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Educational_Leg36 t1_iuoonpk wrote

That whole trader Joe's/condo complex isn't designed or advertised for cars or whatever. They literally said in an article that it's built for walkability for local residents

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Originalfrozenbanana t1_iuovzky wrote

build a grocery store in an urban downtown area and the carbrain will collectively lose it.

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AttackonRetail t1_iuqwf6g wrote

Walkability in Feb when its 5 degrees. Hell yeah.

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iandavid t1_iurftys wrote

Didn’t your mother teach you about wearing layers?

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laterbacon t1_ius17i3 wrote

Hell yeah is right. Coats and gloves are a thing and that cold winter air is refreshing.

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jahvape000 t1_iuq1ly7 wrote

Wtf? Just say "we couldnt fit a parking lot into the tiny overpriced area we decided to buy as a massive company...yall gotta piss off everybody in the hood parking on the st. Enjoy!"

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lightningbolt1987 t1_iuq9hxy wrote

I live in the neighborhood. Do you? I don’t care at all if people park on the streets. They are public streets not MY streets. That’s what they’re for amongst other things. I think my neighbors feel the same way. It’s why we live in the most walkable neighborhood in the state.

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Thac0 t1_iuqwj8q wrote

I used to rent about a block from there and my apartment had no off street parking. Some days were awful circling a few block radius after work for 20 minutes just so I could park and go home for the night. I can’t see this helping

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wearTheDamnMask_137 t1_iuroxvo wrote

They should dedicate some streets to resident-only parking if it's an issue. I probably won't shop there because I have a car and it's almost easier to drive to Cranston or Foxborough, but if I did, I'd park a distance away, like on Hope Street, and walk over. Personally, I'm comfortable on highways but not so much in crowded urban areas, so that's usually my strategy.

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lightningbolt1987 t1_iuqywob wrote

I’ve never had to park further than 50 feet from my house… were you on this side of Wickenden, llke Corliss landing near the Hot Club?

I would add, and I’m sure it’s no consolation: taking 20+ mins to park is normal in most dense east coast cities, though I know it’s not what’s expected in Providence.

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Thac0 t1_iuqzt4q wrote

I was on the corner or Traverse and Sheldon. People park there to go to everything on Wickenden. I’m just speaking to the fact that yes the uptick in local parking due to inadequate parking at TJ’s will indeed be felt by the neighbors. However if I was still there I’d be really happy to be such a short walk so 🤷🏻‍♂️

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lightningbolt1987 t1_iursf1m wrote

I don’t buy it. I live near there too—I’ve never had to drive more than 1 minute to find parking, never mind 20 minutes! There’s no way you couldn’t go one block up to Transit and find a spot.

And we’ve been spoiled. If we have to park further away as neighbors to have a more vibrant neighborhood with a super market then that’s fully worth it.

As you can tell, I have no sympathy for people who feel entitled to park right in front of where they are going. And I Im someone who has to park on the street where I live.

I fully acknowledge others might be annoyed by this reality of not parking immediately at their location, but it begs the question of why live in a walkable neighborhood if parking and driving is their priority.

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laterbacon t1_iusselj wrote

> why live in a walkable neighborhood if parking and driving is their priority

Because they are blind to the fact that their pretty and accessible neighborhood is that way because it wasn't designed for cars

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Thac0 t1_iuw6138 wrote

It might be walkable to get a coffee or go to a bar or restaurant but unless PVD gets a huge influx of high paying jobs parking and driving will be important and let’s not pretend that TJs is a grocery store that anyone will do they bulk of their family shopping at. When I was in the neighborhood I was commuting to Northboro MA and my neighbor was the dean of admission for Clark U in Worcester. We all choose to come to this city because it’s great at affordable but let’s not pretend it’s some walkable utopia that we can just pretend can exist without the residents having cars. Don’t even get me started about parking bans for residents without off street parking too…

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laterbacon t1_iuw86so wrote

or.. we could invest in Transit. With the density of the Providence metro area, it's embarrassing how car-dependent we are.

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Thac0 t1_iuw92js wrote

I’m 100% for better public transit. Anywhere outside of Boston requires a car to live, it’s like a death sentence to not have one. The amount of stress cars have caused me especially when I was near the poverty line is insane. I hate them but I have to use them all the same.

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laterbacon t1_iuwakge wrote

Yea that's all I'm saying. It sucks that there's no other legitimate option for living your life outside of your neighborhood without a car. It's an extra tax that people don't even consider

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total_life_forever t1_iur3ca8 wrote

This overlooks the fact that many in the surrounding neighborhood do not have off-street parking.

