Newport Redevelopment Plan

[Recchia]

The ferry is the best way to get to Newport, if you don't mind the price. I hate driving to Newport in the summer. One time I actually parked at Shaw's in Middletown and walked down to Thames St, thats how much I hate it.

[Gusterfell]

Convenient? That would be a nightmare location. Mary St is a one-way, and too narrow for two-way traffic. Furthermore, it's stuck between two more one-ways, Spring and Thames. And actually, Clark is also a one-way off Washington Square, if we want to be technical about it.

None of which connects up to America's Cup/Memorial Blvd in any intuitive way.

Upper Thames, Spring, and Farewell would be a never-ending parking lot. People on America's Cup would be tearing their hair out trying to figure out how to get to the lot.

Upper Thames, Spring, and Farewell are parking lots much of the time as it is. As that opinion piece pointed out, a lot of that congestion is due to people circling, fighting for the few parking spaces on Thames St. and its surroundings. A garage in the area wouldn't increase congestion, but rather reduce it by getting those cars off the road much more quickly.

That, of course, assumes the city puts up clear, easy to follow signs directing people to the garage. Like MikeR pointed out, the location isn't difficult to get to, it's just not marked very well.

[Lone Ranger]

The lot in question has been a municipal parking lot for a long as I can remember. From America's Cup you double back down Thames, then take a right up Mill St, left on Spring, and left again on Church. It'a always been this way.

From the bridge, its' straight down Farewell onto Thames, then left up Mill, left on Spring, and left again on Church.

You exit the lot/garage on Mary St and up Mary on to Spring. If you are heading for the bridge, you just follow Truro to Farewell St to the 128 interchange.

That's Newport for you - a colonial city with narrow streets and lots of one ways. Once you learn to get around, its' actually not that bad.

Yeah, I know how to get there, but thanks anyway for the directions.

And yeah that spot is already a public lot. Trouble is, we're talking about upgrading a lot that holds, maybe, 100 cars right now into one that holds 1,000+ cars and is the central parking spot in the city. And it's easy for us to get there, those of us who know the city and the layout of the roads. But for tourists who have never been Newport before, it's a daunting problem.

I never go to any unfamiliar city without a good map. I almost sorta collect them. Some people collect decorative spoons, I collect maps. Most people don't seem to think of that, though. And in Newport, if you don't know the city, you have to have a very good map to drive around without going crazy -- specifically, one that tells you where the one-ways are. If you don't have that, and you're traveling by car, you're trouble.

Listen, I know a thing or two about this. I work for the Post Office. I'm outside a lot, so people zero in on me as a kind of unofficial information desk. I can't tell you how often I get asked for directions. I can't tell you how many accidents, near-accidents, and illegal maneuvers I've witnessed. Two days ago, I thought I was gonna see a kid get killed on Upper Thames. He was riding a bicycle, stopped short, and fell over into the street right into the path of an oncoming car. I was directly across the street, watching the situation unfold, horrified. Car just managed to stop, luckily. Just this Friday, I saw a guy get arrested for making an illegal turn from Memorial onto Thames after a cop told him not to.

Today, I was walking down Spring St on my lunchbreak. Just after I passed Mill St, a desperate pair of ladies squealed up to the curb in a sedan and begged for directions to "the JFK church." They wanted St Mary's, of course, which as you know, was directly behind them. I told them so and pointed out the spire. Well, OK, they said, but then of course they wanted to know, but how do you get there from here?

Ya can't. Or ya can, but not without taking about 10 turns, most of them involving areas of a) poor visibility, and/or b) heavy auto traffic, and/or c) heavy pedestrian traffic, and/or d) confusing road patterns. And then when you get there, if you're lucky enough to get there without getting yourself lost again, there's no parking that you can safely use without running the risk of being towed. I ended up just telling them that they were better off walking.

Newport is an easy town to walk, but driving, it's an absolute beotch.

