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Archive for the ‘Events + Meetings’ Category
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
Posted by: Carlos Mercado
![The populations of Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and Toronto are closer than we realize. With good, high speed transportation links we become an economic powerhouse. [Flickr Photo: Calori & Vanden-Eynden]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/acela-train-platform.jpg)
Rochester, NY has about 1,035,000 population in its metro area; Buffalo is slightly larger with 1,124,000; and Syracuse has about 646,000. The combined metro population for the three major cities along the old New York Central Water Level Route is 2,804,000.
In terms of rank, Buffalo is 50th, Rochester is 51st, and Syracuse is 81st. As a combined area, we would become 19th largest, edging out Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, FL and just behind St. Louis. Nice, eh?
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Tags: Amtrak, Buffalo, high speed rail, rail transit, Rochester, Rochester Amtrak Station, Syracuse, Toronto
Posted in Background Stories, Events + Meetings, Things You Can Do To Help | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
Reconnect Rochester volunteers will be at Main and Clinton from 6-7:30am and 5-5:30pm Thursday to assist new transit riders and to help make transfers. Look us near the Main St. bus shelters wearing this logo…
Riders with a “UFO” pin will be able to ride local buses for free all day on October 20, the first Critical Mass Transit Day. The UFO promotion is part of an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of the $1.5 million in gasoline money that is ‘abducted’ from our local economy every day.
Critical Mass Transit Day is a joint effort by Regional Transit Service (RTS) and Reconnect Rochester, a transit advocacy group that suggests by using public transit as an alternative to driving a car, Rochesterians have the power to reinvest those dollars back into Rochester’s economy.
 RGRTA even announced a fun photo contest today on their Facebook page in honor of the big day. So post a photo of yourself on Critical Mass Transit Day!
Even if you just go for a joy-ride down the street, the idea is to learn about our transit system and show your support for the future of public transit in Rochester. And as you’re riding along on Thursday, remember that by making smart transportation choices we can all save money, and help grow our region’s economy over the long run.
Need Assistance Using RTS?
Download this Commuter Resources sheet [PDF] for handy RTS transit tips. You can also call RTS at 585-288-1700 for help planning a trip or contact the volunteers at Reconnect Rochester—they can help you decipher the routes and schedules.
Tags: Critical Mass Transit Day, Regional Transit Service (RTS), Rochester, Rochester NY, Rochester Vanishing
Posted in Events + Meetings | 2 Comments »
Sunday, September 18th, 2011
Sorry if we caused a mass panic last week with all of the reports of UFO’s and abductions. We staged the whole UFO thing. But we can’t apologize for the adbuctions. As it turns out, every dollar we spend on gasoline, over $1.5 MILLION each day*, leaves the local economy never to be seen again. Vanished! The numbers are real. The UFO’s are not. We can do something about the vanishing resources.
Did you know every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic returns. It’s true. Households that use public transportation and live with one less car can save on average $9,000 every year.[1]
The volunteers at Reconnect Rochester find these numbers downright frightening. And we’re doing something about. We’ve organized a ‘human resistance’ movement have been getting the word out this weekend at the Greentopia Festival about Critical Mass Transit Day.
ON THE 3RD THURSDAY OF OCTOBER, AND EVERY MONTH THEREAFTER, WE WILL LEAVE OUR CARS AT HOME & JOIN TOGETHER FOR A “CRITICAL MASS” TRANSIT RIDE. EVERYONE IS INVITED! NO ONE IS IN CHARGE! LOOK FOR YOUR COMRADES ON RTS BUSES WEARING THIS PIN…
ON OCTOBER 20 SHOW THIS PIN TO YOUR RTS DRIVER AND RIDE FREE ALL DAY!
THAT part is no hoax. RTS has kindly agreed to honor our NO-UFOs pin as free entry onto any RTS bus all day on October 20. Just flash this pin at the friendly driver. Even if you’ve never ridden RTS before, now is the perfect time to give it a try. If only for one day. To get to work, or for a leisurely trip around the block.
Visit Reconnect Rochester at the Greentopia Festival (High Falls, vendor area, booth 55) and grab your FREE pin today… before they VANISH.
Tags: Critical Mass Transit Day, Greentopia Festival, Rochester Vanishing, RTS
Posted in Events + Meetings, News, Things You Can Do To Help | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
![Greentopia Festival gets ready to kick off this weekend. Workers in the High Falls neighborhood were invited to a picnic lunch today on the newly 'green' Commercial Street. [PHOTO: VJ Ortiz]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-greentopia-ufo-sighting.jpg)
The Greentopia Festival is getting ready to kick off this weekend. Check out the photo above, snapped earlier today on Commercial Street. Ain’t that something?!
