For Monroe County to be more bikeable, New York State DOT (NYSDOT) and Monroe County DOT are going to have to “up their game” when it comes to complete streets designs and reallocating existing roadspace. Those two entities control the vast majority of the primary roads connecting our towns and villages. Town leadership can certainly make their wishes known when one of those primary roads through their community gets repaved, and those wishes will be considered, but the towns don’t have ultimate say-so.
As we’ve outlined in our Advocacy Toolkit, to determine who has ultimate say-so over any road, select the Maintenance Jurisdiction layer in NYS’s Roadway Inventory System Viewer.
Green = Monroe County DOT owns & maintains
Blue = NYSDOT has jurisdiction
Purple or Orange = Municipality has ultimate say-so
Today, we’d like to highlight something towns and villages can do of their own accord to better serve bike riders and cheaply achieve bike network connectivity in the meantime: connect residential streets at key locations with paths between residences.
Pittsford has done a great job at this. There are so many streets that don’t connect for motorists but do for those who walk or roll.
Path between houses on Devonwood Lane alleviates the need to bike on Calkins Road
Path at the end of Bromley Road, giving kids access to Mendon Center Elementary School alleviates the need to bike on Mendon Center Road
Path between houses on Rosewood Drive, giving kids access to Park Road Elementary School alleviates the need to bike on East Street or Park Road
It’s not uncommon for paths to/through schools to be closed during school hours, as you can see here.
As you can see, Pittsford has wildly successful Bike to School Days. And it’s not because their primary roads are bike-friendly! It’s because they’ve invested in cheap, low-stress connections between residential streets, especially around their school campuses.
Pittsford isn’t the only town with bike/ped access between residences. More examples below!
Narrow connection in Gates from Hinchey Rd to Walmart, alleviating the need to walk or bike on Howard Road
This path in Penfield connects Devonshire Circle to the Wegmans and Target off Penfield Road
Path off Frandee Lane in Greece, granting access to Brookside Elementary School alleviates the need to bike on Long Pond Road
Path between houses on Rusty Lane in Greece, granting access to Autumn Lane Elementary School
Path between residences on Pearson Lane in Greece, granting access to Greece Athena alleviates the need to bike on English Rd or Long Pond Rd
Irondequoit’s Bike Boulevard network wouldn’t be possible without this path connecting Norlane Drive to Kearney Drive. This crucial east-west Bike Boulevard allows cyclists to entirely avoid biking on Ridge Road or Titus Ave.
Boniface Drive in Brighton has a couple beautiful cut-throughs, one towards Lac De Ville and another to the Hillel Community Day School
This path off Clooney Drive in Henrietta leads to Emma E Sherman Elementary School alleviates the need to bike on Lehigh Station Road
Where could similar connections be made elsewhere in Monroe County’s towns and villages? Chime in and let us know. More importantly, as a resident, let the municipality know these investments are needed.
The Town of Chili could really benefit from connecting some of its residential streets with small paths between houses at key locations. This would save people from having to walk or bike on Chili Avenue and Paul Road.
It’s a squiggly way of getting there, but it’s entirely possible to bike from Creek Street in Penfield to the village of Webster, pretty much by residential streets alone. No paths between residences necessary!
One disclaimer: Pedestrians always have the right of way on trails, sidewalks and paths like the ones we’re highlighting today. NO ONE on foot or in a wheelchair has to get out of your way when biking along.
Timely advocacy opportunities for pushing NYSDOT and Monroe County DOT to be better: