BURYING THE WATERFRONT POWER LINES

| summary: 6 reasons to bury the power lines |
| statements of support | press coverage |
| statement before Energy Facilities Siting Bd. |
| vistas and obstructions 1 and 2 |
| funding scenarios |

SUMMARY: SIX REASONS TO BURY THE POWER LINES
On the Providence Waterfront

1. NOW OR NEVER   
The power lines on the Providence waterfront have to be moved soon for the relocation of I-195. Whether to bury them or relocate them above ground is a high stakes decision that will significantly affect the waterfront for another 100 years. (Some of the existing towers date from 1918.)

It would be penny-wise and pound-foolish not to bury the wires now to upgrade the waterfront, a cornerstone of the region's economic future. Unlike most policy decisions, this one will be irrevocable; once the wires are moved, we'll be stuck with them.  We have the choice of permanently enhancing our economic and civic life or passing a 100-year legacy of ugly industrial blight on to future generations. 

2. FUNDS EXIST to pay the $9.4 million cost of burial

• DOT: The RI Dept. of Transportation has offered to pay $2.5 million to relocate the wires. When a new funding mechanism has freed up about $35 million in highway funds, so DOT could increase its contribution to $4 million, which would cover the expense of burying the wires directly related to I-195. That figure would still come to less than 1% of the I-195 relocation project, which will cost $450 million.

• Narragansett Electric, whose parent company realized a $3 billion operating profit last year, could contribute the $450,000 it has earmarked for replacing the overhead river crossings. It could also tap into either or both of two special funds:
  
  >$15 million merger savings fund, which the state has proposed using for economic development. Burying the power lines would promote economic development by increasing property values in planned waterfront projects and by upgrading the continuous waterfront greenway as a city asset.
  
  >$12.8 million storm fund, which the utility sought to use to reduce the Navy's electricity costs. The waterfront wires sit on the flood plain and are exposed to storms.

• Additional funding sources include:
  >Tax incremental financing (or TIF) has been proposed and could raise $2 million.
  
  >Regional funding, appropriate for this line that is part of the New England regional grid, would add one cent to the average RI ratepayer's monthly electricity bill, and would raise $6.5 million for burial
  
  >Federal appropriations: RI will get 25% more funds this year, including $30-40 million for the Warwick train station, a worthy project, but one that, unlike burying the wires, can get funded other years.
  
  >State Bonds: $ 375,000 has been awarded to Providence for burying the wires.

3. MAJOR BENEFITS

• Economic: Many cities have proved that upgrading greenspace fosters economic growth, going back to Olmsted's creation of Central Park. Our Riverwalks are an excellent example: they have become the prevailing symbol of the city's renaissance. They cost $60 million. Waterfire produces $20 million a year in audience spending, so it alone has quickly paid back the public investment in greenspace.
  
  When the Washington Bridge linear park and 195 projects are completed, the Riverwalks will be part of a continuous waterfront greenway stretching from East Providence to Waterplace Park and beyond. Ridding this greenway of the power lines, an unsightly relic of the industrial era, would significantly upgrade it as an attraction for tourists, residents, and new businesses. At least 10 million travelers use I-195 every year, passing by the shoreline that is the city's signature landscape. Burying the wires would finish the job of making over the waterfront begun by the Riverwalks.
  
  
• Environmental: Burying the power lines would remove the visual blight of power lines and would eliminate public concern over electro-magnetic fields in three waterfront parks. It would significantly enhance a natural refuge, a historic landmark, an ethnically diverse civic gathering place, and a recreational park that is the only expansive shoreline accessible to the public in the capital city of the Ocean State.
  
  New overhead wires would be much more conspicuous than they are now because their towers would be 30-50 feet taller and they would dominate the new vantage points with dramatic water views that will be opened up by the highway projects. This would be a step backward for the city, reinforcing the view of the shoreline as an industrial backwater, when in fact it is the city's greatest natural resource.

4. BROAD SUPPORT Statements supporting burial by:

State/Federal	City
Governor Carcieri	Mayor Cicilline
Attorney General Lynch	Providence City Council
Lt. Governor Fogarty	Providence City Council (unanimous)
Congressman Kennedy	Providence City Plan Commission
State House of Representatives	Acting E. Prov. City Manager Conley
State Planning Council	East Providence City Council
RI Dept. of Environmental Management	East Providence Planning Board

Leaders of 35 City and State Organizations from:
>educational institutions, including the Presidents of Brown, RISD, and Johnson & Wales
>professional associations like the RI Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
>environmental groups like Save the Bay and the Sierra Club
>citizens associations representing Providence neighborhoods: Downtown, the Jewelry District, West Broadway, Southside, Summit, College Hill, Fox Point, South Main St.
>media outlets, including an editorial by Providence Journal Editor Bob Whitcomb    

5. SMALL PRICE TO PAY

The cost differential of $6.5 million needed to bury the wires, rather than relocate them overhead, would come to a little more than one tenth of one percent of the $5.8 billion in public and private funds that has been or will be invested in the upgraded waterfront and riverfront areas.

PRIVATE INVESTMENT
>Capital Center District: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1.16 billion
(Built so far: $600 million; projected: $560 million)   
>I-195 Redevelopment Area: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . $1 billion
(Old Hbr. Plan estimated construction costs at $700 million in 1992)
>E. Providence waterfront development: . . . . .  . . . .  . . $2 billion
(E. Prov. officials estimate construction costs at $2 billion)           

PUBLIC INVESTMENT . . . . . . . . . . .  . .$1.64 billion

>Capital Ctr. Dist. & Riverwalks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $150 million
>I-195 Relocation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $450 million
>Combined Sewer Outflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $550 million
>Wash. Bridge & park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $80 million
>Providence River Dredging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   $45 million
>Heritage Hbr. (public/private $) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60 million
>E. Prov. waterfront roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30 million
>Convention Center & Hotel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$280 million

TOTAL INVESTMENT: . . . . . . . . . . .  . . .$5.8 billion

6. OTHER CITIES ARE DOING IT

Chattanooga, Louisville, Annapolis, and San Antonio have reaped major economic benefits by ridding waterfront parklands of obtrusive power lines. Hartford has dramatically improved its waterfront and has significantly benefited economically, as have many cities. It would be foolish for Providence to fall behind others by passing up this chance to bury its wires and build on its gains from the Riverwalks.  

(3/04)

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