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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. 

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Tour de New York returns to Rochester in August

http://rocnow.com/article/sports/20104100326

ANNETTE LEIN file photo 2007
This summer’s five-stage Tour de New York bicycle race in Rochester is expected to draw 125,000 spectators.

…
Mayor Robert Duffy has called pro cycling a major tourism engine for the region.
“He’s been my saving grace,” Page said. “He’s always been supportive and he’s had the vision of where this thing is going.”
While the event is labeled Tour de New York, the race’s long-range intention is to remain centered on western New York.
Unlike the Tour de France or Tour de California in which riders and their entourages move from location to location, the Tour de New York will use Rochester as its base of operations.

TOUR DE NEW YORK
What: 5-day stage road cycling event for professionals and elite amateurs sanctioned by Union Cycliste Internationale.
When: Aug. 7-11 on courses through Rochester and Finger Lakes.
Format: Criterium downtown, Saturday, Aug. 7; 10-mile time trial on Lake Ontario Parkway, Sunday, Aug. 8; three road races of varying lengths Aug. 9, 10 and 11.
Information: www.tourdenewyork.com.

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Tour de New York returns to Rochester in August

http://rocnow.com/article/sports/20104100326

ANNETTE LEIN file photo 2007
This summer’s five-stage Tour de New York bicycle race in Rochester is expected to draw 125,000 spectators.

…
Mayor Robert Duffy has called pro cycling a major tourism engine for the region.
“He’s been my saving grace,” Page said. “He’s always been supportive and he’s had the vision of where this thing is going.”
While the event is labeled Tour de New York, the race’s long-range intention is to remain centered on western New York.
Unlike the Tour de France or Tour de California in which riders and their entourages move from location to location, the Tour de New York will use Rochester as its base of operations.

TOUR DE NEW YORK
What: 5-day stage road cycling event for professionals and elite amateurs sanctioned by Union Cycliste Internationale.
When: Aug. 7-11 on courses through Rochester and Finger Lakes.
Format: Criterium downtown, Saturday, Aug. 7; 10-mile time trial on Lake Ontario Parkway, Sunday, Aug. 8; three road races of varying lengths Aug. 9, 10 and 11.
Information: www.tourdenewyork.com.

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Weather Factor: 5 of Top 10 US Bike Cities in Cold Snowy Climates

Well the word is out as Bill has posted. Cold winters are no longer a good excuse for cities being hesitant to build bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. If you build it they will come. Incidentally, Rochester bike commuting rate in 0.6% and rates sixteenth highest of US Cities.

Minneapolis was given the # 1 Bike City rating and 5 of the top 10 US bike cities are in cold climates. These include Minneapolis, Boulder, Madison Wisc., NYC and Chicago. Minneapolis has a 4.3 % bicycle commuting rate and an impressive 6.1% walking commuting rate. That rate grew by 68% between 2006 to 2008 because of trail and bike lane expansion, grass roots advocacy and supportive politicians. Mayor RT Rybak is a regular bicyclist and the County Commisssioner is also strongly supportive.

I’ve had the opportunity to discuss with Dorian Grilley, of the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota and Steve Clark of Bike Walk Twin Cities about their programs. The program has grown because of infrastructure investment and they plan to expand bikeways 40% over the next few years. The average temperature in Minneapolis is around 25 degrees F in January and Febuary which is similar to Rochester. This is also true for Milwaukee and Madison which are also biking cities. They get less snow, about 54 inches, compared to Rochester’s 94 inches which gives us a bit more challenge. In discussions with Steve Clark he noted that they are working directly with the city maintance crews discussing ways to improve the snow clearance using maintanance equipment and salt brine. The winter cycling rates have climbed as a result of this so that now one third of bike commuters are commuting year round. The bike commuters percentage drops down to 10% on cold snowy days but may climb to 40% on nice mild winter days. Walkers use the trails even more consistantly with three forths of walkers continuing to walk through the winter which is a very good argument for why we should be keeping our trails plowed and maintained year round. I’ve been investigating how northern climate cities have implemented their bicycle/pedestrian friendly strategies because this is the most common question that politicians, administrator and community leaders have asked when discussing Active Transportation with them.

My sister lives in St. Paul and I’ve cycled around Minneapolis and the trails and bike lanes are terrific. The following video gives you a feeling for the spirit that the Minneapolis community has in about biking and walking. We can learn a lot from them and use thier example to show it can be done in Rochester:

http://www.bikewalktwincities.org/bike-walk-twin-cities-video

The Bike Walk Twin Cities Wesite is excellent. Check it out. The Midtown Greenway Website is also excellent and gives you a feel for their 5.5 mile trail from the Mississippi to Minneapolis.

http://www.bikewalktwincities.org/
http://www.midtowngreenway.org/

Scott

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Weather Factor: 5 of Top 10 US Bike Cities in Cold Snowy Climates

Well the word is out as Bill has posted. Cold winters are no longer a good excuse for cities being hesitant to build bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. If you build it they will come. Incidentally, Rochester bike commuting rate in 0.6% and rates sixteenth highest of US Cities.