And the thing is, people don't understand driving in Newport. They're accustomed to usual American roads in usual American cities, and they don't understand that things are different when you're trying to drive in a colonial city that has been retrofitted for auto traffic. They shouldn't be driving anyway, because you miss most of the beauty of Newport -- the richness of detail -- unless you're on foot. But that's beside the point. Point is that they're here, and they're here in bunches, and we need them to keep coming here, so how do we make the experience of getting around in central Newport as palatable as possible?

Better signage is a must. More parking is a must. Safer streets (both for car and pedestrians) are a must.

And honestly, if we could keep all this auto traffic out of the heart of town, I think Newport's tourism & entertainment industries would explode. People love Newport. They love the eats, the nightlife, the history, the culture past & present, the society, the water and beaches, the architecture, the human scale, everything about it. The only things they don't like are the lack of parking, the difficult & dangerous driving conditions, and the risky pedestrian crossings. But still they come here in their cars. They don't realize that, by driving into & in the city, they themselves become the problem.

It's not their fault. They just don't know any better.

So let's help them with that. Take this mega-garage idea and do everybody a favor, stick it in the North End and keep the traffic out of the heart of town. Let them take public transit into the parts of town that tourists/daytrippers/nightlifers want to see. Ween them off their cars, so to speak. They'll go wherever we put the parking.

What I'd like to see is for this project to be put it in the North End, where there's space for it and where people don't have to drive into the city proper (which is exactly what we should try to avoid) just to reach the parking. Incorporate affordable housing or condos or another hotel into the project. Give it street-level retail and orient the structure so it will fit into and enhance the city's future (urban) plans for that section of town when the city paves over the railroad tracks.

I daydream a lot. But that's what I'd like to see.

[MikeR]

Lone Ranger -

I agree with everything you said - it just that downtown Newport and Historic Hill was designed for horses and buggys, not cars, so no one will ever fix the driving problem in Newport; its' just the way it is.

A better solution is to build a parking garage at Jai Alai. Then, tie in rail from that garage to the existing track used by the Newport Dinner train - its' only a few huundred yards from Jai Alai to the tracks near Third St. Tourists can commute in by rail to the Gateway Center. Perhaps light surface rail on America's Cup and Thames would help moving people around.

[Lone Ranger]

Mike, I'd be the first to agree with you, but as you can see from that link, there will be no commuter rail on Aquidneck Island any time in the foreseeable future. That's a pity, from my point of view, because I think the right rail connections would not only solve a lot of Newport's traffic problems, but also help turn the state as a whole into a more desirable tourist destination -- rather than a couple of separate, smaller tourist destinations.

But since that's not happening, it at least comforts me to know that Newport has some ambitions for the North End. One of their ideas suggests repaving over the existing rail line, at least beyond the Naval Station. The tracks exist for no purpose -- except the Dinner Train -- beyond that point, so why keep it? You can make a lot more tax money off more intensive use of that land than you do from the Dinner Train folks. Under this plan, I suppose, they would re-create Fourth St.

Fourth St was waaaay before my time, but I know it used to exist because you can still see a remaining sign for it where Willow dead-ends at the RR tracks.

Of course, Fourth St died when they cut a swath out of the heart of town to create America's Cup.

So they're going to create a new urban section of town. Great. Make this garage proposal a focal point of that plan. The city should design it to coincide with their future plans for America's Cup/Memorial Blvd.

On another note, it's a pity Brooks decided to build a suburban HQ off Rt 2. Poor timing. If Newport's plans had been 5 or 10 years farther along, they might have convinced Brooks to build an urban HQ complex in the North End. As Mapman and I were talking about before, it would be nice to see a couple of office complexes find a home in New Newport, to the end of having our principal cities again be our actual economic engines.

And I don't know why, but I'd like to see some uber-modern designs. Maybe because Newport already has a European feel to it.

And along the way, could we please find an excuse to demolish the existing office tower at the end of Third St? That building is a textbook example of the uber-ugly, uber-cheap school of design. Seriously, folks here at UP hate the current BCBS HQ in LaSalle Square because it looks like it belongs in Warwick. Well, the BCBS building looks like class compared to the building I'm talking ...

