The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority wants to jumpstart one of the top priorities of its four-year-old master plan for public transportation in the state: the creation of a new high-capacity transit line from Central Falls to Warwick.
This week the statewide bus system is launching a series of public meetings to help figure out what the “Metro Connector,” the working name for the new line, should look like and what its route should be.
The connector, which would build on RIPTA’s high-frequency R-Line bus route, could end up being a bus rapid transit system with dedicated lanes for buses, or even a light rail system.
Two options for routes
The connector concept sketched out in the 2020 Transit Master Plan includes two options.
The first starts at the Cumberland/Central Falls line and goes south through the new Pawtucket commuter rail station where it then picks up the route of the R-Line. In downtown Providence, it turns west through the Elmwood neighborhood and follows Reservoir Avenue into Cranston, past Garden City and ending up at CCRI.