GrowSmart RI Supports $35M Green Economy Bond

Published 05/26/2016

Grow Smart RI is committed to strengthening Rhode Island’s economy in a sustainable and equitable way. The organization supports best practices in compact mixed use development and redevelopment in revitalized urban, town and village centers, investments in multimodal transportation infrastructure and responsible stewardship of RI's natural resources, including farmland, forests, coastline and the Bay.

GrowSmart RI supports bringing the $35M Green Economy Bond before the state’s voters on November 8, 2016, encouraging the General Assembly to approve the bond question in its entirety. The bond includes proposals to:

  • Invest $10 million in the State Bikeway Development Program to advance completion of Rhode Island’s popular, but disconnected network of bikepaths,
  • Invest $5 million in Brownfield Remediation and Economic Development to continue the state’s success incentivizing the redevelopment and productive reuse of polluted sites, and
  • Invest $4 million in the State Land Acquisition Program which leverages significant private resources to preserve farmland and open space, both of which contribute to Rhode Island’s unique and valuable urban/rural balance.