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Critical Mass Transit Day October 20, 2011

Critical Mass Transit Day


RIDE THE BUS FOR FREE ON CRITICAL MASS TRANSIT DAY (OCT. 20)
Reconnect Rochester, RTS Partner to Stop the Exodus of $1.5 Million Vanishing from the Local Economy Daily
Riders with a “UFO” pin, available at local retailers and by mail, 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 effort to raise awareness of the $1.5 million in gasoline money that is abducted from local economy every day. Critical Mass Transit is a joint effort by RTS and Reconnect Rochester, a transit advocacy group. By using bus transit as an alternative to driving a car, Rochesterians have the power to reinvest those dollars back into Rochester’s economy. Learn more at http://RochesterVanishing.info
All RTS buses have bicycle racks that hold two bicycle. Take your bicycle for a ride on a bus. No extra charge.

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Urban Trail Linkages Public Informational Meeting Notice

Urban Trail Linkages Public Informational Meeting Notice
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
210 Maplewood Drive
City’s Maplewood Training Center – use entrance on Bridge View Drive
Rochester, NY
Proposed Eastman Park Trail – Kings Landing Cemetery to NYS Route 390
Genesee Riverway Trail (GRT) – Relining the GRT from
Kings Landing Cemetery to Turning Point Park
For details of the project: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/UrbanTrailLinkages/

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UFO Sightings Explained… Abductions Continue…

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!

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.

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Getting Ready for Greentopia

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]
The Greentopia Festivalexternal link 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 Massexternal link 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.

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The RCA Greentopia Bike the Bridges Ride Saturday September 17

On Saturday September 17 the RCA is organizing a self-guided Bike the Bridges ride to the Greentopia Festival site at High Falls from Genesee Valley Park (GVP), six miles one-way.
Meet at GVP anytime between 9:00 -10:30 A.M. and join other cyclists riding to the festival.
Print ride maps off the web site and sign the ride waiver on- line, www.greentopiafestival.com/highlights/bike.
The Rochester Cycling Alliance (RCA) will have a table at the Greentopia Festival on September 17 & 18, 10:00a .m. – 6:00 p.m. Admission to the festival is free. Go to www.greentopiafestival.com for more information.

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Help Protect Funding for the ‘Partnership for Sustainable Communities’

The U.S. House of Representatives just stripped funding for the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The Senate will consider funding for the Partnership next Thursday. NOW is the time to tell your Senators to maintain funding for this important program.The U.S. House of Representatives just stripped funding for the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The Senate will consider funding for the Partnership next Thursday.

NOW is the time to tell your Senators to maintain funding for this important program.

These are tough economic times, which makes it even more important to keep the innovative programs that put federal dollars to good use rebuilding our local economies, strengthening our communities, and creating necessary jobs.

Earlier this year when the Partnership was under threat, your voices made a real difference and funding was preserved. Now we need your voices to be heard even louder.

Tell your Senators: Protect funding for the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.external link

Make sure that Congress knows we will not accept shortsighted cuts that sacrifice the health of our communities.

From connecting affordable housing with jobs to turning dilapidated lots into vibrant downtown centers, the Partnership is making a difference in our communities, where we are hurting the most.

Please tell your lawmakers not to take away crucial opportunities for our communities.external link

This is the time when we need your voice the most. Thank you for all that you do.

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W. Broad St. Sharrow


The first ‘sharrow’ to appear in the downtown area is on W. Board St. near Main St.
The ‘sharrow’ is a road sharing symbol that will be mainly used where there is no room to strip a bicycle lane. 2011 is the first year this new symbol is being used by the County DOT & the City DOT.
In time motorists will get used to this new sharing the lane symbol which will hopefully increase the safety of cyclists.
The chevron arrow of the symbol is to remind cyclists the direction of travel which will hopefully decrease wrong way cycling, a leading cause of auto and bicycle crashes.
The photo; looking toward Main St. (Nick Tahou’s) from the Brown St. intersection.