Despite winds that threatened to take us, the tent we were in and our little dog Toto, too, off to Oz all afternoon, about 59.5 neighbors stopped by the Summit Neighborhood Association table at the Hope Street Fair on Sunday (Oct. 16), judging by the number of citizen’s sticky dots attached to our oh-so-scientific poll-taking machinery. (Everyone got two votes, 119 were cast). That’s not counting our mayor, who declined to vote, saying, “I think Providence is a wonderful city.”
For the record, “walkability” and “environment” topped the count with 33 and 32 dots respectively. The modest total of 10 dots on “auto impacts” hardly reflects the depth of resident feeling, pro and con, about those traffic-calming bumpouts on Hope, Lorimer, Hillside, and, soon, Summit.
People had a lot to share and I hope we can find ways to make this neighborhood conversation much wider and more ongoing, perhaps over this web site. We got tips on grafitti removal (foaming rug cleaner) and many more interesting ideas for SNA. Among these: establish voluntary signage and lighting standards for Hope Street to develop a better look and more coherent identity. This idea comes from several merchants and SNA is eager to support them in anything that will encourage a better look on Hope Street.
We look forward to more street fairs in the future and we thank Monica Anderson at Miriam for organizing it all.
