I'd love to see Fall River improve. I spent most of my childhood about 5 or 6 miles from downtown Fall River and I have a lot of friends who still live in the city. However, I have very little faith in a recovery there any time soon.
Fall River has the second highest unemployment in MA (Lawrence is number 1). Creating jobs is the key to any sort of revitalization and Fall River isn't doing much in that department. Over the past few years I've spent some time doing some work with the city and have familiarized myself with the key players in local government. They keep shooting themselves in the foot to the point that it's sickening.
A few recent examples:
1) Route 79 reconstruction along the waterfront. In a nutshell, the plan is to demolish the viaduct along the waterfront and replace it with pedestrian friendly surface boulevard ( more on the plans
here and
here). It's an excellent and worthwhile project on paper and if you're familiar with the area, you know just how big of an improvement this would be. The best part is that the state has approved AND funded the $170 million project which has the green light.
The problem? Fall River is keeping the project from moving forward because it would involve removing a small off-ramp from I-195 that connects to downtown and 138. That would seem significant except that there is another ramp from 195 to downtown about 1/4 mile from the ramp planned to be demolished. Furthermore, studies show that traffic impact would be minimal and demolishing the existing ramp would bring more people through the downtown area (the existing ramp skirts around downtown) to access 128 to Tiverton RI and Fall River's South End. Removing the ramp also improves pedestrian access from downtown to the waterfront. Every state and federal study supports the argument that removing the ramp is a good thing, but a few Fall River officials refuse to change their stance.
With the deadline for utilizing the funds approaching, there's a good chance that Fall River will lose the funding. It's hard enough to get money for these projects as it is and Fall River's willing to let it go away over a nitpick and no substance to back it up. When (if) the funding will become available again is a mystery. Even then, state officials are less likely to work with Fall River because of their current stance. Many places would be thrilled to have that money.
2) Commuter Rail. The South Coast Rail project has been in the works for decades, but is finally nearing the green light. Most of the plans have been finalized, almost all of the approvals are either in or about to be in and the project is ready to secure full funding (it already has a few hundred million invested). At this stage in the game, the routes, station locations, layover stations, etc. are locked in.
Fall River's station is planned at the intersection of Davol and President Avenue (right near Al Mac's Diner). The rail planning process has actually collaborated with the Route 79 planning process so that the highway removal and station construction go hand in hand. It was a smart planning move and something that's atypical for the South Coast. The plans have been drawn up and approved and simply await funding and final environmental approval from the Army Corps (which is imminent).
Even though the current plan has been on the table for the better part of a decade, leadership in Fall River is just now deciding they don't like it and want to change it. Changes to the plan now would delay the project at least a year or more. What's worse is their proposal for a new station. They would like to move the station to Weaver's Cove. An isolated plot of land about about 3.5 miles from downtown and surrounded by water and highway (here's a link to the
site on google maps). It's literally a wasteland. It's not within walking distance of just about anything (especially downtown).
As with 79, the state is so angry with Fall River's stance on this that the idea of eliminating the Fall River leg of the commuter rail is not out of the realm of possibility if the city doesn't change its tune. Again, shooting themselves in the foot.
3) Insular attitude. This happens too often to get specific, but I'll try. City officials in Fall River view themselves as an island that's entirely separate from neighboring communities. Freetown, Westport, Tiverton and Somerset (the four immediate neighbors) have all felt the impact of this. There was a time in the early 2000s when Boston Beer was looking to build a new facility in Freetown near the Fall River city limits. Freetown had wooed Boston Beer and had all but finalized the project. Fall River, however, wanted Boston Beer in Fall River. Because of that, they at first refused to allow Boston Beer to access their water supply (the Assonet side of Freetown is on Fall River water) and then demanded extraordinary high fees to allow them to use it. Boston Beer scoffed and moved elsewhere (I think Ohio). The majority of the employees would have been Fall River citizens. Citizens who live in a city that has the 2nd highest unemployment rate in MA. Instead of realizing that, Fall River chased them away. It's happened in all of the neighboring communities as well as within the city limits itself (see: Hess LNG). Fall River needs to realize that there are bedroom communities nearby. People can come from outside of the city to work and vice versa. A new office or factory a mile outside of the city limits can (and will) employ Fall River residents. Until FR works well with neighboring communities this problem will continue.
Those are all political problems with Fall River that CAN be fixed. However, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Fall River has been gutted by the exodus of the textile industry as well as urban renewal. Downtown Fall River is literally split in half by I-195 which acts as a wall for any sort of pedestrian activity. Route 79 is a massive wall separating the city from the water. Historic structures have crumbled or been demolished and turned into surface lots as a result of abandonment.
I'm a big optimist as far as cities go, but I can't fathom the city revitalizing much in my lifetime (and I'm only in my mid 20s). Small improvements? Maybe. However, it's just so far gone.
That's not to say Fall River is all bad. South Main St. in downtown is as urban as you'll find in any small city in Massachusetts (
here's a streetview). The Highlands are an incredibly intact district of great historic homes. The waterfront is actually pretty cool (with the caveat that you pretty much HAVE to drive there) as Heritage Park/Battleship Cove and Bicentennial Park/Iwo Jima Memorial bookend a boardwalk that's over a mile long. It's incredibly pleasant. Fall River may have next to nothing in terms of high end restaurants, but it's chalk full of awesome ethnic places. There are a number of Brazilian, Lebanese, Cambodian and Portuguese places that are outstanding. The Portuguese is the most famous (and deservedly so... better than anywhere else in the US aside from maybe New Bedford), but the others are awesome too. The location is pretty good. 1/2 hour from Newport, 15 Minutes from Providence, 50 Minutes from Boston and 1/2 hour from Cape Cod. It is a harbor which keeps it from being completely economically irrelevant.
All that said, Fall River's still going in the wrong direction. Growing up, I used to consider Fall River and New Bedford to be one in the same. Not anymore. While Fall River has slipped further and further, New Bedford improves. Fall River's government can't attract business or complete transit projects, New Bedford turns a downtown highway into ped. friendly surface boulevard and rebuilds one of their most urban neighborhood streets. While Fall River's downtown literally crumbles (
read recent history), New Bedford turns 13 blocks into a beautiful National Historic Park. While Fall River's port fails, New Bedford's becomes the highest grossing fishing port in the nation while continuing to increase shipping volumes and investing millions into seaport infrastructure. While Fall River closes its airport to allow the dump to expand, NB expands its airport and improves operations. While Fall River chases away business, New Bedford incubates small business while luring high tech industries. It's like night and day.
