The Providence Place Mall in Downtown Providence thrives every weekend as a place to purchase anything you need, or just a place to spend a rainy Sunday. While PPM is filled on the weekends, Downtown Providence is pretty barren. People wander the streets waiting for a matinee at PPAC or get something to eat at some of the places that I have talked about before, but, overall, Downtown isn't very thriving. Although it may pick up for nightlife, it's nothing like it could be. One feature that takes away from Downtown is the mall.
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| The Providence Place Mall |
One problem with Downtown Providence is the shortage of stores. All of the stores teens and college students are attracted to are in the mall. Imagine if all those stores were scattered Downtown. If even one floor of what was on the mall was to be relocated just a few blocks away, Downtown Providence would become a destination for many. Filling up storefronts on Westminster, Weybosset, and Washington, would greatly impact the amount of traffic coming through downtown. Although people may think that having all the stores outside would make a rainy Sunday a day where you could do nothing, what do people in NYC do? They still go out and shop, packing the streets with shopping bags and umbrellas.
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| Providence Place Mall relative to Downtown |
Having more shops downtown would also greatly increase the amount of use for RIPTA. More parking spots would be filled Downtown, and people wouldn't want to deal with parking in a traffic filled area. Therefore, RIPTA is the perfect option: quick, easy, and it brings you directly to Kennedy Plaza, the heart of Downtown. Also, if there was still a mall, but also shops downtown, people could easily travel from one place to the other. PPM and Downtown are not that far away. Walk down a set of stairs in PPM and you are just a few small blocks from Kennedy Plaza.
However, another problem with the connection from the Providence Place Mall to Downtown is the threatening Francis St., Memorial Blvd. intersection. Crossing this intersection is equivalent to crossing a highway. Anyone who might think of going Downtown from the Mall would quickly change their mind after encountering Memorial Blvd. With only a Fidelity Bank in sight when about to cross the street,the few are tempted to cross a road as wide as a highway.
Once a consumer enters the mall, they generally do not leave, walking only from the parking garage to the inside. I mean, why would you? There aren't any stores or anything of interest in sight. All that is across the street is Station Park, a large green area where, most of the time, nothing happens. Although heavy buildings cannot be constructed on most of this space because the Amtrak trains run underneath, this should not rule out the idea of just
something happening. Maybe a skinny building running along the sidewalk, with a few stores. Or even simpler, making some paths and creating some shade, drawing in people, which in turn could draw lemonade carts and other food trucks.
What some people don't know is that the mall was first created to revitalize Downtown Providence. We can talk about how the economy has stalled the revitalization of Downtown, but when it comes to it, the mall has collected all the action that Downtown could have had, and packed it under one convenient, warm, roof. If changes are made to the Memorial, Francis intersection, and
something happens to Station Park, maybe, just maybe, Downtown can be on the comeback trail.
The great thing about New York City's MTA is that it is extremely easy to navigate. After looking at the maps for just a minute you have a very good idea for how to arrive at your destination, even if this is your first time using the Subway. RIPTA is great, don't get me wrong, but adding more signage and showing map routes a little more could make people feel more comfortable using RIPTA, creating more traffic flow through Downtown.