A prime example of the importance of materials in design.

[MapmanNo1]

First off, both locals and tourists drive in Newport more than we should. Newport is a walking and two-wheeled city. Unfortunately, that's something our culture just doesn't connect with. And the Mary Street Garage is not aimed at daytrippers looking for a place to park for the day. It is aimed at locals going downtown and regular visitors who are relatively familiar with the city going downtown for a dinner or event. I think the garage is a great idea - it's about time the city actually build it!

Lone Ranger, I've got to disagree with you on locating a satellite parking garage in the North End. For large special events, this satellite system (be it in the North End for Tall Ships or in Middletown for the US Open) works incredibly well - people are willing to jump through a few more hoops with parking and transportation because they know that there are extra people in the city. But for everyday tourism, I feel that a satellite system would not be as successful. People know that, despite the hassles, they can park a couple blocks from their restaurant or attraction. Why deal with taking a shuttle and leaving your car in some lot on the outskirts of town if you don't have to?

And besides, the city already has a satellite parking facility for tourists. And instead of having to take a shuttle downtown, they are already downtown and can or take a trolley to the mansions. It's called the Gateway Center. And it already has a Visitors Center attached! I don't see the reason to replicate the Gateway Center in a location is that is less accessible (that is, further from the center of town) than what we've already got. Certainly, many things need to be done to realize the full potential of the Gateway. The recent renovations are a great first step. But creating a roundabout at Marlborough and Broadway to angle tourist traffic to the Gateway garage, as well as having traffic come down the West Side Shoreline Drive, through the Rotary and Bridge ramps, and straight to the Gateway (instead of down 114 and Broadway) will help steer tourist traffic away from local arteries that can be confusing to visitors. But these require a series of infrastructure improvements and road realignments that are less than a sure thing. And while various pieces of this traffic improvement plan are being talked about (Shoreline Drive, Bridge ramp realignment, Marlborough roundabout), they are all separate plans. Nobody has been talking about them as a unified effort, part of a greater vision to improve access to downtown Newport.

I feel that a just as pressing (though, unfortunately, less talked-about) issue is reconfiguring America's Cup Avenue to rebuild downtown's urban fabric while opening up some useful park and development sites. The Taylor & Partners plan, though it did address this issue somewhat, has failed to galvanize action around this issue as it had for others, such as the Mary Street Garage. The 1997 Harborfront Plan had some bold and imaginitive proposals on this issue, and it deserves a more thorough hearing.

As far as tourist shuttles/satellite parking goes, the effort I am really watching is the proposed seasonal train from the owner of the Newport Dinner Train. First he has to hurdle over the costs of track improvement and rolling stock aquisition for this new service. He wants to run a shuttle from the Gateway to Melville, right where Brian O'Neill is proposing a massive 1,500-slip marina and retail/residential/marine complex. This development has the potential to become a true destination, especially for the Carnegie Abbey crowd, yacht owners and crews. But I am not yet sure if it will attract middle-class tourists from the north who may stop there before coming to Newport on the train shuttle.

And, despite what Colleen McGrath may want, MBTA commuter rail to Newport is going nowhere fast. This can only be a serious issue after the Fall River extension gets built...and that has been put on the T's back burner.

[Lone Ranger]

Yes, we all drive too much. But as far as Newport goes, it's not the locals who make traffic terrible. Summer just "officially" ended. See how much more smoothly traffic will run without the summer crowd.

I'd be interested to know what Newport's population swells to in the height of the summer.

The Gateway Center is a joke. I have no idea what they were thinking when they built that lot.

Why "deal" with a central parking system in the North End? You say "deal" as if it would be some kind of additional hassle. But that's exactly the reason to move the parking there: it would save a lot of hassle (on the other end of things) because it would be easy to find and to get to -- no small concerns. The North End is right off the highway and is in its nature autocentric: people can drive much more comforably there than they can in the heart of town. Even America's Cup/Memorial are bad driving because, though autocentric roads themselves, they service smaller arteries that are nothing but retrofitted colonial roads.

In essence, a parking complex in the North End would be the same idea as the Gateway Center now, but with a slightly longer trolley ride.

All other things being equal, people will park where we tell them to park.

I agree about putting America's Cup on some kind of diet and redeveloping much of the land. As currently designed, I don't think it works for anybody. Again, I wish the city would develop some kind of comprehensive strategy. I keep hearing good ideas, but they're good ideas in isolation. C'mon Newport, let's put it all together now ...

If the Mary St lot is mainly intended for local use, I can deal with that. But it's not going to do a thing for tourist traffic. And I still think it's a very bad idea to funnel traffic down Thames St., especially with all of the foot-traffic in the area.

Hey, BTW ya'll, speaking of that area of town, as I was turning from Washington Square onto Thames Street yesterday, I almost ran headlong into a tourist-type (out-of-state plate) who was driving the wrong way down Thames. Fun fun.

[MapmanNo1]

1) I'd be interested to know what Newport's population swells to in the height of the summer.

2) The Gateway Center is a joke. I have no idea what they were thinking when they built that lot.

3) You say "deal" as if it would be some kind of additional hassle. In essence, a parking complex in the North End would be the same idea as the Gateway Center now, but with a slightly longer trolley ride.

4) All other things being equal, people will park where we tell them to park.

1) I've heard varying reports on this one. The city's year-round population is 24,000; the island is around 60,000. There are (I'm guesstimating from what I've heard) 100,000 people on some of the busier summer days within city limits...though that could be high.

2) Why do you think the Gateway is a joke? Granted, it's not an architectural gem, but it's the first thing many visitors reach when they hit downtown. It provides ample parking and a fantastic visitors center, as well as trolley, bus, pedestrian, and ferry connections. While there need to be many improvements (a roundabout at Marlborough and America's Cup would be nice, to say "Stop driving! You've arrived!"), it acts as a key reception point for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

3) If you think people aren't willing to park at the Gateway and walk to their destination, what makes you think they will park in the North End and hop on a shuttle? People will have concerns about when the shuttle stops running, how much it costs (it can't be free, even the Gateway isn't free), and how safe their vehicle is in a remote location. Why build a whole new facility when all we need is to improve the one we've got?

4) Au contraire. With the exception of special events, people will park where they want to park, provided it is possible and convenient. We have to make the Gateway more convenient (cheaper as well as easier to find and use) than a meter or private lot on Thames. It takes more than telling people that they can park at the Gateway; it takes giving them the street design cues (roundabouts, signs, visible garages) to have them park their car where we want them to.

And also, one idea that's been bandied about town: Newport needs to highlight its colonial heritage more effectively. Its role as a beacon of religious freedom and as a colonial trade capital makes it unique in the world. The Historical Society already has information signs on Historic Hill streets; why doesn't Newport create its own Freedom Trail from the Gateway Center, by these signs, connecting with the Colony House, Touro Synagogue, Trinity Church, Redwood Library, and other colonial landmarks? Reaction?

[Lone Ranger]

It provides ample parking

And if the GC is a joke, that's the punchline. Nowhere near enough parking there. I don't care one way or the other about the architecture, and the intermodal capabilities are actually pretty impressive. If I have one knock on the facility, it's the location, on the wrong side of America's Cup as it is. But the basic problem is the limited numbers of spaces. Nowhere near enough. The city greatly underestimated the demand for parking. Hence the current dilemma.

I'll never find it now, but there was a newspaper piece about this not too long ago -- I'm thinking within the last year. I can't remember what newspaper it was, whether the ProJo or NewpNews, and I can't remember the general thrust of the article. The one thing that stuck out in my mind was a statement from a Newport city official stating exactly what I just told you: in decades past, the city never anticipated a need for parking such as one that exists now. Further, far from trying to serve all the future demand for parking, both from residents and tourists, the city's (bewildering) specific intent was, on the contrary, to limit the number of available parking spaces. "Biggest mistake we've ever made," the official said. That's the one quote from the article that I still remember.

