Travel Information

Getting from the Westin to the conference site (Alger Hall 110, Rhode Island College, 600 Mt. Pleasant Avenue, Providence)

Shuttles will be leaving from the front of the Westin at approximately 8 am and 8:35 am for the conference site, returning after the last session of the day. Look for a yellow schoolbus with an “ICER-2011” sign in the window. (NOTE: the bus only holds 44 people, and happily, there are so many registrants for ICER this year that we won’t all fit in a single bus. So we’ll need some people to take the bus at each of the two scheduled times.)

Alternative transportation:

  • Walking or jogging. If you like you can walk or jog down Atwells Avenue to Mt. Pleasant Avenue to campus — the distance from the Westin is 3 miles.
  • Public transit. On Tuesday, the #26 and #55 buses from Kennedy Plaza go to Rhode Island College ($2 each way, pay on the bus, exact change not needed but you’ll get a credit for a future bus ride if you overpay). There are no buses to campus on Monday, since that is a state holiday in Rhode Island.
  • Taxis. Are available from the Westin or from the taxi stand in front of the Biltmore.
  • Driving. Parking is free at Rhode Island College, and you are allowed to park anywhere except in a Faculty/Staff lot.

Airport connections

Either Providence’s T.F. Green Airport (PVD) or Boston’s Logan Airport (BOS) is a good choice. There are more flights, particularly international flights, to Boston; but the trip from Providence to the hotel is shorter (about 20 minutes vs. about 1 ¼ hours). In both cases, you have a choice of renting a car or taking public transit from the airport to the conference hotel (the Westin in downtown Providence).

From Providence

  • Bus: The #14 and the #20 busses run from the airport to downtown Providence. Both routes terminate at Kennedy Plaza, the central bus terminal for the city (and the state). The conference hotel, the Providence Westin, is a large tower on the northwest corner of Kennedy Plaza, a short walk from the bus stop. The fare is $2 one way (pay on the bus, exact change not needed). See www.ripta.com for schedules.
  • Shuttle or taxi. See the airport info page for more information about shuttles and taxis from the airport to the hotel. Expect to pay at least $11 for a shuttle and $30 for a taxi.
  • Car. You can also rent a car at the airport. You will need to pay for parking at the hotel, but you will have the flexibility to drive to the conference site (3-4 miles west of downtown). Parking is free on the RIC campus.

From Boston

  • Bus: The Peter Pan busline runs buses from Logan Airport to downtown Providence. See their website and search for schedules from Boston Logan Airport to Providence. Look for Peter Pan bus that says “Providence.” (According to the bus driver, it stops outside all the terminals. For more details, ask at the Information Desk.) You can buy your ticket on the bus. Make sure to tell the driver that you want to get off at Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence.
  • Train. You can take the “Silver Line” (a shuttle bus that connects the terminals at Logan with Boston’s South Station,). From South Station, you can take either an Amtrak train or an MBTA train (Providence/Stoughton Line) to Providence. Once in Providence, from the train station, you can either take a very short cab ride or walk to the conference hotel (if you leave the station on the south side you can see the hotel from the station).
  • Shuttles and taxis. This is not a practical option due to the distance from Providence.
  • Car. You can also rent a car at the airport. You will need to pay for parking at the hotel, but parking is free on the RIC campus.

Finding your way around when you get here

By computer:

There is a Google map of conference locations at
     http://www.google.com/maps/ms?msid=214715391985137463356.0004a9b79de9e0b9de88b&msa=0
and some extra restaurants and sights to see at:
    http://www.google.com/maps/ms?msid=214715391985137463356.0004a9c3d76e466eaf32b&msa=0&ll=41.894738,-71.374569&spn=0.077051,0.110378

By mobile/cell phone:

We’ve created two GPS-enabled maps for the free iPhone/Android app MakkaMappa Lite, showing all the important conference locations.  Once you’ve downloaded the app and the maps (say, in a WiFi zone), you don’t need data coverage for the GPS mapping to work – the maps are stored on your phone.

One map shows Rhode Island College, the other, the city centre and the walking route to RIC.  Once you’ve downloaded the app, to find these maps, search for the keyword “Rhode”, or, viewing this webpage on your phone, click on these two links:
makkamappa://?map=953   for RIC map
makkamappa://?map=972   for the city centre to RIC map

MakkaMappa Lite only lets you download two maps for free, so don’t squander your ration by downloading other maps first!