The two-day, interactive fest in historic High Falls will reveal what the region is doing to help the environment – and envision a greener Rochester of the future. The volunteers at Reconnect Rochester are VERY excited to have a booth at this brand new event to help promote the green movement and alternate forms of transportation.
I won’t give away the surprise, but we’ll be featuring an out-of-this-world exhibit highlighting some “green” benefits of transit you probably never knew.
Announcing the FIRST EVER
“Critical Mass Transit Day!”
Reconnect Rochester is using this weekend’s event to get the word out about the first ever “Critical Mass Transit Day”—taking place on the 3rd Thursday of October (10/20/2011) and every month thereafter.
Similar to the cycling version of Critical Mass where cyclists take to the streets on human-powered modes of transport, Critical Mass Transit will be a celebration of greener, more social forms of transportation. The rules are simple: on the 3rd Thursday of every month, leave your car at home and walk, bike, or roller skate to the nearest bus stop. Take the bus to work (or where ever it is you go during the day) and then take it back home at the end of the day.
Get Your FREE Ride…
To make things a little more interesting, we’ve teamed up with the Transit Authority to offer you a FREE day on RTS. You heard me right… The first Critical Mass Transit Day can be absolutely FREE for you… No strings. All you have to do is visit our booth at the Greentopia Festival and say hello.
So come visit us Saturday or Sunday in the High Falls overlook area (where Browns Race and Commercial Street meet) and get green with us.
Tags: Critical Mass, Critical Mass Transit Day, Greentopia Festival, High Falls, Reconnect Rochester, Rochester, UFO
Posted in Events + Meetings, News, Things You Can Do To Help | No Comments »
Saturday, June 11th, 2011
On Thursday, June 16 Reconnect Rochester and the people of Rochester NY, will join the rest of the country for National Dump the Pump Day. We will leave our cars in the driveway and instead use public transit. Share this on Facebook and let your family, friends, co-workers, and employers know.
Useful Information:
Use Google Transit to plan your trip.
Find RTS schedules & route maps .
RTS Fares:
Adults : $1.00
All-Day Unlimited Freedom Pass : $3.00
Adult 5–Day Unlimited Freedom Pass : $14.00
Adult 31-Day Unlimited Freedom Pass : $56
Children age 6-11 : $0.50
Children age 5 and under : FREE
Senior/Disabled : $0.50
Senior/Disabled 1-Day Unlimited Pass : $1.50
Senior/Disabled 5–Day Unlimited Pass : $7.00
Senior/Disabled 31-Day Unlimited Pass : $28
For more information: www.rgrta.org/CommuterResources
or leave a comment below with any question you might have about riding RTS. We will get you an answer.
Let’s ride!
Tags: National Dump the Pump Day, public transit, Regional Transit Service (RTS), Rochester, Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA)
Posted in Events + Meetings, News, Things You Can Do To Help | 9 Comments »
Sunday, April 17th, 2011
 This Thursday evening Reconnect Rochester will be at the Sierra Club’s 13th Annual Environmental Forum, “Sustainable Production: Rochester’s Cutting Edge”. Come out and see us at our table and hear two nationally recognized leaders on sustainable production and manufacturing. Happy Earth Day!
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Tags: Catherine Reeves, Dr. Nabil Nasr, Earth Day, Reconnect Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Sierra Club, Xerox
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Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair John Mica will visit Rochester and Cortland on Thursday as part of the field hearings and listening sessions being held around the country by the Committee on the next federal transportation bill.
While the hearings are open to the public, testimony is via invitation only. Members of the public will be allowed to bring written testimony to share with staff at the hearing, or mail in their testimony directly to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The Rochester hearing was originally scheduled for February; local advocates held their own transportation town hall to get more inclusive input, and delivered it to Rep. Mica.
Rochester Field Hearing (co-hosted by Rep. Tom Reed)
Thursday, March 24, 9-11am
Rochester International Airport [map]
Rochester, NY
Tags: New York State Transportation Equity Alliance (NYSTEA), Reconnect Rochester, Rep. John Mica, Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU), U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
Posted in Events + Meetings, News | No Comments »
Monday, February 21st, 2011
While Rochester searches for its next mayor to take office and begin the arduous task of planning the City’s future, Reconnect Rochester is taking the issues to the candidates and the candidates to the people.
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Tags: Alex White, American Planning Association (APA), American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Ann Lewis, Gleason Works, Harry Davis, Joni Monroe, Landmark Society of Western New York, Reconnect Rochester, Rochester, Rochester chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Rochester Regional Community Design Center, Thomas Richards, transportation policy, William A. Johnson
Posted in Events + Meetings, News | No Comments »
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On Tuesday, January 31, the Rochester Regional Community Design Center 
On Thursday, February 2, Greentopia Film will host a screening of Gary Hustwit’s Urbanized at the Little Theatre for a one-night-only event.