I'll try to find that article again, but ... as you can see, I haven't made that job easy on myself.

3) If you think people aren't willing to park at the Gateway and walk to their destination, what makes you think they will park in the North End and hop on a shuttle? People will have concerns about when the shuttle stops running, how much it costs (it can't be free, even the Gateway isn't free), and how safe their vehicle is in a remote location. Why build a whole new facility when all we need is to improve the one we've got?

All legitimate concerns if you're not concerned about vastly increasing the city's stock of parking. If, like me, you are, then you start looking at locations where a garage of suitable size could be built. As far as I can tell, the closest spot with the necessary available land is the North End.

4) Au contraire. With the exception of special events, people will park where they want to park, provided it is possible and convenient.

Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm starting to sound like a broken record here. But suffice it to say that it's impossible to park in the Gateway Center when there are no spaces left there.

And also, one idea that's been bandied about town: Newport needs to highlight its colonial heritage more effectively. Its role as a beacon of religious freedom and as a colonial trade capital makes it unique in the world. The Historical Society already has information signs on Historic Hill streets; why doesn't Newport create its own Freedom Trail from the Gateway Center, by these signs, connecting with the Colony House, Touro Synagogue, Trinity Church, Redwood Library, and other colonial landmarks? Reaction?

No argument from me. There are a lot of nice/interesting things to see & do in Newport, but the historical value is frankly awe-inspiring. You know that little memorial next to water on Wellington Ave? I was in that area on my lunchbreak one day this summer, and it occurred to me that I should walk over and see what that monument was ... y'know, there for. And stuff.

Only where Rochambeau made his first landing on American soil.

Oh.

That's Newport for you.

Amazing city.

[MapmanNo1]

And if the GC is a joke, that's the punchline. Nowhere near enough parking there...then you start looking at locations where a garage of suitable size could be built. As far as I can tell, the closest spot with the necessary available land is the North End.

Certainly, when the Gateway is full, it's hellish for tourists to try and find a spot to park. That's usually on the busiest of summer days. My anecdotal evidence: I worked down there for the past few summers, and only remember the garage being full once in a while. Usually the Gateway garage was half-full...or half-empty. One of the proposals from Taylor & Partners was to expand the Gateway Garage on top of the existing parking lot right next to it, almost doubling capacity in the garage. The city hasn't really responded to that idea with a lot of action. And I doubt residents in the Point would like the idea.

As for the Gateway being in the wrong location? While the ideal location would have been at Long Wharf and America's Cup (where Gap, Panera, and Yankee Candle are), it's already been built. And - let's face it - the location is pretty good. It catches (and has the opportunity to catch more) Bridge traffic before they hit America's Cup, and all they have to do is turn right into the parking garage. But I would love the pedestrian environment from the Gateway to the rest of downtown to be improved (ahem, Marlborough/America's Cup intersection, Harbor Hotel, Long Wharf Mall, Brick Market Place, etc.) That section of town was pretty badly gutted by the Newport Redevelopment Authority around 1970. The Taylor & Partners plan addressed the pedestrian problems in that area, but like the Gateway Garage, it has gotten little response.

Newport really is an incredible city. I once had a visitor on Lower Thames Street, surrounded by stores and tourists, angrily has me where the "historic" district was (he put it in finger-quotes.) I couldn't believe him. Maybe it's that some people don't see that Newport (like any real city) is inhabited history, not a painting frozen in time. I guess that makes the history harder to find and appreciate sometimes, no matter where you are.

[Lone Ranger]

Newport really is an incredible city. I once had a visitor on Lower Thames Street, surrounded by stores and tourists, angrily has me where the "historic" district was (he put it in finger-quotes.) I couldn't believe him. Maybe it's that some people don't see that Newport (like any real city) is inhabited history, not a painting frozen in time. I guess that makes the history harder to find and appreciate sometimes, no matter where you are.