Minneapolis was given the # 1 Bike City rating and 5 of the top 10 US bike cities are in cold climates. These include Minneapolis, Boulder, Madison Wisc., NYC and Chicago. Minneapolis has a 4.3 % bicycle commuting rate and an impressive 6.1% walking commuting rate. That rate grew by 68% between 2006 to 2008 because of trail and bike lane expansion, grass roots advocacy and supportive politicians. Mayor RT Rybak is a regular bicyclist and the County Commisssioner is also strongly supportive.

I’ve had the opportunity to discuss with Dorian Grilley, of the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota and Steve Clark of Bike Walk Twin Cities about their programs. The program has grown because of infrastructure investment and they plan to expand bikeways 40% over the next few years. The average temperature in Minneapolis is around 25 degrees F in January and Febuary which is similar to Rochester. This is also true for Milwaukee and Madison which are also biking cities. They get less snow, about 54 inches, compared to Rochester’s 94 inches which gives us a bit more challenge. In discussions with Steve Clark he noted that they are working directly with the city maintance crews discussing ways to improve the snow clearance using maintanance equipment and salt brine. The winter cycling rates have climbed as a result of this so that now one third of bike commuters are commuting year round. The bike commuters percentage drops down to 10% on cold snowy days but may climb to 40% on nice mild winter days. Walkers use the trails even more consistantly with three forths of walkers continuing to walk through the winter which is a very good argument for why we should be keeping our trails plowed and maintained year round. I’ve been investigating how northern climate cities have implemented their bicycle/pedestrian friendly strategies because this is the most common question that politicians, administrator and community leaders have asked when discussing Active Transportation with them.

My sister lives in St. Paul and I’ve cycled around Minneapolis and the trails and bike lanes are terrific. The following video gives you a feeling for the spirit that the Minneapolis community has in about biking and walking. We can learn a lot from them and use thier example to show it can be done in Rochester:

http://www.bikewalktwincities.org/bike-walk-twin-cities-video

The Bike Walk Twin Cities Wesite is excellent. Check it out. The Midtown Greenway Website is also excellent and gives you a feel for their 5.5 mile trail from the Mississippi to Minneapolis.

http://www.bikewalktwincities.org/
http://www.midtowngreenway.org/

Scott

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Cyclists are traffic! Welcome to Capital Coexist

CAPITAL COEXIST is a localized education campaign geared towards cyclists and motorists safely coexisting when using the region’s roadways.

This project was developed by the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) in response to the recently completed Albany Bicycle Master Plan and public requests for bicycle education and safety information.

It is anticipated that the Capital Coexist website will become the clearinghouse for bicycle education material in the Capital Region; a one-stop location for bicycle educational material, safety tips, current bicycle projects and events.

http://www.capitalcoexist.org/

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Cyclists are traffic! Welcome to Capital Coexist

CAPITAL COEXIST is a localized education campaign geared towards cyclists and motorists safely coexisting when using the region’s roadways.

This project was developed by the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) in response to the recently completed Albany Bicycle Master Plan and public requests for bicycle education and safety information.

It is anticipated that the Capital Coexist website will become the clearinghouse for bicycle education material in the Capital Region; a one-stop location for bicycle educational material, safety tips, current bicycle projects and events.

http://www.capitalcoexist.org/

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Safe Routes to Schools, Obesity Issues and RCA The Safe Routes to Schools groups were at the National Bicycle Alliance Meeting in Washington DC. Through my contacts there I contacted Kathy Cook a coordinator of Safe Routes to Schools in Portland, Ore. She told me of their program in Portland and the program that was funded in New York last year but wasn’t renewed this year. She suggested identifying parents, teachere, PE, health teachers, and principals who like to cycle and encouraging them to get involved with the safe routes programs. I’ve enclosed the Safe Routes Websites which can be of help to these individuals. I’d consider it a big win if we could identify one or 2 individuals/champions to get things started with Safe Routes to Schools and then move forward from there. The web sites are below: I also had an excellent discussion with Andrew Dolinger MD, County Health Comissioner, who is very interested and sympathetic to our work. He has a huge task of trying to combat an epidemic of adult and childhood obesity and things like pedestrian and cycling activity are music to his ears to promote exercise and health in Monroe County. He is working with a number of health organizations including Greater Rochester Health Foundation and the Adult Obesity Coalition, the latter run by Nancy Bennett, Head of Center for Community Health – U of R. who are very sympathetic to what we are doing. These are natural alliances that can help us with time and support our efforts to get people more active.

