PROVIDENCE: Freeway Removal and Protected Bike Lanes Helped (Re)Connect a Community

Amtrak Tour Stop No. 4: In this on-bike interview and active mobility infrastructure tour, I connect with Alex Ellis with the City of Providence, RI and Liza Burkin with the Providence Streets Coalition for a look at the City Walk Project, which connected Roger Williams Park to the India Point Park via a series of on-street protected bike lanes and off-street pathways. The highlight was most certainly the beautiful bike and pedestrian bridge, park, and productive reclaimed downtown adjacent real estate that was created after the 195 Interstate that had previously ripped through the city was removed just a few years ago. Infrastructure Features: ⭐️ Protected Cycle Tracks ⭐️ Traffic Calmed, Low Volume, Low Speed Streets: Neighborhood Greenways ⭐️ Separated Pathways ⭐️ Connecting Parks with All Ages & Abilities Active Mobility Facilities 🤙 This video features my beloved Brompton folding bicycle. I highly recommend buying your own Brompton from your local dealer if you have one or from my favorite Boulder, Colorado-based store, Freedom Folding Bikes (yes, they can ship the bike directly to you - that's what they've done for me): https://www.freedomfoldingbikes.com/ 🙌 Mention Active Towns for a special deal on accessories and add-ons. More information on Freedom Folding Bikes can be found here: https://www.cpr.org/2024/10/23/ukrain... Thank you so much for watching! If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs-up, leave a comment below, and share it with a friend. If you'd like more content like this, please Subscribe to the Active Towns Channel, and be sure to "Ring" that notification bell to select your notification preferences. Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel): 👉 Providence Safe Streets: https://www.providenceri.gov/planning... 👉 Providence Streets Coalition: https://pvdstreets.org/ 👉 Grow Smart Rhode Island: https://growsmartri.org/ 👉 Water Fire: https://waterfire.org/ 👉 Anna Zivarts No-Driver episode:    • EP 245 ANNA ZIVARTS: Steering away from ca...   👉 George M. Cohan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_... Chapters/Video Timeline: 0:00:00 Cold Open and Introductions 0:01:16 Beginning of the Tour 0:03:29 Broad Street Urban Trail 0:04:27 Bus Island 0:06:46 Neighborhood Greenways 0:09:53 Neighborhood Roundabouts 0:10:52 Bird Rescue 0:12:24 Providence Streets Coalition 0:16:37 City & Advocacy Relationship 0:20:30 Stop Signs w/ Roundabouts 0:27:33 501c3 and 501c4 0:32:58 195 Freeway Removal Area 0:35:59 Van Leesten Memorial Bridge 0:36:19 Waterfire 0:41:02 George M Cohan Path 0:44:00 India Point Park 0:49:19 Closing Remarks If you are a fan of the Active Towns Channel, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways: 1. Become a Member of Active Towns right here on YouTube by clicking on the Join button and selecting the level that best suits you 2. Join the Patreon community:   / activetowns   (Note: Patron benefits include early, ad-free access to all my video content) 3. If you enjoyed this video, you can also "leave a tip" by clicking on the Super Thanks button right here on YouTube or through "Buy Me a Coffee" https://www.buymeacoffee.com/activetowns 4. Make a donation to my non-profit, Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. at https://www.activetowns.org/donate Credits: Video and audio production by John Simmerman Music via Epidemic Sound: https://bit.ly/3rFLErD Resources used during the production of this video: My recording platform is Ecamm Live: https://bit.ly/3rwsUup Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite: https://bit.ly/35DBDDU For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below: Website: https://www.activetowns.org/ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/activetowns.... Newsletter: https://bit.ly/SubscribeActiveTownsNe... Background: Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 35 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility. Thanks once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful. Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2025