Keep the Port of Providence

The Port of Providence has been operated for more than 100 years. It serves the people in the southern New England for a population of one million. Not only for goods and services, the Port of Providence is the only port that provides fuel oil to the residences in Rhode Island. However, the government of Providence City begins to consider zoning changes for the Port of Providence recently. They plan to build condos, restaurants, and hotels in this areas.

First of all, I think I could understand why the City of Providence wants to do that. Several years ago, the Port of Boston had the same situation. They changed the port into a multifunctional place. A lot of people support this idea because less ships means less noises. Moreover, this kind of change could increase local economy, especially for attracting tourists.

However, this plan has some issues. First of all, the Port of Providence is so significant for Rhode Island. It is a deep water port, which means large cargoes could get into the port and upload. Not all the ports in southern New England can do that.This port provides essential energy resources to the state and it is not replaceable. Second, there are a lot of jobs related with the port.Thousand of people in Rhode Island work for the port directly and indirectly. If this plan gets approved, most of them will lose their jobs. It is not a good idea when we are in a recession.

So my suggestion is simple: keep the Port of Providence as a busy working place. And at the same time, as a residence live by the port, I also support the city to make the harbor to be cleaner with less noises.