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lightningbolt1987 t1_iurb1e2 wrote

But you never need to go more than a block or two to find street parking. It’s never a problem here. Go to Sheldon Street or Armstrong Street anytime—always parking. This is city life. Sometimes you need to walk a couple blocks to park. I know this is mind blowing to Rhode Islanders who have never lived in another city.

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Jerkeyjoe t1_iurcvz4 wrote

Isn't there a huge parking lot by the church? Last I checked it's a free for all

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total_life_forever t1_iuttklr wrote

Lived in Boston for 10 years lol one of the hang-ups of city living was walking/biking back from the grocery store.

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Old_Wishbone3773 t1_iuqrdz4 wrote

I don't like how providence is getting this whole zero car make over as quickly as it is happening

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laterbacon t1_ius1nfs wrote

Over 20% of Providence residents don't own a car (21.7% according to the latest numbers which are 7 years old at this point).

Nobody is trying to ban cars. Providing alternatives to driving in a city that demands it is something this city has been behind the curve on for far too long.

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Old_Wishbone3773 t1_ius1xy9 wrote

Never said banning, but all across the city are a bunch of projects that make drivers,driving, cars not a priority

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laterbacon t1_ius31m6 wrote

Because they're not a priority. Cars make cities a hostile place to exist for the people that live there. You want a place made for cars? Foxboro is right up the road with Trader Joe's and all the acres of parking you could hope for.

Providence was laid out long before cars, and cars have damaged the fabric of the city irrevocably, most notably Routes 95 & 10. A city of Providence's size should have a robust, reliable, frequent transit network. Take a look at Bilbao in Spain for a similarly sized metro area that does it right (https://www.bizkaiatalent.eus/en/pais-vasco-te-espera/conocenos/transporte-publico-estado/). Decades of car-first thinking have to be reversed and I for one am encouraged with what Providence is doing for the most part.

Some people are always going to drive, and that's fine. But there are plenty of other people who would walk or bike if they felt safe enough, or would take transit if it actually provided usable service.

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Old_Wishbone3773 t1_ius538w wrote

>Providence was laid out long before cars, and cars have damaged the fabric of the city irrevocably,

That's why Chicago's road grid is so organized compared to Boston or providence. The roads were built afterwards.

I'm not saying cars are not a priority, but bikes are not either. And there is a group of people who are clearly bike advocates who will not take no for an answer. Bikes in rhode island and new England in general, is a perennial issue.

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laterbacon t1_ius5jtw wrote

What in particular is your gripe with bikes? I don't own a car and my bike is my primary mode of transport. I can't understand how providing alternatives to driving is a bad thing.

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Old_Wishbone3773 t1_ius6wlj wrote

I love my bike. I ride recreational and for health. I think it is great the progression and evolution of bike culture blending into society, transportation. What I don't like are the nasty, forceful, progressive types that are pushing their agenda and not willing to except facts and or others differing opinion.

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laterbacon t1_ius7e75 wrote

What is the differing opinion though? That people shouldn't be able to use bikes for non-recreational purposes? Not trying to be a jerk but it seems like you're the one pushing the pro-car agenda with little to back it up except anger.

I love taking my kid to school on my bike instead of the car. Riding to the grocery store is refreshing instead of infuriating. Having protected paths to do those things on makes my life so much better. Everything for the past 100 or so years has been built around cars. Building infrastructure for other modes is not an attack on cars.

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Old_Wishbone3773 t1_ius8w26 wrote

My gripe is towards the group.. because unfortunately we are not living like in The Sims, where you can pick up and drop objects and push things around.. for example, the bike path advocates on hope st completely ignored the relevant criticism of the path and loss of nearly 100 parking spaces... the cars, if are able to park are going to park through the neighborhood hoods, 'who cares' the group says, well some of the neighbors do and they have a right to being heard.. and again, this is a perennial issue, so making permanent infrastructure for bike users for a few months a year is a hefty cost and headache for people, who, in large numbers, don't ride bikes at all..

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laterbacon t1_iusa6ow wrote

Nobody ignored the criticism, but the loss of parking is not a valid criticism.

It's proven time and time again the bike lanes are good for business despite the pearl clutching fears of drivers and business owners.

https://www.cambridgebikesafety.org/2021/09/22/bike-lanes-and-local-business-the-economic-impact/

The thing most fail to realize is that accommodating bikes converts some drivers into cyclists, making less demand for parking in the first place.

And before you say "what about the weather" that link up there has numbers from Toronto, Cambridge, and NYC

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laterbacon t1_ius5r94 wrote

> That's why Chicago's road grid is so organized compared to Boston or providence. The roads were built afterwards.

Ah yes that's why driving in Chicago is notoriously pleasant and trouble free

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