For Rochester Street Films this year we asked local filmmakers and ordinary citizens to share their perspective on what it’s like to get around Rochester without a car. No rules; No restrictions; No filter.
Nate Butler grew up around cars. Learning to work on them with his dad as a kid, he just figured that cars were the only way to get around. Now a student at R.I.T., Nate has taken up cross-country running and he’s learning something new about his community with every step…
For Rochester Street Films this year we asked local filmmakers and ordinary citizens to share their perspective on what it’s like to get around Rochester without a car. No rules; No restrictions; No filter.
Ericka Jones, a Systems Advocate at Center for Disability Rights, focuses on a segment of our population often overlooked. For people with disabilities, Ericka shows us how running a simple errand requires careful planning days in advance. Ironically, even the streets themselves can become barriers to living a productive life…
We are all very busy. Our days are filled with places we need to go, people we need to see, things we need to do. Almost like a movie, we bounce between different scenes of our daily lives. But unlike a movie, we can’t simply edit out all of the time in between those scenes. We don’t think much about our time in transit. But the way we use that time may say a lot about who we are.
Are you the type of person who takes time to enjoy the journey? Or is the journey something you’d rather fast forward through?
What if you could bring a film crew with you on your commute to work? What if a camera man followed you on a trip to the grocery store, or to pick up your kids at school? What might we learn by watching that movie? Would it be something you’d want to share with your friends on Facebook? Or would it make better material for an upsetting Michael Moore documentary?
That was the idea behind the latest installment of Rochester Street Films. We asked local filmmakers and ordinary citizens to share their perspective on what it’s like to get around Rochester without a car. No rules; No restrictions; No filter.
Last night 200+ people gathered at The Little Theatre for the kickoff of Rochester Street Films 2017 season. Over the next few weeks we’ll share those films with you here.
Guest essay submitted by: Ericka Jones, Systems Advocate at Center for Disability Rights…
Imagine you found out Uber was coming to your town. The typical response is to be really excited and relieved that a lower cost and convenient ride service was coming to your area. You no longer have to deal with the stress of how you will get to work on time or if a ride is even available!
Smart Growth America just released its 2016 Dangerous By Design Report, which examines pedestrian crash fatalities from 2005 – 2014. Read our synopsis here and find our how Rochester ranked.
This week RTS introduced a new Tap & Go! RTS Fast Pass. The new fare card lets customers simply tap it on the fare box (on the bulls-eye) when boarding. When the fare is accepted the fare box will beep or you will hear “fare deducted” to know you have successfully paid your fare.
If customers make use of the new Tap & Go! cards they should make boarding a lot faster which would be a good thing for everyone. Currently, riders insert their fare card into a slot and then must wait a moment for the card to pop back out – or worse, fumble for change. And when you serve thousands of riders every day, those seconds add up.
In addition to quicker boarding times, RTS CEO Bill Carpenter says the new technology at the fare box also lays the groundwork for improved payment options in the future. “The information and experience we gain from the Tap & Go! passes represents the first step toward technological improvements that may include refillable bus passes, fare boxes that accept credit card payments, mobile payment options on smart phones, and a Tap & Go! smart phone app.”
For many of us transit fans, those features can’t come fast enough. But for now, here is what customers need to know about Tap & Go!:
And in case you missed it, last month RTS introduced another way for customers to receive service and schedule announcements: via email or text message. Transit riders with smartphones and the RTS Where’s My Bus App already receive timely alerts and information through the app. Text and Email alerts now give customers another option.
To sign up, you can either fill out the subscription form online or in person at the Transit Center.
Or simply text the words “OPT IN RTS ALL” to (585) 433-0855. If you only want alerts for a specific route, replace the word “ALL” with your specific route number. For example, to sign up for text message alerts for the Route 1 Lake, text “OPT IN RTS 1.”
You can also opt-in for information outside Monroe County. Simply follow the same instructions above, but use your county code listed below:
2016 has been an exciting and transformational year for Reconnect Rochester as an organization. Last month we moved into our first physical location in The Hungerford Building (1115 East Main Street, Door 4). Sharing a space with the Community Design Center of Rochester will allow us to build a close working relationship with another local organization that has been a champion for walkable neighborhoods and smart urban planning.
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
There hasn’t been much coverage about the progress on Rochester’s new intermodal station lately. So we thought we’d do another construction update and let you know that the project is moving along as scheduled and the new station is expected to be open and ready for passengers next summer, 2017.
