“But let me tell you something, pal. We took every one of the suggestions. We ran them through some of the top experts in the country”.

Thus speaketh Peter Alviti, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) when an attendee at the second “public input” meeting on plans for the 6-10 connectors stated that the department failed to consider public input on Rhodes Work, and the $ 1 billion toll plan. The connector sessions for the public to speak got off to an initial rocky start when James Kennedy, a leader with the group, Moving Together PVD, started to propose an alternative plan for the connector. Mr. Alviti cut him off by stating, “I’m not going to have this meeting highjacked by one person”. The crowd’s displeasure ultimately had Alviti hand the microphone back to Mr. Kennedy.

To his credit, the director ultimately apologized for his comment but it certainly leads the public to wonder about the apparent elitism exhibited by the Raimondo administration where it acts as though it knows everything and the public nothing. A dog and pony show doesn’t alleviate the perception but rather only reinforces that the only hijackers in the room are the “public servants”. These public meetings are, of course, not just stunts. The state will be seeking federal highway aid and in order to access those funds, public participation is required.

I am still open to what plan is the best for the connector, but Mr. James Kennedy’s argument deserves study. He argued that shorter and fewer bridges should be constructed over roads that aren’t a divided highway but rather a boulevard. He stated that there would be better connectivity between the neighborhoods that had been split by a divided highway in the past. This alternative would be many tens of millions of dollars less expensive as well.

His proposal wasn’t that far off from some national experts who spoke and supported more local roads and pedestrian mobility. Brian Bishop, writing for GoLocalProv, opined that state officials should not have blind allegiance to a transportation plan conceived decades ago. The central argument should be around the issue of whether the 6-10 connector should be rebuilt or unbuilt.

Brian Bishop also notes that the issue of who should pay for the connectivity is clearly called into question by RIDOT’s own traffic counts. He states that truck traffic on that connector only accounts for 1 percent of daily trips. In short, it is not a truck route of any magnitude even now. This fact calls into question the projections on the recoupment of costs by truck tolls for this $800 million piece of Rhode Works.

One major failing of the present administration is the rush to judgment. Certainly, the governor is to be lauded for moving projects off dead center. Precipitant decisions, however, are very costly, unless the math works as well as the construction plan and implementation.
Hopefully, hubris will not rule the day and the public input will be processed. Tens of millions of dollars are at stake as are inevitable future car tolls on the connector if the traffic count for trucks holds true.
“Let me tell you something,” when spoken by the public, should require the administration to stop, look, and listen.

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.