I once had the same thing happen to me on the Farewell end of Warner St, two ladies asking how to get to the historic district. I stared like an idiot for about 3 seconds, then broke out laughing, and finally managed to ask her, "Which one?"

[Garris]

I always wondered what the story of Long Wharf is, as it's a terrible structure whose terrible-ness is compounded by how wonderful its location is.

As someone with only a superficial knowledge of Newport, the GC struck me as a fine location. If they can expand it, they should.

Where would you advise someone to park if the GC is full? The 2-3 times I've driven to Newport (as someone who doesn't mind walking long distances), I've always eventually have been able to find something along Broadway. Is there anyplace else good to look?

- Garris

PS: Hoping to get back to Newport some more, should we start a Newport dining thread?

[JJK5]

I always wondered what the story of Long Wharf is, as it's a terrible structure whose terrible-ness is compounded by how wonderful its location is.

As someone with only a superficial knowledge of Newport, the GC struck me as a fine location. If they can expand it, they should.

Where would you advise someone to park if the GC is full? The 2-3 times I've driven to Newport (as someone who doesn't mind walking long distances), I've always eventually have been able to find something along Broadway. Is there anyplace else good to look?

- Garris

PS: Hoping to get back to Newport some more, should we start a Newport dining thread?

Anytime I've gone down I've always parked on that street that's on the right just before you get to where the ferries/water taxis take off and that metal fish statue is. It's metered but there's always spots.

[Lone Ranger]

Anytime I've gone down I've always parked on that street that's on the right just before you get to where the ferries/water taxis take off and that metal fish statue is. It's metered but there's always spots.

That would be Long Wharf, the actual wharf after which the pedestrian mall is named.

Garris, where would I advise you to park if the GC is full? Well, that's ... that's kinda the problem. After the GC and the lot on Mary St. fill, parking is really hit-or-miss. In that case, I think my only advice would be to tell you to take the ferry next time you visit.

[MapmanNo1]

I always wondered what the story of Long Wharf is, as it's a terrible structure whose terrible-ness is compounded by how wonderful its location is.

PS: Hoping to get back to Newport some more, should we start a Newport dining thread?

A dining thread would be great. There's certainly no shortage of restaurants to talk about.

Long Wharf...ughh. A Redevelopment Agency project from the 1970's, it actually did okay with Ley's Department Store as the anchor. But once Ley's left in the early 90's, the property was split in two (north and south). Steve Lewenstein now owns the north, and I forgot who owns the south. With Ley's gone, other shops left too, and Long Wharf became known as the places were retail went to die. The city stopped paying attention to it, and things started to crumble - literally. Along with Perrotti Park across America's Cup (which was only redesigned 5+ years ago - it too was a horrible 1970's concrete contraption), Long Wharf became a favorite for skateboarders. (The recent redo of Perrotti Park - now home of the "metal fish statue" - helped lead to the skate park at Easton's Beach, as the kids needed somewhere to go).

Within the past 2-3 years, the occupancy rate on Long Wharf has greatly improved, shopowners there have become a little more visible, and the businesses there are pretty stable (Only in Rhode Island, Goodie's by the Sea, Cuffy's, Baby Gap, etc). The Daily News reported earlier this month, though, that Pier 1 (at the northern corner with Thames) is leaving...no word yet on a new tenant.

The Taylor & Partners Plan proposed a redevelopment of the Long Wharf Mall to have street-facing buildings along Thames, America's Cup, and Marlborough (where the parking lots are now), and constructing a garage on the inside. Facing opposition from Upper Thames Street merchants, Taylor & Partners stopped short of recommending that Long Wharf Mall be turned back into a street (as the 1997 Harborfront Plan had done) and instead proposed an emergency- and transit-vehicle only route through the pedestrian mall. One neat thing Taylor & Partners did propose was paving Washington Square and Long Wharf with cobblestones, to form a "T" with Thames Street along the city's historical trading street axis. I doubt it will happen anytime soon, though.

