[Summit] Trucking Center on Providence/Pawtucket line

[Forrest Snyder]

I attended the Pawtucket Planning Commission meeting last night regarding the Blackstone Distribution LLC trucking center. The proceedings were highly disturbing. The investment company behind the project was represented by a lawyer and 3 engineers. All white. The Planning Commission was all white and two members appeared elderly and unable to hear or follow the proceedings. The Pawtucket planner was white. The district is something like 79% composed of people of color. There are also a very high number of people below the poverty line. The area ranks dead last in Rhode Island municipalities for tree cover. Morley Field is the ONLY green space in their neighborhood. Furthermore, Morley Field is the only public access to the Moshassuck River in Pawtucket. The traffic study for the larger project is incomplete and the engineer could not answer basic questions. They propose 379 parking spaces for delivery vans to replace Morley Field. The Blackstone Distribution representatives spoke about 300 vans like that’s what they were expecting. That’s 600 vehicle trips in and out of the facility using the intersection of Moshassuck and Main Streets every single day. Many of those testifying were minorities or marginalized groups. Not one member of the public spoke in favor of selling the park. The lawyer and the Planning Commission spoke like this was a done deal. The whole thing reeked of institutionalized racism to me. Essentially, the poor black or brown people of Pawtucket are being shat on by the whites with the support of city government. It was that disgusting.