The Providence Foundation

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The Providence Foundation

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The Foundation originates and advocates policies and projects for the development of downtown and Providence as a whole.

Its primary focus is to create an environment conducive to economic development and the creation of a vibrant neighborhood.

10/19/2026

Homelessness is solvable, and Denver is proving it.

Since 2023, Denver has cut the number of people sleeping outside by 64% and reduced large encampments by 91%. In 2025 alone, its progress was 13 times faster than the U.S. average.

How? Outreach teams and social workers meet people where they are and connect them to shelter and services. The city created places people actually want to live, including tiny-home villages and a converted hotel with privacy, hot showers and kitchens, and no one has turned down a spot. Staff then help residents get IDs, jobs, training and housing vouchers so they can move into permanent homes.

It’s a proven model, and Providence can do this too. Bringing people indoors and onto a path forward makes our city and our Downtown stronger for everyone.

10/16/2026

A half-empty bus doesn’t tell the whole story.

In a recent letter to The Providence Journal, Grow Smart RI makes the case that a bus that looks quiet at 9 p.m. may have carried hundreds of riders earlier in the day, and late trips keep the system working for people who work, study, or travel outside the 9-to-5.

The real measure is value, and RIPTA delivers. A national benchmarking review found that RIPTA moves more people, across a larger service area, at a more effective cost per trip than transit agencies serving similar populations.

Affordable, reliable transit gets workers to jobs and customers to local businesses, and it keeps Downtown Providence and all of Rhode Island moving.

Learn more about RIPTA’s value in Grow Smart RI’s full letter. Link in bio.

10/13/2026

Before Executive Director David Salvatore even gets to the office, he’s already supported the Elmhurst neighborhood's small businesses: coffee at LaSalle Bakery, an occasional haircut, and dropping his son at the bus stop... all within a quarter mile of his own stop on the 57.

That’s what good transit does: it stitches neighborhoods to downtown and keeps local businesses running in between.

10/09/2026

We heard you loud and clear!

Your comments on the proposed bus hub move have been coming in, and they deserve real answers.

The project is now in design and engineering, which is when details like street crossings, walking routes, and downtown drop-off spots can still be shaped.

Rhode Island Public Transit Authority says they will keep gathering rider input... so keep the comments coming! Tell us what would make your trip better.

10/05/2026

Better transit means a stronger Providence and a stronger Rhode Island.

RIPTA’s Metro Connector Study is exploring faster, more frequent service linking Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, and Cranston through the heart of Downtown. Reliable transit connects people to jobs, homes, and local businesses, and it helps communities across the state grow together.

We’re encouraged to see this conversation moving forward.

10/02/2026

Today is the last day of Kitchen-Palooza! Don’t miss your last chance for 30% off stone, a free sink, 60% off remnants, 0% financing, plus giveaways, prizes, and a free tee-shirt. We’re open 10am-3pm, see you soon!

10/01/2026

Downtown Providence works when people can get to it.

Every job, apartment, and storefront downtown depends on the infrastructure that connects them. That includes streets, sidewalks, transit, and the routes that bring workers in from every corner of Rhode Island.

In a recent conversation with Ocean State Media, RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand made the point clearly: investing in transit “is not a social service; it’s getting people to work.”

That’s the case for investing in downtown infrastructure. When the core is connected, businesses can hire, residents can reach opportunity, and communities across the state share in the growth.

Downtown Providence is moving forward.

Read the full interview from Ocean State Media: https://www.oceanstatemedia.org/one-on-one-with-ian-donnis-stories/2026-09-23/we-need-to-be-responsive-to-our-riders-ripta-ceo-on-the-future-of-public-transit-in-rhode-island

09/28/2026

Ever raced across downtown to Kennedy Plaza praying your connecting bus wouldn’t leave without you? Picture stepping off the train at Providence Station and it’s already right there. We know, walking seven minutes isn’t far... until you’re crunched for time, backpack digging into your shoulders or suitcase wheels catching on every sidewalk crack.

That’s the idea behind Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s plan to move the region’s central bus hub from Kennedy Plaza to a new transit center right next to Providence Station. The blueprint shows a terminal with amenities riders have been asking for: restrooms, coffee shops, digital screens tracking bus arrivals, all steps from the Amtrak and MBTA train platforms.

Today, the bus and the train operate blocks apart, like two separate systems instead of one. For a state where RIPTA riders come from all over Rhode Island, not just downtown Providence, that gap matters.

So we’re asking: how would you feel if the bus hub moved next to the train station? Tell us in the comments. 👇

09/25/2026

Parking in Providence has gone digital 🚗📱

The City of Providence has moved permits, payments and citations into the Passport Parking app.
Here’s what that means for you:
✅ Already have a permit? It’s been moved over. Just create a Passport account to link it.
✅ Need a new permit or have a new car or plate? Handle it in the app.
✅ Rates, fines, permit types and meters aren’t changing, and you can still pay with coins or by text.

Read the full story from the Providence Journal at the link in our bio.
PassportParking

09/24/2026

What if getting off the train meant you were already at your bus stop?

Bethany’s split her life between Rhode Island and New York for years, utilizing both the train and bus to travel between states. Her take is simple: put the two next to each other, and a city that asks riders to guess their way between systems becomes one that just... works.

And this summer, that same stretch of land proved it could handle the crowds, hosting thousands of fans for the World Cup FanZone. Now RIPTA’s board has moved the project into design and environmental review for a new transit center at Station Park, linked directly to the train station, Amtrak, and MBTA.

For riders like Bethany, that’s not a talking point. It’s one fewer transfer, one fewer thing to figure out for visitors in an unfamiliar city.

Should Providence’s bus hub move next to the train station? Tell us what you think below. 👇

Address

30 Exchange Ter Ste 4C
Providence, RI
02903

Telephone

+14015213248

Website

http://www.provfoundation.com/

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