And on a totally unrelated note...Vanderbilt Hall Hotel on Mary Street (next to the Mary Street lot), closed for the past year, just reopened as a "residence club" (ie, high-end time sharing arrangement). Cornish did the project with Boutique Club International.

[MapmanNo1]

Parsons Brinckerhoff released further details on proposals for the city's North End plan, should the Bridge ramp land become available. Click fast, the link will probably be up for today only!

'Town center,' canal in proposal for Newport's north end

By Sean Flynn/Daily News staff

Consultants developing a master plan for the north end of Newport used both Nimes in the Provence region of France and Indianapolis for inspiration.

In both locations, there is a canal that creates a town center-like ambience for pedestrians and drivers.

Allan A. Hodges, a planner from Parsons Brinckerhoff of Boston and the project manager for Newport's North End Master Plan, said a canal boulevard could be created to the east of Newport Grand if the long Pell Bridge ramp that curves over Admiral Kalbfus Road is eventually removed. The canal and a central plaza would be highlights of a new town center that would feature both retail stores and housing on a 20-acre lot...

[Gusterfell]

This sounds like a good proposal to me, though as any work is at least five years away, any number of changes can and will be made to the proposal. Waterfire Newport, anyone?

[Lone Ranger]

Wow.

I'm stunned. Floored. Relatively speaking, this project could mean much more to Newport than the land from the I-195 relocation will mean to Providence. And that's saying something.

Now compare this proposal to the latest news out of North Kingstown. You see the difference between a city that has class and a city that just has money?

Aside aside, tell me where the funding comes from. This is a hugely ambitious proposal. Tell me where the funding comes from, and I don't think I have a single objection. Well, OK, one objection:

"This water park sounds a lot like Disney World," said Melanie Preston of Third Street. "We live surrounded by water. We don't need 'Water Whiz' in our back yard."

[Gusterfell]

What's her beef again? Did we recently build a pedestrian bridge across America's Cup and I just, y'know, missed it?

[Lone Ranger]

For the record, America's Cup isn't nearly the barrier that 95 or even Memorial Blvd. are in Providence.

[grock]

Brooks Brothers coming to Newport to Thames Street..interesting.

[Gusterfell]

Brooks Brothers coming to Newport to Thames Street..interesting.

[Lone Ranger]

Near Via Via, I'm going to guess. There's a store there that closed early last winter and sat empty all season -- used to be something related to sailing, I forget what. I'm not really the, um, nautical type. Anyway, I saw activity in there today for the first time in a long time.

Gusterfell, I've been meaning to ask you, do you have any idea what's going on with that lot on Spring St in front of Touro Synagogue? That thing has been sitting there, fenced off, as long as I've been in Newport, a couple of years now. Clearly there was once a building on the site, but that's gone now. All that's left is a basement full of rubble and drainwater. Who owns that lot, and ... y'know, does anybody have plans to do something with it? I think I heard -- and I don't remember where I heard this, or when -- that the Synagogue wants to keep the sightlines, meaning no new building to replace the demolished structure. Right next to Washington Square, that would be a shame, I think.

[Gusterfell]

Gusterfell, I've been meaning to ask you, do you have any idea what's going on with that lot on Spring St in front of Touro Synagogue? That thing has been sitting there, fenced off, as long as I've been in Newport, a couple of years now. Clearly there was once a building on the site, but that's gone now. All that's left is a basement full of rubble and drainwater. Who owns that lot, and ... y'know, does anybody have plans to do something with it? I think I heard -- and I don't remember where I heard this, or when -- that the Synagogue wants to keep the sightlines, meaning no new building to replace the demolished structure. Right next to Washington Square, that would be a shame, I think.

[Lone Ranger]

They already have a park there, whadda they want another one fer?

extant building to the original two stories (the original 18th century building was jacked up and a new ground floor storefront added later)