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One more bridge to cross, on foot or bike | 520 – An Environmental Blog | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

One more bridge to cross, on foot or bike | 520 – An Environmental Blog | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle


Erie Lackawanna railroad bridge!

POSTED BY SORR • APRIL 29, 2010 • 11:14 AM

The city of Rochester is now soliciting proposals for design of a new walking-biking trail on a bridge over the Genesee River near the University of Rochester.

The 1,600-foot-long stretch of trail would use the old Erie-Lackawanna Railroad bridge that crosses the river from the Plymouth-Exchange neighborhood to the university’s River Campus. It would connect with the excellent trails, much used by runners, walkers and riders, already in place on each side of the Genesee.
If I have the count right, the Erie-Lackawanna span would be the city’s seventh bridge over the river reserved for pedestrians and bikers – a most impressive number, in my view, for a city this size.
Footbridge near Brooks Avenue

Footbridge near Brooks Avenue
How many have you sampled? There’s a spectacular high bridge (built atop a sewer pipe actually) at Seneca Park, a walkway atop a dam at the little-known Middle Falls, the Pont du Rennes at High Falls, the Sister Cities span downtown, the existing footbridge at the UR near Brooks Avenue, and a lovely little crossing at Genesee Valley Park south of Elmwood Avenue
Most if not all are connected by trails, I believe. A bike-rider could cross them all in what? An hour? Somebody try it and let me know. Send me pics.
Back to Footbridge 7 at the UR. If all goes well, the city will hold public meetings this fall, design will be done over the winter, construction will start next spring and the repurposed bridge will open in October 2011. The project will cost about $1.2 million, with the city and New York state splitting the tab.
According to this detailed feasibility study done by Environmental Design and Research for the city and the Genesee Transportation Council two years ago, the bridge was built in the early 1900s, though earlier spans stood in that spot back to the 1850s. The rail line carried passenger and freight traffic between Rochester and Avon, Livingston County, with connections to points south. Erie-Lackawanna discontinued use of the line in 1971, a year before the rail company entered bankruptcy. The bridge has been unused since, except by occasional trespassers, and is now owned by the city.
The bridge as it is now (EDR feasibility study image)

The bridge as it is now (EDR feasibility study image)
When work is done, the bedraggled span will be transformed. It will have a new deck, be partly repainted, made ADA compliant and will sport ”amenities such as railing, lighting, benches, bike racks, and landscaping,” as the request for proposals put it.
The bridge as it may be (from EDR feasibility study)

The bridge as it may be (EDR feasibility study image)
Pretty nifty, eh? It should be a nice addition to the ever-growing network of trails in our region.
Oh, and if you’re not clear where these bridges are, here’s a home-made Google map, with the trails near the planned bridge marked as well. You’ll have to find the rest of the paths yourself. Enjoy!

Here is the project schedule from the Request for Proposals:

Project Schedule  
 Start Work      June 2010
 Site Reconnaissance & Survey   June 2010 – July 2010
 Draft  Alternatives Prepared    July 2010 – August 2010
 Host Citizen Advisory Meetings   August 2010 – October 2010
 Finalize Alternatives     September 2010 – October 2010
 Host Public Meeting(s)    August 2010 – October 2010
 Preliminary Design of Selected Alternative  October 2010 – November 2010
 Final Design & Construction Documents  December 2010 – January 2011
 Bid Process/Issuance of Construction Contracts February 2011 – April 2011
 Construction Phase     May 2011
 Open Bridge      October 2011 


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TELL YOUR FRIENDS!


ATTENTION all RCA members with a Facebook page! If you have been looking for a way to help and support the RCA and Bike Week, but have been too busy to make it to meetings, etc. you can help-out by letting your friends know about the event through Facebook or email.

If you have a Facebook page please cut and paste the following message into your status:

Rochester Bike Week is May 21st thru 28th. For a list of events visit: http://www.rochestercyclingalliance.org/

If you do not have facebook, but have an email account.. then simply send the above message to your friends via email.

Your help with messaging and getting the word out is crucial to the success of this event! What good is this event if no one knows about it! Also, frequent posts to your Facebook page over the next two weeks leading up to Bike Week will increase our messaging success!

SPREAD THE WORD! Thanks for your support…

Bike Week Committee

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TELL YOUR FRIENDS!


ATTENTION all RCA members with a Facebook page! If you have been looking for a way to help and support the RCA and Bike Week, but have been too busy to make it to meetings, etc. you can help-out by letting your friends know about the event through Facebook or email.

If you have a Facebook page please cut and paste the following message into your status:

Rochester Bike Week is May 21st thru 28th. For a list of events visit: http://www.rochestercyclingalliance.org/

If you do not have facebook, but have an email account.. then simply send the above message to your friends via email.

Your help with messaging and getting the word out is crucial to the success of this event! What good is this event if no one knows about it! Also, frequent posts to your Facebook page over the next two weeks leading up to Bike Week will increase our messaging success!