Since our last update, the rickety old 1970s Amtrak station has been demo’d, bridge and tunnel work has largely been completed, and the new building is rising above the site. You can find most of these photos and information on the NYSDOT website 
but once again, so that you don’t have to go digging for it, here’s a look at what’s been happening…
This past spring NeighborWorks Rochester invited local artists to submit designs for new bike racks in The Triangle area of North Winton Village. The winning artists were announced earlier this summer, and the finished racks are now open and waiting for you to secure your bike…
Posted by: DeWain Feller, Vice President at Reconnect Rochester
Posted by: Daniel Speciale, volunteer at Reconnect Rochester
When the Reconnect Rochester volunteers were out on Joseph Avenue last month placing the latest set of bus stop cubes, I noticed this crumbling bit of concrete (above) and thought… What the hell is it?
We kicked around some thoughts; Maybe a base for one of those traffic signal boxes? Part of an old bus shelter? An old stoop leading to a long-demolished storefront?
An email to my street design guy (yeah, I know a guy) quickly solved the mystery…
Bikes vs Cars premiers in Rochester this Wednesday kicking off a full line-up of events for Rochester Bike Week 2016. Starting as a Kickstarter project in September 2013, this much anticipated film tells of the modern bike revolution in cities across the world.
Reserve your seat with a donation in any amount (either online or at the door) and you’ll also be entered into a raffle to win a $25 gift card for Abundance Food Co-op or Towner’s Bike Shop, OR a $20 gift card for Harts Local Grocers!
Posted by: Daniel Speciale, volunteer at Reconnect Rochester
If you’ve been hunting for a place to sit down while waiting for your bus to arrive, rejoice. The CUBES are back! This year our volunteers have already placed 14 of those colorful little bus stop cube seats and the program is expanding with 5 additional cubes being placed on Joseph Avenue…
Reconnect Rochester envisions a community connected by a robust transportation network that makes it easy for everyone—regardless of physical or economic ability—to get around. To achieve this vision, it is important for us to prioritize our goals, and focus on activities that have the greatest potential to advance those goals in a measurable way. You can help us by answering this quick survey…
![Here's an overview of how public transportation fared in the new State budget. [Story via NYPTA]](http://www.reconnectrochester.org/images/photos/budget.jpg)
[ Story via: NYPTA ]
New York’s 2016-17 state budget contains increases in appropriations for transit operating and capital aid, and also includes a commitment to fund a 5-year capital program for Non-MTA transit systems, the first multiyear capital program in many years. The final budget provides significant increases in transit capital and operating aid over last year’s levels and addresses a number of NYPTA’s priorities…
Posted by: Daniel Speciale, volunteer with Reconnect Rochester.
The Genesee Transportation Council (GTC) is asking for public input on their Long Range Transportation Plan for the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region 2040 (LRTP 2040). The LRTP identifies the direction for the region’s transportation system and serves as the framework for future investment in highways, bridges, public transportation, bicycle and pedestrian projects over the next 25 years. The LRTP 2040 Public Review Document provides an introduction to the LRTP 2040 planning processes, a summary of customer engagement feedback, a financial analysis with revenues and costs, and draft recommendations based on regional needs and customer feedback. Here’s a summary of the document…
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
On Wednesday, February 24, Reconnect Rochester will bring Samuel Schwartz to Rochester. Sam is the former traffic commissioner for New York City and the man who literally invented the word “Gridlock.”
Gridlock Sam is one of the leading transportation experts in the United States today. He is currently a columnist at the New York Daily News. And his firm, Sam Schwartz Engineering, has recently produced a plan for the redesign of East Main Street here in Rochester…
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
Volunteers from Reconnect Rochester and Flower City AmeriCorps are teaming up to clear snow from bus stops and crosswalks in various Rochester neighborhoods this winter. We’re calling it The Great Rochester Snow Down and we could use your help on Saturday 1/23…
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
Record cold temperatures and mountains of snow last year made many of our sidewalks and bus stops inaccessible for weeks at a time. This year, before winter tightens its icy grip, Reconnect Rochester would like to invite you to help us defend our streets by taking part in The Great Rochester Snow Down .
Every other Saturday from January 9 – March 6, volunteers from Reconnect Rochester and Flower City AmeriCorps will gather together along one major avenue in our area to clear snow from bus stops and crosswalks…
If you weren’t in the audience this past Thursday evening at the first-ever Rochester Street Films, well, you missed one heck of a good time. Maybe you got stuck in traffic and had to turn back. We get it, life happens. While we can’t recreate the energetic live panel discussions, we can at least share a portion of the event with you here…