Here’s the main website link for Safe Routes To Schools for our reference as well as a tips for starting a program. There may be some walking bus programs in the area according to Dr. Dolinger :

www.saferoutespartnership.org

The tips for starting up SRTS in your backyard are here:

http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/media/file/school_resources–health_and_green_version.pdf

Join us here:

http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/about/3302

And also, check out your State’s page on our website:

http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/state/5043

Scott

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Safe Routes to Schools, Obesity Issues and RCA The Safe Routes to Schools groups were at the National Bicycle Alliance Meeting in Washington DC. Through my contacts there I contacted Kathy Cook a coordinator of Safe Routes to Schools in Portland, Ore. She told me of their program in Portland and the program that was funded in New York last year but wasn’t renewed this year. She suggested identifying parents, teachere, PE, health teachers, and principals who like to cycle and encouraging them to get involved with the safe routes programs. I’ve enclosed the Safe Routes Websites which can be of help to these individuals. I’d consider it a big win if we could identify one or 2 individuals/champions to get things started with Safe Routes to Schools and then move forward from there. The web sites are below: I also had an excellent discussion with Andrew Dolinger MD, County Health Comissioner, who is very interested and sympathetic to our work. He has a huge task of trying to combat an epidemic of adult and childhood obesity and things like pedestrian and cycling activity are music to his ears to promote exercise and health in Monroe County. He is working with a number of health organizations including Greater Rochester Health Foundation and the Adult Obesity Coalition, the latter run by Nancy Bennett, Head of Center for Community Health – U of R. who are very sympathetic to what we are doing. These are natural alliances that can help us with time and support our efforts to get people more active.

Here’s the main website link for Safe Routes To Schools for our reference as well as a tips for starting a program. There may be some walking bus programs in the area according to Dr. Dolinger :

www.saferoutespartnership.org

The tips for starting up SRTS in your backyard are here:

http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/media/file/school_resources–health_and_green_version.pdf

Join us here:

http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/about/3302

And also, check out your State’s page on our website:

http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/state/5043

Scott

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Commuter Race

I have been talking with bike advocates in Madison and Minneapolis and getting some interesting ideas from them. One idea is to have the mayor ride the bike in the race. The mayor of Minneapolis who is a bicyclist and an strong bike supporter has won the commuter race against the car and bus every year he has done it.

I think we should invite the mayor to do the race on a bike. We should do some dry runs prior to the race to make sure the route is safe, passable ect. and then get him involved. There would be no better way to get him into what we’re doing than by asking him to jump in. I’d be glad to approach him with the idea. I think we’re ready for a meeting with him anyways. If we want to do it, we need to do it soon to get on his calender. I’ve also got lots of ideas on how to deal with the snow and northern climate issue from the midwestern city folks west of us.

Scott

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Commuter Race

I have been talking with bike advocates in Madison and Minneapolis and getting some interesting ideas from them. One idea is to have the mayor ride the bike in the race. The mayor of Minneapolis who is a bicyclist and an strong bike supporter has won the commuter race against the car and bus every year he has done it.

I think we should invite the mayor to do the race on a bike. We should do some dry runs prior to the race to make sure the route is safe, passable ect. and then get him involved. There would be no better way to get him into what we’re doing than by asking him to jump in. I’d be glad to approach him with the idea. I think we’re ready for a meeting with him anyways. If we want to do it, we need to do it soon to get on his calender. I’ve also got lots of ideas on how to deal with the snow and northern climate issue from the midwestern city folks west of us.

Scott

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Bike Share is Happening in the US.

I think this has excellent potential on college campuses in Rochester. Read on. Scott M.

Public bike share is gearing up in Minneapolis
Blue Cross to be lead sponsor, bike share equipment featured at State Fair
September 2, 2009 (MINNEAPOLIS) – Mayor R.T. Rybak said today that Minneapolis is on track to launch the first large-scale bike share system of any city in the country. In May 2010, Nice Ride Minnesota will launch a bike share system in Minneapolis, similar to systems in Paris, Barcelona, Montreal, and more than 100 cities across the globe.
Nice Ride Minnesota will put 1,000 bicycles onto Minneapolis streets, locked in 80 self-service kiosks. Bike share kiosks will be located in downtown Minneapolis, on the University of Minnesota campus and in nearby commercial districts, including Uptown, Eat Street, Midtown, Seward, Dinkytown, Cedar Riverside, and the Warehouse district.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) today announced it will be the major sponsor of Nice Ride Minnesota. Nice Ride previously received a $1.75 million award from Bike Walk Twin Cities, a federally-funded initiative to increase biking and walking and reduce driving.

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Bike Share is Happening in the US.

I think this has excellent potential on college campuses in Rochester. Read on. Scott M.

Public bike share is gearing up in Minneapolis
Blue Cross to be lead sponsor, bike share equipment featured at State Fair
September 2, 2009 (MINNEAPOLIS) – Mayor R.T. Rybak said today that Minneapolis is on track to launch the first large-scale bike share system of any city in the country. In May 2010, Nice Ride Minnesota will launch a bike share system in Minneapolis, similar to systems in Paris, Barcelona, Montreal, and more than 100 cities across the globe.
Nice Ride Minnesota will put 1,000 bicycles onto Minneapolis streets, locked in 80 self-service kiosks. Bike share kiosks will be located in downtown Minneapolis, on the University of Minnesota campus and in nearby commercial districts, including Uptown, Eat Street, Midtown, Seward, Dinkytown, Cedar Riverside, and the Warehouse district.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) today announced it will be the major sponsor of Nice Ride Minnesota. Nice Ride previously received a $1.75 million award from Bike Walk Twin Cities, a federally-funded initiative to increase biking and walking and reduce driving.