Overview

Providence is fortunate to have a sizable and highly diversified public park and recreation system.  The city’s 1,100-acre parks system includes seven miles of boulevards, two waterfront parks, a municipal golf course, and the 435-acre, Victorian-era Roger Williams Park.  The system includes four linear parks that can be considered greenways: Blackstone Boulevard, Pleasant Valley Parkway, River Walk, and Trinity Parkway.  These are located on the East Side, the lower North Side, Downtown, and the lower North Side, respectively. 

In addition to these existing greenways, several greenways are currently in the planning or construction phases of development.  Greenways under construction at this time include the Woonasquatucket River Greenway and an extension of the Providence River Walk to the south, both scheduled for completion within the next few years.  The Woonasquatucket River Greenway will provide a major recreational amenity for the neighborhoods of the West Side, while the River Walk extension will further enhance Downtown and ultimately serve as an important linkage to the East Side via India Point Park. 

A greenway around Mashapaug Pond and the East Coast Greenway’s route through Providence are currently under study, with implementation likely to begin within the next few years.  Both of these are located on Providence’s South Side.  With the completion of these greenways, a comprehensive citywide greenways system will begin to take shape.  The only major geographic section of the city that will lack a greenway is the upper North Side, or North End. 

Existing Greenways

Blackstone Boulevard

Located in the East Side neighborhood of Blackstone, Blackstone Boulevard is the city’s most heavily used recreational facility for walking and jogging.  Development of the 1.7-mile, 200-foot wide boulevard commenced in 1886, when the Proprietors of Swan Point Cemetery commissioned the renowned landscape architect Horace W. S. Cleveland to draw the initial plans for the boulevard.  Two roadways, divided by a wide median strip, were constructed between 1892 and 1894.  In 1902, a trolley line was built on the median.  The landscaping of the central strip was completed in 1904 according to plans suggested by the Olmsted Brothers.  Today, the 19.3-acre median strip is graced by enormous oaks, maples, and spruces, and flowering shrubs such as dogwoods and rhododendrons.  An unpaved trail through the center is used in all seasons.  In addition to rows of stately, century-old homes, the boulevard passes by Butler Hospital, a mental health facility; Laurelmead, a new retirement community; and the 210-acre Swan Point Cemetery which overlooks the Seekonk River. 

Pleasant Valley Parkway

Pleasant Valley Parkway, located in a residential area of Elmhurst, is a winding 0.6-mile long, 150-foot wide parkway with a landscaped median strip.  Constructed around 1909, the parkway was considered an important connection between Davis Park and the Mount Pleasant section of the city.  Today the 25-foot wide, 3.5-acre median strip is landscaped with silver maples, willows, cedars, spruce, tulip, and cottonwood trees planted in a naturalistic style.  In the center of the strip is a small stream, which runs through a five-foot-wide channel in the eastern part of the parkway and flows freely in the western section.  Three stone bridges carry the major cross streets over the stream.  In the southeastern section of the parkway, two steel and concrete pedestrian bridges span the stream.  There are narrow walking paths on each side of the stream.  Flanking the median are two-lane, two-way roads.

River Walk 

A focus of downtown Providence’s recent revitalization, the River Walk is located at the bottom of College Hill, just west of North Main Street.  Designed by William D. Warner Architects and Planners, the half-mile River Walk extends along the northeastern side of the Providence and Woonasquatucket Rivers from the Crawford Street Bridge to Waterplace Park, which lies just east of the Providence Place Mall between Exchange and Francis Streets.  The River Walk features cobblestoned pedestrian walkways, Venetian-style bridges, pavilions, and several sculptures and monuments.  Boat landings are accessible from the River Walk, and canoes, kayaks, and gondolas are frequently seen on the river.  Although landscaping along the walkways is sparse, the River Walk should acquire a greener character in the future when the trees and shrubs mature.  The River Walk is the site of Providence's Waterfire, a nationally acclaimed multi-media installation that features sixty small fires illuminating the river.

