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). Over the course of this series we hope to inspire and equip more folks to bike to popular destinations, at least in good weather.
Responses have been coming in and we’re excited to share our next destination: Parcel 5 and downtown, which are deserving of their own deep dive.
Some helpful links before we jump in:
- The map below around downtown largely incorporates the growing Bike Boulevard network. Reading this recent blog on the bike boulevards is highly recommended before proceeding.
- Our ROC Easy Bike map shows the easiest ways for newer/younger riders to bike and scoot around the area. Riders who’ve developed their skills aren’t constrained to the lines on that map. Want to increase your biking know-how and confidence? Take one of our classes sometime.
It has to be said: At the moment, the easy ways to access downtown and Parcel 5 by bike are quite limited.
More and more bike lanes are being added to Main Street over time, which is great. However, what’s been installed so far at the time of this writing doesn’t meet the criteria for riders of all ages and abilities. Main Street between Goodman and Union is built like a gun barrel (an inappropriate design for a road in any city’s heart) and the bike lanes there badly need protection.
Westbound as you approach downtown, there’s the stressful turn-off to the Inner Loop cyclists have to navigate, and as you head further into downtown on Main, the bike lanes between University and Scio are routinely blocked by parked cars. There are no westbound bike lanes from Franklin to Plymouth (except for over the Genesee). At present, there are no eastbound bike lanes on Main Street from Scott Alley to Aqueduct Street.
Furthermore, it’s unfortunate that the northeast side is bereft of decently comfortable bike connections to downtown. Crossing Inner Loop North on St Paul, Clinton, Joseph, North St, or Union is uncomfortable for most riders.
But don’t despair! Five transformational projects are in store that will change the game in coming years:
- With the removal of Inner Loop North and the restoration of the surface grid, intersections can be reconfigured and hopefully
the Union Street cycle track can wrap around to Innovative Field.
- The gradual building of the ideal Bike Spine Network envisioned in the City’s 2023 Active Transportation Plan. As the Plan clearly states, only protected bike lanes will hit the mark: “It is essential that bike lanes be separated from traffic on high-speed streets that carry a lot of traffic” [along this spine network].
- The High Falls State Park and its Running Track Bridge connection to the El Camino Trail
- ROC The Riverway’s gradual extension of the Genesee Riverway Trail through downtown
- The City is looking into ways to close the gap in the Genesee Riverway Trail north of downtown.
So in the future, we have every hope that bike riders of all ages and abilities will be able to access downtown in ways that are obvious, intuitive, direct, safe and comfortable (no secret backways required!).
In the meantime, here is how we think the average bike and scooter rider can access Parcel 5 without too much trouble.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRACY STREET
Boy oh boy. Thank goodness for Tracy Street. It’s the only decently comfortable bike connection from the direction of Park Ave and Brighton. After Tracy Street, cross to the sidewalk on the other side of Alexander when the way is clear. Bike north on the sidewalk just a bit and take Chapman Alley west to Union. Yes, Tracy Street is technically one-way traffic eastbound for a tiny stretch, but you’re probably fine biking westbound along it (bike on the sidewalk for a few seconds if you want a clear conscience). We’re hoping the City makes it both ways for cyclists, like you see in the below New York City example (right).
THE WESTSIDE BIKE/PED BRIDGE OVER 490
This bridge grants pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders easy downtown access from the 19th Ward, Mayor’s Heights and Corn Hill.
THE PORTION OF THE GENESEE RIVERWAY TRAIL ALONG PLYMOUTH
A curious detour of the Genesee Riverway Trail, a vestige of the never-quite completed “Plymouth Avenue Greenway,” runs alongside the Plymouth sidewalk between 490/Utah Alley and Allen Street. More or less a north/south cycletrack, albeit less distinct. While bicycling on downtown sidewalks is generally discouraged, bikes are allowed on this “trail” section of the Plymouth sidewalk.
*Remember to use the ROC Easy Bike map for more detail on these routes!
BROAD STREET
Broad Street doesn’t have dedicated infrastructure along its entirety downtown, but it’s plenty wide, tends to have low traffic volumes and slow speeds, and most folks are capable of biking along it just fine. Take “The Grove at Midtown” cut through below (in between Unwine’d and Dice Versa) to access Parcel 5 from the south. Just go leisurely and be polite, yielding to pedestrians.
THE NORTHWEST BIKE BOULEVARD NETWORK
The Bike Boulevard Network through Maplewood, Edgerton and Brown Square grants very easy bike access from the northwest. This allows riders to bike parallel to Lake Ave without biking on Lake Ave itself (thank goodness!). For the tiny stretch of Plymouth that’s one way northbound (Lyell to Morrie Silver Way), use Verona instead or just hop on the sidewalk briefly.
IN SUM
Whether it’s biking downtown for Fringe or the Jazz Festival, a movie at Parcel 5, a fireworks display, RDDC’s Midday Bash, the Central Library, a hockey or lacrosse game at Blue Cross Arena, or enjoying one of downtown’s many great dining establishments, we hope the routes above get you there relatively stress-free by bike. In the future, because of the many investments being made, you’ll have more direct, obvious and comfortable options. We have a lot to look forward to!
That’s all for Volume 2!
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