbors that can’t do it themselves? Money maker for an entrepreneurial spirit!