SPREAD THE WORD! Thanks for your support…

Bike Week Committee

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LAST Rochester Bike Week Volunteer Meeting


ATTN: All RCA Members and Volunteers…

We will be having the last volunteer meeting at Spot Coffee on Tuesday, May 11th from 7-8PM. At this meeting we will cover: upcoming confirmed events, distribute fliers to volunteer (for later distribution), discuss where fliers have been distributed thus far (bike shops, etc.), schedule volunteers for flier distribution at the Lilac Fest, determine the number of Bike Week shirts to purchase, and implement Social Media strategies and get our network of volunteers involved with spreading the word via FB, Twitter, Blogs, etc.

Please come to see how you can help support the event.

Thanks,
RCA Bike Week Committee
For more info. please email: info@rochestercyclingalliance.com

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LAST Rochester Bike Week Volunteer Meeting


ATTN: All RCA Members and Volunteers…

We will be having the last volunteer meeting at Spot Coffee on Tuesday, May 11th from 7-8PM. At this meeting we will cover: upcoming confirmed events, distribute fliers to volunteer (for later distribution), discuss where fliers have been distributed thus far (bike shops, etc.), schedule volunteers for flier distribution at the Lilac Fest, determine the number of Bike Week shirts to purchase, and implement Social Media strategies and get our network of volunteers involved with spreading the word via FB, Twitter, Blogs, etc.

Please come to see how you can help support the event.

Thanks,
RCA Bike Week Committee
For more info. please email: info@rochestercyclingalliance.com

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Maplewood Bike Rodeo needs volunteers!

The Maplewood Library is having a bike rodeo for kids next Saturday (May 15) at 10:00, and needs additional volunteers, preferably people who have some experience with minor bike and helmet adjustments/repairs. About 26 kids, all active users of the Maplewood Library, will be attending. It will take place in the front parking lot of Aquinas High School. The RPD will be supervising the actual cone riding course. Volunteers will be needed for the helmet/bike adjustments and possibly helping kids learn to ride. Please contact me if you are interested: alamedajunk@yahoo.com .

-Bill Collins
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Maplewood Bike Rodeo needs volunteers!

The Maplewood Library is having a bike rodeo for kids next Saturday (May 15) at 10:00, and needs additional volunteers, preferably people who have some experience with minor bike and helmet adjustments/repairs. About 26 kids, all active users of the Maplewood Library, will be attending. It will take place in the front parking lot of Aquinas High School. The RPD will be supervising the actual cone riding course. Volunteers will be needed for the helmet/bike adjustments and possibly helping kids learn to ride. Please contact me if you are interested: alamedajunk@yahoo.com .

-Bill Collins
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3 Foot Passing Law in NY?

Via Streetsblog, an article about the current status of bills to help keep cars away from bikes in New York State. David Gantt, a Rochester Assemblyman, is currently Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, and is mentioned in the article as being currently opposed to a 3 foot rule, preferring instead a “safe distance” rule. Any area bicyclist, but especially constituent’s of Mr. Gantt’s, should contact his office about these bills.

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3 Foot Passing Law in NY?

Via Streetsblog, an article about the current status of bills to help keep cars away from bikes in New York State. David Gantt, a Rochester Assemblyman, is currently Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, and is mentioned in the article as being currently opposed to a 3 foot rule, preferring instead a “safe distance” rule. Any area bicyclist, but especially constituent’s of Mr. Gantt’s, should contact his office about these bills.

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RCA T-shirt Design

Please provide feedback about this t-shirt design (graphic, colors & pricing). Would you support our efforts and mission by purchasing one of our t-shirts?

Make custom t-shirts at CustomInk.com

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Trails, Canals, and Project Green


Rochester’s routes have shaped its history and will determine its destiny. From its Native American days to the present, Rochester’s historical pathways continue to shape and affect its vibrancy. We’ve come full circle.

Trail. Indian trails shaped today’s street arrangement. Instead of a simple urban grid we have Genesee Street, Plymouth Avenue and the trail along the east bank of the Genesee River.

Canal. Our nineteenth-century canal system built on these Native American routes. The largely-forgotten Genesee Valley Canal followed closely South Plymouth Avenue and the Feeder Canal paralleled much of today’s Mt. Hope Avenue. The Erie Canal followed a curving West Broad Street route as it entered downtown.

Rail. Starting in 1878, railroads began supplanting canals. Five different railroad systems operated in downtown Rochester around the early 1900s.

Fail. But interstate highways, suburban development, governmental policy, and automobile lobbies eventually supplanted the dominance of the railroads.

Stale. In the 1970s, urban redevelopment gave us the Inner Loop, suburban sprawl, and neighborhood separation. Subsequently, the city economi staled and people moved elsewhere. Many of Rochester’s core urban neighborhoods inherited surplus housing beyond reclaiming.

