How about this idea for a new and improved Providence: using land made available by the relocation of Interstate 195, the city taps mostly federal funds to create a distinctive canal extending from the Providence River into the heart of the Jewelry District. And unlike the paths alongside the river — which attract little activity beyond WaterFire nights — the additional waterfront constituted by the canal would attract pedestrians, cafes, mixed-use buildings, and other elements of heightened day-and-night activity.
Local landscape architect Paul R.V. Pawlowski, recognizing the opportunities afforded by the moving of I-195, and concerned that the city was straying from the original intent of its Old Harbor plan, conceived the canal concept in 1999. He believed a canal would offer a variety of economic, civic, and environmental benefits, and since the I-195 relocation will require the presence of earth-moving equipment, he thought, " Why not stay a little longer, dig a little deeper, and create a canal that could provide increase water frontage for mixed-use development? "
Perhaps it’s understandable that Pawlowski’s ambitious plan has existed as something of a whimsical and obscure notion since it was first floated. The Providence of today is built in no small part, after all, on changes in the city’s fabric — the relocation of two downtown rivers, for example — that once seemed very unlikely, if not impossible. At the same time, the city’s willingness to strive for a high mark in creative redevelopment came up very short when potential-laden 19th-century mill complexes on Charles Street and in Eagle Square gave way in recent years, respectively, to a Home Depot and a hybrid retail hodgepodge.
Still, the New Year is nothing if not a good time for fresh dreams and bold thinking, and the Jewelry District Association’s Canal Committee is working to gin up support for the envisioned quarter-mile Ship Street Canal (the commonly used name notwithstanding, the canal would run toward downtown from the river, between Ship and Charlesfield streets, following the current path of I-195). Pawlowski, whose resume includes the 13-mile long waterfront of Kuwait City, and the Jewelry District Association (www.jewelrydistrict.org) are also refining a scope of work for a financial and environmental feasibility study of the canal.
The main impediment to the concept seems to be the city’s skeptical posture, as expressed by Thomas E. Deller, director of the Providence Department of Planning & Development. For starters, the cost of moving a Dyer Street sewer line to accommodate the waterway could top $10 million, Deller says. But the main concern, he says, is how the state Department of Transportation indicated in 2000 that the canal would not be eligible for federal funds, apparently because an environmental impact study necessary for the I-195 relocation would have to be reopened, and doing so would cause unacceptable delays on the highway project. When it comes to the canal, Deller says, " If we can not get federal dollars for it, then it is not feasible. The city doesn’t have the wherewithal to do the project. "
But Phoebe Blake, co-chair of the JDA’s Canal Committee, cites " nothing in what we’ve learned from the federal people that would stop us right now. " The state’s congressional delegation has been supportive, she says, and the federal government’s 80 percent contribution to transit-related projects is expected to continue in coming years. As far as the doubtful stance outlined by Deller, Blake says, " I hope it can be overcome. That’s why we keep on [going]. "
