Tiny Grants, Big Ideas: RIDOH Funds Community Street and Fitness Projects

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) has awarded funding to seven community organizations and municipalities through its 2026 Rhode Island Streets Transformation Project, a statewide initiative focused on encouraging physical activity, active transportation, and healthier community design.

This year’s grants — mostly ranging between $2,500 and $5,000 — will support projects aimed at children and families from April through September.

According to RIDOH, the projects are intended to help create safer, healthier communities by encouraging walking, biking, outdoor recreation, and neighborhood engagement.

“Being physically active is one of the most important ways to improve your health now and into the future,” said RIDOH Director Jerry Larkin. “Supporting strategies to improve community design is an important way that we are helping people of all ages and abilities be physically active in communities throughout Rhode Island.”

Small Grants, Broad Goals

While RIDOH describes the effort as a statewide “transformation” initiative, the total amount awarded across all seven projects is approximately $31,000.

Projects funded this year include:

• a traffic garden and bicycle safety events in East Providence,
• blender bike smoothie workshops in Providence,
• guided walks and bike rides,
• tree identification projects,
• community drum circles,
• and crosswalk visibility improvements in Westerly.

Since launching in 2023, the Rhode Island Streets Transformation Project has evolved beyond traditional recreation programming into a broader “active transportation” and community design initiative. Earlier projects funded through the program included temporary bicycle lanes, colorful crosswalks, traffic-calming street art, open streets events, cycling safety classes, and Rhode Island’s first traffic garden.

The effort reflects a growing national “tactical urbanism” movement that uses short-term, lower-cost projects — sometimes including painted roadway art and public-space activations — to encourage walking, biking, outdoor activity, and safer streets.

Supporters view the program as a creative grassroots public health strategy that allows communities to test ideas quickly and cheaply. Critics, however, question whether small, temporary projects produce measurable long-term health or infrastructure improvements.

National Fitness Debate Returns to Schools

The RIDOH initiative also comes as the national conversation around youth fitness shifts back toward school-based physical activity programs.

In 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reviving the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition and restoring the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, which had largely been phased out over the past decade.

The renewed program is expected to expand in schools during the 2026-27 academic year and will once again emphasize measurable fitness benchmarks such as running, sit-ups, flexibility, and upper-body strength.

Supporters of the revived fitness testing program say it restores accountability and encourages healthier lifestyles for children during a time of rising childhood obesity and screen time. Critics argue that competitive fitness testing can discourage some students and place too much emphasis on athletic performance rather than lifelong wellness.

The federal shift creates an interesting contrast with Rhode Island’s Streets Transformation Project, which emphasizes community design, neighborhood engagement, walking, biking, and outdoor activities rather than school-based fitness testing or athletic benchmarks.

As national school-based fitness initiatives begin returning this fall, it remains to be seen how aggressively Rhode Island agencies, schools, and advocacy groups will embrace and maximize those federal programs alongside the state’s existing community wellness efforts.

2026 Rhode Island Streets Transformation Project Recipients

• The City of East Providence, which received $4,889 to design and create a traffic garden in East Providence and host educational recreational programming for children, including a bicycle helmet giveaway and bicycle safety events. (https://eastprovidenceri.gov/)
• Family Service of Rhode Island, which received $4,950 to host a community tree forum where children and families created educational tree identification tags to be installed along neighborhood streets in South Providence. Family Service of Rhode Island will also host a guided community tree walk to educate residents about the benefits of urban trees. (https://www.familyserviceri.org/)
• Partnership for Providence Parks, which received $4,823 to host blender bike workshops, during which youth will use blender bikes to make smoothies. Partnership for Providence Parks will also host bi-monthly workshops focused on bicycle skills, safety, and overall well-being. (https://www.providenceparks.org/)
• Providence Streets Coalition, which received $4,942 to host family-friendly bicycle rides as part of their 2026 Fam Jam ride series and work with East Providence community members and elected leaders to advance Complete Streets legislation in East Providence. (https://pvdstreets.org/)
• Rhode Island Latino Arts, which received $2,500 to host five guided walking tours, two guided bike rides, and weekly community drum circles. (https://www.rilatinoarts.org/)
• The Greater North End Community Development Corporation, which received $4,950 to enhance the visibility of local crosswalks and to host two bicycle and pedestrian events called Westerly Walks the North End. (https://northendwesterly.org/)
• Tri-County HEZ, in partnership with Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, received $4,950 to host guided bike rides, a guided walk along the Greenway, a community paddle event, and a series of outdoor fitness classes. (https://www.tricountyri.org/services/health-equity-zone/)

RIDOH said the program is funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using State Physical Activity and Nutrition Grant funding along with Maternal and Child Health Block Grant funding.

More information is available through the RIDOH HEAL Program at health.ri.gov/heal.