So many ways for Woonsocket to thrive with better transit
Newly elected City Councilor Kristina Contreras Fox is an experienced bus rider who knows what improved transit can mean for Woonsocket.
As a student and young adult living in Providence, she took ‘Uncle RIPTA’ everywhere – to school, work, visiting her parents, friends, shopping … all of life’s essentials. There was always another bus coming, so it was both affordable and convenient for getting around. Even though many depend on RIPTA in Woonsocket, the level of service and wait times makes it less practical with her very busy schedule these days.
But she misses taking the bus and has high hopes for seeing the improvements planned for Woonsocket as part of Rhode Island’s 2020-approved Transit Master Plan (TMP).
We met up at the Councilor’s downtown apartment and picked up the Route #87 bus to Missy’s Family Restaurant to talk transit and Woonsocket. Among the most important improvements would be the TMP’s call for more frequent bus service and hours of operation, making it a viable mobility option to get more people, where they need to go, when they need to get there. What else? How about improving the rider experience with more bus shelters and a centrally located transit hub. The concept of ‘mobility hubs’ for every community is among the proposed improvements in the Transit Master Plan and Councilor Fox would love to see one established in the commercial area between Clinton and Social Streets.
Woonsocket’s downtown Main Street district has seen increased private investment and revitalization since the City enacted a more flexible zoning ordinance there in 2015, and recently expanded in 2024. It has helped to reduce the storefront vacancy rate and allowed hundreds of new housing units to be created in some of the most attractive historic buildings in downtown. Embracing transit-oriented development (TOD), with efficient connections to nearby communities and Providence would be a game-changer for downtown Woonsocket.
“We’re the smallest state in the country”, she said, “There’s no reason for us to not have the best public transit. We can do it here, and we should”!
View more Rhodies-In-Transit HERE.
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Learn more about Rhode Island’s Transit Master Plan, a data-driven, publicly-vetted and adopted vision for getting more Rhodies where they’re going when they need to get there, conveniently, affordably and with dignity.