The cafeteria at the Senior Enrichment Center was nearly full Thursday as about 100 Cranstonians voiced suggestions at the first workshop to update the city’s comprehensive plan, the first step in creating an entirely new comprehensive plan to take the city into the 2040’s.

Tables were festooned with papers, post-it notes, and markers to jot down ideas, criticisms, and praise for their city, all facilitated by members of the city planning department as well as members of Weston and Sampson, a Rhode Island engineering firm helping Cranston to draft the plan.

Mayoral candidates Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung and Robert Ferri were in attendance, as well as city councilman Wall.

The evening was divided into four phases, Ashley Sweet, the project manager for Weston and Sampson in charge of the event explained to attendees. The attendees would have the opportunity to sit and take part in four approximately 15 minute discussions at four tables over the course of the evening, during which time the table facilitators would ask them to talk about both things they liked and hoped to preserve, as well as things they hoped to improve upon in regards to each relevant topic.

After the meeting facilitators summed up table discussions.

At the natural resources table, attendees were excited about water access and scenic views in Cranston, as well as the accessibility of bike paths, walking paths, and green spaces. However folks wanted to see more opportunities for community engagement in the future, such as community gardening efforts. Stormwater management was also a concern, as well as safety and maintenance on the recreation paths.

At the transportation services and facilities table, Cranstonians were eager to speak on the good work of city workers at the school, fire departments, and libraries. They spoke as well about sidewalks, pedestrian pathways, and the bike path. However, attendees also wished for more connected sidewalks and bike infrastructure. There was talk as well about safety issues on the bike path, as well as storm water. They also mentioned a desire for better connectivity of public transit.

At the housing table, Cranstonians shared that they were happy with the diversity of neighborhoods within the city, but they expressed that their needed to be more housing. They also expressed a need for updating and repairing old houses, many of which still have lead paint and lead pipes. Becoming a theme, they also discussed walkability, wishing for more sidewalks. A particularly urgent topic was that of affordable housing, about which there was unanimous consent that more was needed.

In the online workgroups, a number of topics came up. Zoning and traffic regulation was discussed, as well as concern regarding climate change and the dramatic flooding the city has experienced. They discussed preserving greenspaces and limiting the spread of asphalt. Affordable housing was also a recurring subject.

At the land use table, mixed use was the theme. Folks discussed cluster development, and the preservation of green spaces. And, again becoming a theme, the need for more housing was brought up.

At the cultural and historic features, open space and recreation table, people discussed the desire for the city’s parks to be maintained and improved upon. Folks also shared their love of the bike path, and expressed a desire for it to be connected to Providence. They mentioned the underutilization of Sprague Mansion, the riverfront, and other historic spaces in the city. They also wished to improve and maintain green spaces. Budlong Pool was a particularly sticky subject as well.

At the Economic Development table, folks expressed their excitement to continue revitalizing the city. They pointed to successes such as Rolfe Square and Garden City. They expressed a desire to capitalize on cultural events within the city such as St. Mary’s festival and the farmers’ markets. Folks also expressed concern regarding permitting processes within the city, and a general issue with parking. The Park Theater was brought up frequently, with comparisons made to more successful city theaters such as the Odium in East Greenwich.

As the meeting wrapped up, discussion was had about the next stages of the Comprehensive Plan process. Folks expressed a desire for future meetings to be more accessible, with multiple locations and translation services explicitly offered. There was also a short discussion surrounding homelessness in the city and how poverty might be addressed as part of the Comprehensive Plan.

“We have a lot of work to do internally on the chapters, the data gathering, amending the goals and policies table. There’s a lot of information that has to be amended. We have to synthesize what came out of this meeting as well so that can come into the plan and guide what we’re saying. We’re going to be really ramping up in terms of putting the chapters out.” They are hoping to have phase one ready to present to the city council by July.

Pezzullo said to expect several updates on the comprehensive plan website over the next few months. There will be draft chapters to read, dates for more workshops. He says that the plan will slowly start to coalesce online as time goes on.