63 replies to this topic

[Cotuit]

OK, we have a Pawtucket subforum. Now I need all you Bucketeers out there to post information about your community. I know there's lots going on up there, so let us all know about it.

[Recchia]

Excellent

[HartfordTycoon]

I'm just curious. Could someone post some stats on Pawtucket. I have never been and hardly have heard about it before. What is the population? Is it considered Metro Providence? Is there a Skyline of any sort?

[Cotuit]

HartfordTycoon, on Mar 8 2006, 09:31 AM, said:

I'm just curious. Could someone post some stats on Pawtucket. I have never been and hardly have heard about it before. What is the population? Is it considered Metro Providence? Is there a Skyline of any sort?

I'll post a city profile soon (I'm actually working on one for Hartford that I should finish first).

Quickly, off the top of my head, it's a very small city, I'd wildly guess below 50k, though I could be way off on that. It borders Providence (just to the north) and is part of Providence's metropolitan area (the whole state of Rhode Island is). There are some tall buildings, including the city hall which is an excellent building, but they don't really come together to form a skyline. I guess everything has a skyline technically, but no, it does not have a group of tall buildings. It's not in a class with cities like New Haven or Stamford, it's more in the New Bedford or Lowell category.

[Cotuit]

Cotuit, on Mar 8 2006, 09:41 AM, said:

Quickly, off the top of my head, it's a very small city, I'd wildly guess below 50k, though I could be way off on that.

OK, I was selling the Bucket short, according to the RI Economic Development Corporation Pawtucket had a 2000 population of 72,958 making it the 4th most populous city in Rhode Island. At 8.74 square miles, it has a density of 8,351 persons per square mile.

According to a spreadsheet attached to that page, the 2003 estimated population was 74,330.

[brick]

Cotuit, on Mar 8 2006, 09:41 AM, said:

Quickly, off the top of my head, it's a very small city, I'd wildly guess below 50k, though I could be way off on that. It borders Providence (just to the north) and is part of Providence's metropolitan area (the whole state of Rhode Island is). There are some tall buildings, including the city hall which is an excellent building, but they don't really come together to form a skyline. I guess everything has a skyline technically, but no, it does not have a group of tall buildings. It's not in a class with cities like New Haven or Stamford, it's more in the New Bedford or Lowell category.

Part of the reason for no skyline is that there were disjointed attempts at 70's renewal.  There are a few 10-15 story buildings but they are scattered and are typically just apartment blocks with no interesting architechture.

That said, Pawtucket doesn't really "need" a Skyline.  Just to make a comparison, Providence:Pawtucket::Hartford:East Hartford or maybe Windsor.  I think the analogy works.  When Providence went downhill, Pawtucket went even further and has had a pretty bad rap for a while.  Only in recent years has there been some pride in the community.  

Population is about 75000.

Like Providence, it does suffer somewhat from I-95 dividing it right down the middle.  This disconnects the downtown with most of the neighborhoods.

[Garris]

brick, on Mar 8 2006, 09:56 AM, said:

Like Providence, it does suffer somewhat from I-95 dividing it right down the middle.  This disconnects the downtown with most of the neighborhoods.

I agree that Pawtucket doesn't need a skyline...

For CT people, I think Pawtucket feels a bit like Waterbury in scale (and like Waterbury, there's a highway right through the center of town), although Pawtucket isn't as depressed and I think Pawtucket has a much brighter future.

Regarding 95 going through the center of town, I was just in Pawtucket recently and thinking to myself that the highway isn't nearly as devastating there as it is in Providence.  In Providence, it (and 195) literally splits the downtown into West and Center and JD and downtown in definative fashion.  In Pawtucket, the downtown is actually quite intact with it and it's mostly separating a residential area from the downtown, so not nearly as bad.  In fact, if downtown Pawtucket can roar back (and it I think it can), that proximity to the highway will be quite an asset.  

- Garris

[HartfordTycoon]

It sounds kind of like New Britain, if it were in better shape. I think the population is pretty comparable with New Britain at about 75k I think. Waterbury's actually a pretty large city by New England standards at about 105k. Also New Britain is a Metro Hartford City, similar to Pawtucket and PVD. Waterbury is kind of out by itself and isolated from other CT cities. Sounds interesting though. I think we need a plan for New Britain to make Greater Hartford more attractive as a whole. I'll have to keep an eye on Pawtucket......

