To the editor:
With the Metacomet Golf Course purchase and the unimaginable vote by the city council to change the zoning from green space to mixed use, the Veterans Memorial Parkway,originally the Barrington Parkway (circa1910) is in danger of destruction. Rotaries at Lyons Ave and South Broadway? Will Lyons Avenue continue and cross the Parkway down into the real waterfront area? The bike path is being moved near or in the 100 year flood zone on the new Waterfront Drive. Will the old paper roads on Metacomet land, Douglas Ave.(horizontal) and Shepard Ave (vertical) be put into play? More cuts on the Veterans Memorial Parkway?

In correspondence, Jeff Emidy from the State Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, has stated that since the 1980's the Veterans Memorial Parkway has been potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. It is even listed on the East Providence 2010-2015 comprehensive on line report as an Historic candidate site. Do we have enough people at city hall to perhaps follow up with this terrible mistake of the Veterans Memorial Parkway not being listed as historic already? Can our present city hall rectify this lapse in government protecting our historical sites?

Mr. Emidy also stated that the HPHC reviews any project that will utilize state or federal funds,state or federal permits, is on state or federal property or is on municipal property that is on the State Register of Historical Places. It is up to the federal state or municipal body to inform the Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission. East Providence residents should be proud of the beautiful Veterans Memorial (Barrington) Parkway, a critical piece of the Metropolitan Park Commissions goal to connect small towns by roadways and parkways to the center of Providence in the early 1900's While it did take over 15 years to complete, the outcome is a tranquil scenic byway that benefits everyone traveling on it with its accessibility, breathtaking views and calming atmosphere.

Keep Metacomet Green will gladly work with an East Providence official to make sure the Veterans Memorial Parkway is afforded the honor it deserves as a Historical Place in Rhode Island. EP officials please do not hesitate to reach out to me to collaborate to fix this oversight which is long overdue. Great things can be achieved when people work together for the good of all our communities. Let's start NOW

Heather Andrade
Keep Metacomet Green