Trinity Parkway

Located in a residential area of Mount Pleasant, Trinity Parkway is the city’s shortest greenway.  Less than one eighth of a mile long and half an acre in area, the parkway extends off Cathedral Avenue and comes to a dead end against the forested northwestern edge of LaSalle Academy.  The parkway consists of two roadways flanking a central median strip.  The strip is landscaped with two rows of trees, dominated by pines.  It is unlikely that the parkway is used for active recreation, due to its small size.   

Developing Greenways

Woonasquatucket River Greenway

The Woonasquatucket River, recently designated an American Heritage River, is the primary focus of current greenway efforts in Providence.  The river greenway was conceived in 1993, when the city applied for a National Park Service grant to help improve the water quality, accessibility, and recreational uses of the river.  Over the next several years, a plan was developed for a 4.4-mile multi-purpose greenway extending from Waterplace Park in downtown Providence to the Providence-Johnston border.  Scheduled for completion within a few years, the greenway will vary in width from a narrow foot-path to expansive parks and will include conservation areas, community gardens, playfields, canoe landings, and 5.7 miles of bicycle and walking trails.  In addition to recreation, transportation, and preservation, an important focus of the greenway is economic revitalization.  With the redevelopment of several historic mills adjacent to the river, the greenway is expected to offer a substantial economic boost to the depressed West Side neighborhoods through which it passes.  Spearheaded by the Providence Plan, the $10 million Woonasquatucket River Greenway project has garnered funding from private, federal, state, and city sources.   

South Extension of River Walk

Currently under construction by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, the south extension of the River Walk is expected to be complete by early fall of 2001.  Like the existing River Walk, the extension was designed by William D. Warner Architects and Planners.  The $4.4-million project will involve the extension of the River Walk about one third of a mile beyond its current Crawford Street Bridge terminus to the Interstate 95 highway bridge.  The project will require the elimination of the South Water Street service road in order to make room for a sizable linear park featuring large shade trees and two Victorian-style pavilions.  The park will also include boardwalks along the river, a dock, and even a small sandy beach for wildlife.  After the relocation of Interstate 95, the River Walk will be extended all the way to India Point Park, almost a mile beyond its current southern boundary.  In the future, the west side of the Providence River may also be considered for a similar park.

Planned Greenways

Mashapaug Pond Greenway

The 69-acre, man-made Mashapaug Pond is the largest pond in Providence.  The pond feeds the Roger Williams Park ponds, which lie approximately two thirds of a mile to the southeast. In the past, Mashapaug Pond was a significant economic resource, supplying ice in the winter and water for nearby mills in the summer.  Today, the land surrounding the pond is mostly residential, with several areas of open space and an industrial tract along the northwestern shore.  Recently, the city acquired a substantial parcel of forested land along the pond’s eastern shore.  In 1996, a local landscape architecture firm was hired to prepare a conservation and development plan for the pond.  The city is currently working toward implementing the plan’s proposal for a two-mile walking trail around most of the pond’s perimeter.  On the eastern shore, the trail will probably take the form of a paved pathway winding through the wooded area near the pond’s edge.  On the western shore, the trail would pass through the 30-foot utility easement along the bank of the pond.  Where the bank is steep, the trail might take the form of a boardwalk extending out over the water’s edge.  In conjunction with this project, the city is investigating the feasibility of redeveloping a brownfield site on the pond’s eastern shore.  The local organization Keep Providence Beautiful has also been involved in plans for this part of the pond, proposing a “nature retreat/outdoor classroom” as an adjunct to the main greenway trail.  

East Coast Greenway

Organized by the East Coast Greenway Alliance based in Wakefield, Rhode Island, the East Coast Greenway will be an “inter-urban equivalent of the Appalachian Trail”--a 2300-mile non-motorized recreation and transportation corridor stretching from Maine to Florida through cities, suburbs, villages, and countryside.  The entire greenway is scheduled for completion by 2010, and hundreds of miles are already developed or under construction.  The greenway will include a 55-mile segment through Rhode Island, with a stretch through Providence.  Although the greenway’s route through Providence is still under study, the most promising proposal appears to be a trail running parallel to Allens Avenue.  The Alliance also intends to link India Point Park to Blackstone Park along the western shore of the Seekonk River.