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Boston Globe

Why I'm leaving Rhode Island

Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up These highly sought after professionals can live anywhere they please. Why would they bother moving to a place like Rhode Island, where the only transit option is a bus that comes twice an hour during the day, and doesn't run at all when you want to attend a networking event, fundraiser, or just a fun night out with friends? Related : Advertisement While local politicians focus on tax incentives, many top companies are more focused on access to a highly specialized workforce. And those workers are attracted to places where they can afford good homes and get around easily. If Advertisement If Providence's Innovation District is to be the next Kendall Square, we need to put the $45 million a year in corporate tax subsidies — which we're not even breaking even on — to better use saving and growing RIPTA. Without investing it in mass transit, I can tell you right now, the companies will never come. Rhode Island never had a chance at That's why despite my roots in this state, like many before me, I'm leaving for greener pastures in Philadelphia, where I bought a home for a fraction of the price that it would cost here in Rhode Island, while comfortably ditching my car. Pennsylvania Governor John Shapiro is Advertisement When advocating for transit, an often forgotten part of the picture is housing. While rowhomes (i.e. townhomes) are the predominant housing in Philadelphia, developers are prevented from building them in most of Rhode Island because of exclusionary zoning rules that prevent people with lower-income from moving to more well-resourced neighborhoods. These rules, including massive minimum lot sizes, have led to Thankfully, and housing reform, prosperity will not come. Importantly, Philadelphia's proliferation of rowhomes is only possible because driving a car is a choice, not a requirement to have a full life in the city. Without the strength of SEPTA, many more residents would be required to buy and store a car in areas with limited street parking and zero off-street parking spots. I sincerely hope that will change, as the Related : Advertisement If the state is to prove itself as a place worth investing in and keeping people like me in it, transit and housing are the first places to look. Cameron LaFreniere is a volunteer with the Providence Streets Coalition and a fourth-generation Rhode Islander.