The Alliance for Livable Newport (ALN) will host a Community Forum and Information session on the upcoming improvements to the Newport Transportation and Visitors Center (Gateway Center). The forum will be held on Monday, November 28 at 6:30 pm, in the lobby of the Transportation and Visitors Center on America’s Cup Avenue.
Representatives of the team leading the effort will discuss the planned work, provide renderings of the upcoming project, and answer questions from the audience. The construction and restoration work will include improvements to parts of the Transportation and Visitors Center damaged by Hurricane Sandy, as well as the installation of Green Infrastructure to assist in storm water runoff management.
Lillian Picchione, Director of Capital Development of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), will lead the presentation. RIPTA is the state agency working with the City of Newport on this project. Picchione will be joined by colleagues from RIPTA who have worked with Newport City officials on the plan; representatives of the Newport City Council; and Evan Smith, President and CEO of Discover Newport and the Newport Transportation and Visitors Center. Representatives from W.E. Marchetti Consulting, LLC (consultants on the project) and Newport’s Northeast Collaborative Architects (architects who worked on the project), will also be available to answer questions from the audience.
The purpose of the Transportation and Visitors Center Exterior Repair and Resiliency Project is to restore overhead protection for the hundreds of thousands of people who each year pass through the Newport intermodal transit and tourist facility on America’s Cup Avenue in Newport. The project is also intended to make the structure more resilient to future storms, and to include installation of green infrastructure to improve drainage and assist with storm water runoff.
RIPTA was awarded federal funding for the repairs and improvements to cover 90% of the roughly $6 million project. The city of Newport is providing the 10% matching funds to complete the project. For more information on the project, go to http://www.ripta.com/newport-gateway-center.
The Alliance for a Livable Newport (ALN) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is improving the quality of life in Newport by being an unbiased resource for information on the issues of importance to the community. ALN hosts a number of community forums each year on issues important to residents of Newport.