By: Jesse Peers
For fun on social media this year, Reconnect Rochester posed the following question: What’s a destination, that at first glance, would seem quite difficult & stressful to bike to, but is actually pretty easy *IF* you use a certain route, probably an unintuitive approach or easily overlooked back way? (Definitely not the way you’d drive there). Responses have been coming in and we’re excited to start showing you some of the answers. Hopefully this will inspire and equip some folks to bike to popular destinations, at least in good weather. Of course, over time, as the City and County’s Active Transportation Plans are implemented, we hope the ways to bike to popular destinations are obvious, intuitive, safe and comfortable for riders of all ages and abilities (no secret backways required!).
Two helpful links before we dive in:
Most of the following maps incorporate the growing Bike Boulevard network. Reading this recent deep dive on the bike boulevards is highly recommended before proceeding.
Our ROC Easy Bike map – the easy ways to bike around the area. Many of the zoomed out maps below couldn’t label every street along the way. You’ll get your answers here.
THE SENECA PARK ZOO

Our wonderful zoo is right beside the Genesee Riverway Trail, El Camino Trail, the beautiful bike/pedestrian bridge connecting Maplewood & Seneca Parks, and delightful neighborhood bikeways in Irondequoit. There is a bike rack at the main entrance. Hopefully someday, the Seneca Trail north of the zoo will lead all the way to Lake Ontario on the east side of the Genesee River.
MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
It’s been a common complaint for years: Monroe Community College, our area’s largest institute of learning, is very uncomfortable to get to by bike. Though bike lanes have been installed on East Henrietta Road from Westfall south to 390, the bridge over 390 can be terrifying. Good news though: The Town of Brighton is developing a Multiversity Plan for an accessible, off-road, and multi-use trail system connecting the campuses of the University of Rochester, MCC, and RIT! In the meantime, there’s an easy, though unintuitive way to approach MCC from the northwest. It incorporates the Lehigh Valley Trail’s north branch, Whipple Park, West Brighton and Corporate Woods.

INNOVATIVE FIELD FOR ROCHESTER RED WINGS GAMES

Biking is the best way to get to a Red Wings game! The Pont de Rennes bridge (scheduled to reopen in November) grants bike/ped access directly from the east. There’s plenty of bike racks at both Innovative Field entrances and security is there during games. When the game ends, you’ll be most of the way home before most attendees get out of the congested parking lots nearby.
*Remember to use the ROC Easy Bike map for more detail on these routes!
RIT & LOVIN’ CUP
At least from the north, RIT and Lovin’ Cup are easy to bike to thanks to the Lehigh Valley Trail’s north branch – a bicycle superhighway along an old railroad bed.

TINSELTOWN & GATES HOME DEPOT

That’s all for Volume 1!
Got another destination we can include in the series? Reach out to us at cycling@reconnectrochester.org. Look out next month for Volume 2! Get more details on the ROC Easy Bike map
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