NORTH PROVIDENCE – The town’s newest public recreation space, the 2.75-acre Westcott Park on the Woonasquatucket River, should finally be seeing its planned upgrades.
The Purchasing Board is set to meet Wednesday, May 27, at 10 a.m. to award a bid on development of the planned kayak and canoe launch at the neighborhood park named after the late David Westcott, one of the most respected town planners North Providence has ever had and the man who pushed for the creation of the park.
Officials met on Thursday, May 21, to go over bid submissions from two companies, and a recommendation from that meeting will go to the full Purchasing Board on May 27.
Volunteers, including from the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, North Providence Land Trust, and Mayor’s Youth Commission have been cleaning up the area off Adams Lane for years as plans have stalled.
Mayor Charles Lombardi said those plans were put on hold due to concerns from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, and not any issues with the town.
“It’s been a long time coming. It should be really nice,” he said of the final product. “They neighbors are all supportive.”
The park, once complete, will have a walking loop and the kayak launch, among other passive amenities. Trees have been planted and significant invasive species removed from the site.
This area of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed has received extensive cleanup.
Back in 2023, the Land Trust approved an application to the RIDEM for significant land alteration along the riverfront, with plans for clearing the shoreline to make way for boaters. The existing trail there since the town purchased the property in 2020 will also be improved, but there generally won’t be other significant changes. Only a few parking spots are planned, as this is generally intended to be a park people from the neighborhood walk to.
The Land Trust purchase the property for $300,000 in the fall of 2020. That acquisition from the Octeau family was funded through a $150,000 matching grant from the RIDEM.