Trail! New hope now comes with the City of Rochester’s Project Green. The idea is to turn swaths of vacant and substandard housing into greenspaces that will enhance property values and quality of life. Some greenspaces would be used for community gardens. Some greenspaces would be “land-banked” for future development when the economy improves. And some greenspaces will be developed as linear parks for pedestrian and bicycle reconnecting neighborhoods, encouraing active living, reducing carbon footprints and parking pressures, combatting obesity, and generally making life better!

The Rochester Cycling Alliance strongly supports the City’s efforts to re-envision and re-provision former canal and rail routes, and to develop a bicycle master plan that uses them to reconnect and re-invigorate our city.

Rochester will blaze new trails by recovering old ones. Bike to the future!

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Trails, Canals, and Project Green


Rochester’s routes have shaped its history and will determine its destiny. From its Native American days to the present, Rochester’s historical pathways continue to shape and affect its vibrancy. We’ve come full circle.

Trail. Indian trails shaped today’s street arrangement. Instead of a simple urban grid we have Genesee Street, Plymouth Avenue and the trail along the east bank of the Genesee River.

Canal. Our nineteenth-century canal system built on these Native American routes. The largely-forgotten Genesee Valley Canal followed closely South Plymouth Avenue and the Feeder Canal paralleled much of today’s Mt. Hope Avenue. The Erie Canal followed a curving West Broad Street route as it entered downtown.

Rail. Starting in 1878, railroads began supplanting canals. Five different railroad systems operated in downtown Rochester around the early 1900s.

Fail. But interstate highways, suburban development, governmental policy, and automobile lobbies eventually supplanted the dominance of the railroads.

Stale. In the 1970s, urban redevelopment gave us the Inner Loop, suburban sprawl, and neighborhood separation. Subsequently, the city economi staled and people moved elsewhere. Many of Rochester’s core urban neighborhoods inherited surplus housing beyond reclaiming.

Trail! New hope now comes with the City of Rochester’s Project Green. The idea is to turn swaths of vacant and substandard housing into greenspaces that will enhance property values and quality of life. Some greenspaces would be used for community gardens. Some greenspaces would be “land-banked” for future development when the economy improves. And some greenspaces will be developed as linear parks for pedestrian and bicycle reconnecting neighborhoods, encouraing active living, reducing carbon footprints and parking pressures, combatting obesity, and generally making life better!

The Rochester Cycling Alliance strongly supports the City’s efforts to re-envision and re-provision former canal and rail routes, and to develop a bicycle master plan that uses them to reconnect and re-invigorate our city.

Rochester will blaze new trails by recovering old ones. Bike to the future!

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Upper Monroe Bicycle Boulevard Ride

Upper Monroe Bicycle Boulevard Ride

The Upper Monroe Avenue Neighborhood Association has stepped up to the plate and become the first neighborhood in our city to endorse the City of Rochester’s decision to include bicycle boulevards in its Bicycle Masterplan. Eventually, we want to provide the Rochester community with an example of bicycle boulevards designed to connect neighborhoods with the city-wide trail system and to encourage bicycle use by casual bike riders to nearby destinations.

We can support them by riding on May 23!
Please consider riding your bicycle with us on our our first Upper Monroe bicycling boulevard ride on May 23rd.  This is just one of the events for Rochester’s Bike Week to show off our neighborhood and the bicycle boulevard concept.
We’ll meet up at Cobb’s Hill Park and bike to Ford’s Street Bridge then on to Boulder Coffee shop on 955 Genesee Street and back. 
  • When: 1 PM, Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
  • Where: Cobbs Hill Park (near the corner of Norris Dr. and Culver Rd.
  • Helmet required
  • Total bicycling distance:  7.34 miles of fun.
  • Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
  • Free and Open to the public
  • Ride lead by a Rochester Bicycling Club Board member

Bicycle Boulevards

This is the route we will be taking on May 23rd. 

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Upper Monroe Bicycle Boulevard Ride

Upper Monroe Bicycle Boulevard Ride

The Upper Monroe Avenue Neighborhood Association has stepped up to the plate and become the first neighborhood in our city to endorse the City of Rochester’s decision to include bicycle boulevards in its Bicycle Masterplan. Eventually, we want to provide the Rochester community with an example of bicycle boulevards designed to connect neighborhoods with the city-wide trail system and to encourage bicycle use by casual bike riders to nearby destinations.

We can support them by riding on May 23!
Please consider riding your bicycle with us on our our first Upper Monroe bicycling boulevard ride on May 23rd.  This is just one of the events for Rochester’s Bike Week to show off our neighborhood and the bicycle boulevard concept.
We’ll meet up at Cobb’s Hill Park and bike to Ford’s Street Bridge then on to Boulder Coffee shop on 955 Genesee Street and back. 
  • When: 1 PM, Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
  • Where: Cobbs Hill Park (near the corner of Norris Dr. and Culver Rd.
  • Helmet required
  • Total bicycling distance:  7.34 miles of fun.
  • Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
  • Free and Open to the public
  • Ride lead by a Rochester Bicycling Club Board member

Bicycle Boulevards

This is the route we will be taking on May 23rd.