Steel Yard to Gift 16 Cities and Towns with Free Artistic Bike Racks!
August 24th, 2017- Providence, RI- The Steel Yard’s Public Projects Team announces the first installation of free artistic bike racks made through “Bike Racks for Rhode Island”, the Steel Yard’s multifaceted project funded through a PeopleForBikes Coalition Community Grant. 35 colorful bike racks will soon be installed in parks, at town halls and in front of schools in 16 cities and towns across Rhode Island! In addition to providing functional bike parking and public art in these communities, the project trained 24 underserved Rhode Islanders in our job readiness program, Weld to Work.
On Tuesday, August 22nd, the Steel Yard installed three “one-by-one” bike racks on the corner of Fricker Street and Cranston Street- a convergence point of three of Providence’s high schools: Providence Career & Technical Academy, Classical High School, and Central High School. Mayor Jorge Elorza, an avid biker himself, Principal Wobberson Torchon of Providence Career & Tech, and Providence planning technician Alex Ellis, all came out to celebrate the installation.
This is the first of many installations across the state. The locations were selected through nominations by City and Town planners reviewed by a final selection committee made up of Steel Yard staff and a local biking expert. We were seeking submissions that had a high need for bike racks, where one of our bike racks could increase ridership and/or bike safety, and that might not be able to afford a bike rack otherwise. The selection committee was thrilled to award at least one bike rack to every City or Town that applied. Below is a complete list of the final locations!
| City or Town | Location |
| Town of Bristol | Franklin Street at Independence Park, Bristol, RI |
| City of Central Falls | City Hall |
| City of Central Falls | Crossman Park |
| City of Central Falls | Quinn Square |
| City of Central Falls | Post Office |
| City of Central Falls | Blackstone Valley Community Health Center |
| Cumberland | Valley Falls Neighborhood – Jones St. and Maple St. |
| East Greenwich | East Greenwich High School |
| East Providence | Watchemocket Square |
| Lincoln | Lonsdale Park |
| Middletown | Town Hall |
| North Kingstown | Yorktown Park |
| North Providence | North Providence Youth Center |
| North Smithfield | New Tyke Park |
| Providence | RIPTA Headquarters |
| Providence | Olneyville Square @ Manton Avenue |
| Providence | South Providence: Roger Williams Middle School @ Thurbers |
| Providence | South Providence – Juanita Sanchez High School @ Rugby |
| Providence | Woods Elementary School @ Ocean |
| Providence | Bucklin & Daboll, in between Gilbert Stuart Middle School, Alfred Lima Elementary, and Charles Fortes Elementary |
| Providence | Intersection of Fricker and Cranston, near Classical High School, Career & Technical Academy, and Central High School |
| Providence | South Providence – Bailey Elementary School |
| Providence | South Providence – Fogarty Elementary School |
| South Kingstown | South Kingstown Housing Authority’s Champagne Heights & Fournier Estates neighborhoods |
| Town of Barrington | Veterans Memorial Park |
| Scituate | Scituate Lions – Outdoor sports complex |
| Warren | Mary V. Quirk Community Center |
| Warren | Baker St Playground |
| Warwick | Oakland Beach |
The Steel Yard is an award-winning industrial arts center and Providence’s largest private outdoor venue. The 3.8-acre campus, located in Providence’s Industrial Valley, is a cultural asset that serves as a sponsor and catalyst for innovative approaches to urban revitalization, arts promotion, workforce development, and community growth. The professional workspace allows for community access to equipment for welding, blacksmithing, jewelry, ceramics, and the foundry arts. The facilities at the Yard have become a vital component in the careers of hundreds of independent craftspeople and entrepreneurs who would not otherwise have the capacity to establish their businesses or perfect their crafts while allowing educators the ability to teach students new skills in a creative and communal environment. Over the last 10 years, the Steel Yard has contributed something distinct to the Arts community in Rhode Island by creating shared professional workspace, a venue for the advancement of new sculptural mediums, and a broader definition of public-art
Board of directors: Nat Harris (Chair), Frank Previti (Treasurer), Jennifer Carnevale (Secretary), Kristine Merz, Damian Ewens, Megan Boyaval, Manya Rubinstein, Emily Vander Does, Benjamin Rackliffe, Rafael Cerada, Jim Cournoyer