I think it would be a fun little trip. Block Island is a totally different world when it's not filled with SUVs from the tri-state area.

There is a handful of good year round restaurants in Old Harbor. Flying is a cool option too, especially for a special occasion. It's a little pricey but the view can't be beat (http://blockislandsairline.com/index.php/block-island-flights/).

http://blockislandsairline.com/index.php/block-island-flights/

There's way more than just PPP open in the winter. Eli's & Kimberly's and others too.

T&2G@BS for the hip among us

Philly intentionally neglected their streetcar system. SEPTA is a mess for a whole host of reasons, but the main one is that all the counties involved in it have to all agree on projects. Suburbanites don't want to fund urban transit. That's oversimplifying it, but it's a major impediment to improving transit in Philly proper. Here's a good recent video about the streetcars there (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYXx3CgwmHY)

And people will use transit if it's reliable and frequent. And yes, infrastructure isn't cheap but how much money have we dumped into the 6/10 rebuild and the downtown viaduct on 95? Putting tracks in a street and running wires overhead really isn't very expensive, and the savings in maintenance on vehicles that have no combustion engines, and aren't subject to potholes more than makes up for it. Trams are ubiquitous in most of the developed world, except here. Take a look at the transit networks in places like Bilbao, Bordeaux, or Utrecht. They are all similarly sized metro areas to Providence and it really emphasizes what a joke transit is over here.

The San Fran Streetcars are antique novelties that are loud and rattly. Modern updated rolling stock can solve that problem.

https://i.imgur.com/uSS9JmS.png

yes you can. it's locked from 9pm until 5am unless you have a 24 hour pass though

Yea the state of most bus stops is atrocious. Terrible sidewalks, always trash, nowhere to sit, no shade, no snow removal, missing/old signs. Non-drivers are always an afterthought and its endlessly frustrating

It seems most of the people who think transit should turn a profit think nothing of dumping billions of tax dollars into freeways. There's a such a mental disconnect when you suggest that roads and highways run at a severe loss and consume far more of our tax dollars than transit funding which would provide such a better return on investment.

It would be nice if the actual RIPTA Park & Rides were served by more than the twice-a-day express routes, but there are some DIY lots that work well.

Twin River is good because there is an ocean of parking and the security is good. The 54 runs every 30 minutes and is express to downtown from there. The 51 runs the same route, except as a local down Charles St. 73 also stops there which goes to Pawtucket.

The parking lot behind the Cranston police station at the start of the Washington Secondary Trail is another good one. The 30 & 31 both stop there and there's a bus every 15 minutes. Parking is allowed for the bike trail there and it's in full view of the security cameras in the police lot, so it's a fairly safe place to park.

While most stops could definitely use a lot of improvement, RIPTA hasn't used the telephone pole bands in years. There is one of these metal signs at every stop: https://i.imgur.com/nxPElDp.jpg

Also, the Transit app makes using RIPTA really pretty easy nowadays. All the maps and schedules are in there and it's basically Google Maps but for transit & walking (& biking if you configure it that way). It will tell you when to leave in order to give you enough time to walk to the stop and have a couple minutes leeway. It's officially supported by RIPTA but it works for all transit systems, so you can seamlessly see RIPTA, MBTA, and GATRA (ugh) info together.

That said, there need to be route numbers on signs, and real-time arrival info at major stops at a bare minimum, and I wholeheartedly agree with you about the lack of any semblance of decent pedestrian infrastructure.

There's some cool views from the top of the Arcade Garage

https://www.loopnet.com/ is basically Zillow for commerical property. You can sort by property use, square footage, lease rate, etc

Free buses are great for transit since transit funding is usually linked to ridership. Making buses free attracts more riders, which brings more funding, which brings demand for better transit, etc. It's a virtuous cycle, and if RI ever wants a real 21st century transit system, free buses are a great first step. Another inbuilt benefit of free buses is faster service. A lot of the delays on RIPTA are from waiting at stops for people to board and pay.

The R Line has been free for a while now and it's jam packed all the time. RIPTA needs to invest in some articulated buses short term for the R Line, and make an East-West R line to match that goes from EP to Olneyville. Both R-Lines would run on the same route between Providence Station and Lasalle Square, giving 5 minute headways on that corridor.

I have an antenna connected to my TV for the rare occasions when I want to watch something live on broadcast TV. A cheap one is all you need unless you're deep in the woods.

The Pinball Museum in Pawtucket is really cool. It's $10 for admission and that includes all the pinball you can play

https://www.electromagneticpinballmuseum.com/

As a bonus, it's directly on the R-Line which is currently free and runs at least every 15-20 minutes on weekends.

I made this comparison a while back: https://i.redd.it/fjqd58yj00v91.png

It's sad to think about what the city would be like if the US hadn't gone all-in on cars - look at all those streetcar lines!

It seems like it would be relatively easy compared to the big dig. There wouldn't need to be too much actual digging; most of it is in a trench already and they could just cap it. I'm thinking specifically of the stretches from Point St to Atwells, Smith St to 146, and Thurbers Ave to to Broad St, as well as most of Pawtucket

they copied "Cum" from the top line and pasted it over "chill"

> anybody saying Providence is grimy -- I seriously don't get it.

The vast majority of people who are the loudest complainers about Providence never travel further than Attleboro

While it's disappointing that they are not involved with tacos, they are one of the few remaining international manufacturers headquartered in RI which is pretty cool. Also they pronounce it Tay-co

https://www.tacocomfort.com/company/

It's a distinct style of humor that I quite enjoy, but I definitely see how it can be unappealing to others

For me personally it means I can get downtown from my house in about 25 minutes total with bike + train. Having a traffic-free way to get in and out of the city is going to be amazing. The R-Line frustrates me because it's worse than driving when there's traffic, which is most of the time.

CF has a higher population density than Boston but OK

South Attleboro is where all the parking is. Now that Pawtucket is done, the MBTA will be starting soon on the rehab of that station.

https://www.mbta.com/projects/south-attleboro-accessibility-improvements

Details here: https://www.dot.ri.gov/projects/pellbridgeramps/