South Water Street bike path supporters rally in face of Washington Bridge crisis

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Communities around the Washington Bridge are looking for solutions to alleviate traffic amid the westbound closure.

But some advocates say they are looking in the wrong spots, with Providence looking to open up more lanes for drivers by possibly taking them away from bikers.

“We live in a city, there will be congestion during rush hours and peak times. That is a given,” said Dylan Giles, an organizer with Providence Streets Coalition. “For the other 23 hours of the day, we shouldn’t be giving over two lanes of traffic to cars at all times when it’s only possibly needed for short amounts of time.”

Community members gathered outside of Providence City Hall on Monday, calling for Mayor Smiley to leave the South Water Street bike path alone as the city looks to ease bridge traffic.

Protesters said that removing the lane would be a step back for the city.

“I think we all know that the bridge issue is temporary,” said Taylor Rash. “I hope that it’s sooner rather than later, but it would be such a loss to lose this bike transportation just for the sake of temporary traffic.”

Advocates said removing the lane is more than an inconvenience, posing a real safety threat for commuters.

“I think it’s, from a safety point of view, from a sustainability point of view, from a city policy point of view, we need to have more alternatives to cars, not fewer,” said Debbie Schimberg, a biker at the rally.

Nothing is set in stone yet, but an update is expected from the city in the coming weeks on what the plan will be.

“I’ve really depended on that for transportation,” said Madi Garvin, another biker. “I used to live in East Providence, and it was invaluable getting and commuting into Providence and into Johnston.”

“I’ve had a lot of really scary incidents on South Main and South Water before it was built,” Garvin continued. “And yeah, it would be nice to not die on the road!”

During the rally, Ward 1 Councilman John Goncalves said the city council is working on a proposal in opposition to this proposed change for its Thursday meeting.

ABC 6 also reached out to Mayor Smiley’s office, who said the mayor should announce temporary and permanent plans for infrastructure to cut back on bridge traffic in the coming week.