[Garris]

HartfordTycoon, on Mar 8 2006, 11:36 AM, said:

It sounds kind of like New Britain, if it were in better shape...

Yup, New Britain is a better comparison than Waterbury...

- Garris

[Recchia]

Pawtucket's an interesting place.  For outsiders, it's very industrial, with large companies headquartered here like Teknor Apex and Hasbro.  It's got McCoy Stadium (minor league baseball), it's own RIPTA transit hub, the first mill in America (Slater Mill), a first class park and bikepath in Slater Park and a really nice, underutilized waterfront.  It has a large Portuguese population and also a large Irish population and a decent sized Hispanic population.  Also, lot's of huge churches with grand entrances.  It's housing stock I'd say is primarily 2-3 unit houses, with more single family homes mixed in the further east you get towards Seekonk.  

How's that for random info.

[Garris]

Have there been any ideas floated for that waterfront Recchia?

- Garris

[Cotuit]

Recchia, on Mar 8 2006, 12:57 PM, said:

It has a large Portuguese population and also a large Irish population and a decent sized Hispanic population.

I believe it has the largest concentration of Cape Verdeans in the US as well.

[eltron]

Garris, on Mar 8 2006, 12:59 PM, said:

Have there been any ideas floated for that waterfront Recchia?

- Garris

You are invited to the Riverfront Master Plan Public Meeting #2.

Based on the comments and feedback at the January 12th public meeting, Gates, Leighton &Associates has illustrated the potential development of docks, public access, intermodal connections and site amenities at Town Landing and the State Pier.

These will be presented on March 9th, 7-9pm,
at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center Theater, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Garris]

eltron, on Mar 8 2006, 01:42 PM, said:

You are invited to the Riverfront Master Plan Public Meeting #2.

Based on the comments and feedback at the January 12th public meeting, Gates, Leighton &Associates has illustrated the potential development of docks, public access, intermodal connections and site amenities at Town Landing and the State Pier.

These will be presented on March 9th, 7-9pm,
at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center Theater, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Looks great.  I'll try to make it!

- Garris

[Recchia]

eltron, on Mar 8 2006, 01:42 PM, said:

These will be presented on March 9th, 7-9pm,
at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center Theater, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Damnit! Everything is always a thursday  

[Cotuit]

eltron, on Mar 8 2006, 01:42 PM, said:

You are invited to the Riverfront Master Plan Public Meeting #2.

Based on the comments and feedback at the January 12th public meeting, Gates, Leighton &Associates has illustrated the potential development of docks, public access, intermodal connections and site amenities at Town Landing and the State Pier.

These will be presented on March 9th, 7-9pm,
at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center Theater, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Bucket Blog has a good rundown of what went down at this meeting.

[Recchia]

Quote

Toward the end, there was an impassioned call to put green space first and let the parking suffer. It was met with the only "here, here" of the meeting. Only time will tell if that sentiment will enjoy support moving forward.

I'll second that here here.  

I can't wait for the new pedestrian bridge.

[brick]

Recchia, on Mar 10 2006, 01:07 PM, said:

I'll second that here here.  

I can't wait for the new pedestrian bridge.

The National Grid land they are talking about in the blog is, I have to assume, the Taft's Landing project that has been mentioned a couple of times.  I would love to see a little village in there.

As for the ped bridge that seems like a less than ideal place.  Obviously it will be good to get peds off of the somehwat dangerous Division St. bridge but I don't see a lot of peds using that - mostly because there isn't much ped friendly stuff on either side.  I'd rather see a ped bridge going from Taft's Landing across to school street where the state boat landing is, about 1/4 mile south of division st.  Although it would require another 100 feet or so of span and therefore probably cost a lot more.

[Recchia]

I'm tryin to get a sense of this geographically.  Is this map correct?

[frymasterspeck]

Yes, Recchia, that is the correct place.

Maps of the previous version of the plan are available through The Pawtucket Foundation, and I hope to have current graphics from GLA posted on the Wikipedia page whenever I get them.

Edited by frymasterspeck, 10 March 2006 - 01:59 PM.