Pawtucket-Central Falls MBTA Commuter Rail Station | Pine and Barton Streets | Pawtucket

[New England Born & Raised]

I think it just goes to show how hesitant developers were to invest in some of these old industrial cities outside of Boston. The same story has played out all over the region - Worcester, Pawtucket, Haverhill, Lowell, New Bedford, Brockton, etc. All of these places went decades without seeing much major development in/around their cores. But as developers have seen there's demand (and money to be made), they've begun to invest. It's great to see the development in Pawtucket (and all of the other cities), and having immediate access to a train station certainly ups the chances for success.

Pawtucket has seen a great decline in its manufacturing and retail sectors. It however, unlike many other mill cities and towns, has maintained a rather stable population over the last 100 years. It currently has a population of about 75,000 which puts it near the midpoint for its low of some 71k and high of 81k during the last century. It has done so despite losing many jobs with mill closings, huge swaths of residential housing lost to the construction of the highway through the city, dramatic demographic changes in households, and little remaining open space for development. It's location between Providence and Boston on the Rte 95 and Northeast Amtrak corridors has likely contributed to its population stability.

 

[New England Born & Raised]

I think the passenger numbers for the Pawtucket station will still be quite healthy even if the S Attleboro station were to ever be fully operational again. The S Attleboro station would never have the close by dense multi unit rental housing stock (targeted toward commuters) nearby which people could walk from like what downtown Pawtucket will ultimately have. I would guess there are already far more people now walking to or taking the bus (since it it intermodal with the transfer hub) in Pawtucket than there ever was in South Attleboro. Charging for parking at Pawtucket and a fully operational station in South Attleboro would see a number of passengers switch use. It however would not necessarily translate to all the former S Attleboro passengers presently using Pawtucket return. The Pawtucket location would be a shorter drive and more convenient for some.

 

[Stlin]

I do think that S. Attleboro and Pawtucket/CF serve distinct enough communities that both can coexist without cannibalizing the other - The Blackstone / Seekonk River exists. Obviously Pawtucket /CF is the recipient of all the RIPTA feed and the Hope/Main corridor, but the entire half of Pawtucket East of the river is generally aligned along the Newport Ave corridor that leads straight to S. Attleboro. The crosstown connections are fairly weak; Even East Providence could have a significant alignment to Pawtucket Ave and Newport, especially with the Washington Bridge out and lack of parking or direct RIPTA connection at PVD.

(Also, Pawtucket opened in 2023. The last RIPTA system map on their website is from 2022... Are timely map updates that accurately reflect current routing too much to ask?)

 

[Lrfox]

^I agree that they can definitely coexist and don’t have 100% passenger overlap. I don’t think RI went forward with building Pawtucket/CF under the assumption that SA would cease to exist. So that assumption was always that both would continue to operate and be viable. My point is that I can easily see a cash strapped T using Pawtucket’s existence to justify shedding the $70 million (and growing) construction project and continued maintenance of the station.

 

[New England Born & Raised]

The new residential complex that will be across from the station in the former Pawtucket Manufacturing Company mill at the corner of Barton and Pine Streets is taking form. It is a two phase project that includes a renovation of existing space and new construction. When both phases are complete, the total project will have approximately 182 housing units and 153 parking spaces.
View attachment 47044

New construction photos of the 327 Pine Street residential complex as it nears completion