An enthusiastic group participated in the Women’s Safe Cycling Summit organized by Karen Lankeshofer and held at the Legacy at Erie Station in Henrietta, on September 10. The participants, with riding skills ranging from novice to expert, heard keynote speaker Theresa Bowick of Conkey Cruisers explain how she changed a community through cycling and making healthy choices. Harvey Botzman of the Rochester Cycling Alliance led a discussion on advocating for better infrastructure for cyclists and walkers; Maria Furgiuele of R Community Bikes gave a workshop on basic bike maintenance and repair.
Participants discussed how they could work further to create change in their communities that would benefit all non-motorized traffic users. But the biggest take-away of the event was that a connections were made and a group of people found individuals with whom they shared common interests and goals.
The Summit was sponsored by The Pedallers Bike Shop and Legacy at Erie Station.
Rochester Intermodal Station 2016 Construction Update
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…
Fun New Bike Racks in Culver-Merchants Neighborhood
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…
Do-It-Yourself Bus Stop Bench
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…
Bus Stop Cube Program Expands to Joseph Avenue
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 Survey
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…
Analysis of NY State Transit Budget 2016-2017
[ 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…
Construction Begins on Rochester’s First LEGO Bus Stop
Long Range Transportation Plan 2040
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…
“Gridlock” Sam Schwartz coming to Rochester, February 24
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…
Grab Your Shovel; The Great Rochester Snow Down Begins
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
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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…
Bus Cube Update
Posted by: Daniel Speciale, volunteer at Reconnect Rochester
You may recall reading some time ago that Reconnect Rochester had come up with a temporary solution to the lack of seating at Rochester’s bus stops. Here’s an update…
Rochester Intermodal Station 2015 Construction Update
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
Since ground broke on Rochester’s new intermodal station last October, people have been asking us, “What’s happening with the new station? …When’s it going to be finished?!”
The grounds surrounding Rochester’s current Amtrak station have been swarming with construction activity since the springtime. But with any project of this size and significance, progress may at times appear agonizingly slow. The bottom line is: work is progressing and rail passengers should be using the new station by September 2017.
You can find all of this information on the NYSDOT website but so you don’t have to go digging, here’s an overview of what’s been happening…
Infrastructure in Rochester: Bike boxes
Whatever is happening in Montreal, Rochester has great (and growing) bike infrastructure, too. Here Erik Frisch, a city Transportation Specialist and guru of alternative transportation, describes bike boxes, which allow for safer left turns at busy intersections around town.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/ZrkCgL7TIzY[/youtube]
Montreal's world-class bike infrastructure
Just back from a vacation in Montreal, I’ll volunteer a report about the infrastructure of that admirably bike-friendly city. Montreal is easier to traverse by bike than any city I have ever visited, and appears to have more cyclists on its roads as well. Spending four days there, my wife and I saw nearly all the major sites, visiting every neighborhood in our guidebook — and more. We never used a car, or even the Metro, but logged 110 miles on our bikes. Montreal’s bike infrastructure works for a number of inter-dependent reasons.
First, Montreal has a critical mass of bike lanes and cycle paths — you can ride almost anywhere. On an island city, nearly every bridge has a cycle track, or is used solely for bikes and pedestrians. In a bustling metropolitan center, where construction is necessary, bike routes take detours instead of being blocked. Recreational routes through parks and along canals connect to commuter routes so well that the distinction becomes artificial. City festivals have large valet parking facilities for bikes.
Second, Montreal’s bike infrastructure is well-engineered and clearly marked. Bikes are kept separate from pedestrians, and often separate from cars as well. Major bike routes have cycle paths with a curb between bikes and cars; minor routes have painted bike lanes. Following the paths and lanes is straightforward because every intersection has a sign pointing the way to continuing and connecting bike routes. Many intersections have dedicated traffic lights for bikes. Detours for construction are marked well. The long downhill on Jacques-Cartier bridge has barriers that force descending cyclists to swerve — and therefore slow to a safe speed.
Complicated intersections show evidence of particularly careful thought. Where rue Rachel crosses rue Berri, the cycle track on the west side of rue Rachel turns, continuing on the south side of rue Berri, so cyclists face the difficult maneuver of crossing every lane of auto traffic. To help, bike-specific stoplights usher them across one street, then the other. A large paved area is blocked off at the corner in between, giving cyclists a safe place to wait for the light.
Finally, the cycling experience is so much safer and more pleasant on cycle paths and bike lanes that cycling two or three blocks out of your way is worth the trouble. This further separates bikes from cars, and makes transit safer for everybody: major car thoroughfares are not major bike thoroughfares, but both sets of city arteries are extensive enough and close enough to go where people need. Optimizing every road for both cars and bikes is by definition impossible; by splitting the roads, traffic engineers can optimize for cars where necessary, and bikes everywhere else.
After all this praise for Montreal’s bike infrastructure, I have some questions, too, which I’ll address in
Introducing “Streets for the People”
Posted by: board member Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com
Regular, everyday citizens rallying together can set in motion great change in our communities. After all, the people who are most in touch with what is needed in our neighborhoods are those who live, walk, ride, play, drive, shop and work in them every day.
Reconnect Rochester is happy to announce a new initiative that is a direct result of everyday citizen action: Streets for the People…
Monroe County Crash Map
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
Just about every day on the local news we hear about a crime that took place somewhere in our community. And usually after that news you’ll often hear a traffic report… “An accident at the I-590 split has traffic backed up ALL the way to 104. You better give yourself some extra time for your commute this morning!”
What we don’t often hear about—or think about—are the lives that were impacted as a result of that car crash that has inconvenienced our drive.
Now here’s something that might help put your daily traffic report in perspective: between 2010-2014 there were 22,389 car crashes in Monroe County which resulted in at least one injury or fatality. The volunteers at Reconnect Rochester have been hard at work collecting that data. And a new “Crash Map” they’ve created is revealing an enormously high human toll on our local roadways…
Final Call to Put Your Business on Main Street
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
In case you’ve missed this story, downtown Rochester has 5 large retro-style bus shelters dotting Main Street between the Rochester Riverside Convention Center and East Ave. These shelters are no longer being used by RTS since the opening of the Transit Center. But before the City tears them down, we thought we would try to find someone who might be interested in turning them into something new – such as sidewalk cafes, vendors, newsstands, etc…
ROC Transit Day 2015
ROC Transit Day is next week – Thursday, June 18. Rochester will be going car-free in support of a healthier community and we’ve lined up a fun day to celebrate… bus rides for you and the family, a street dance competition , city-wide treasure hunt , music all afternoon outside Rochester Central Library. Oh, and did someone say flash mob ?
So if you haven’t already, pull together a team of friends or co-workers and hop a bus on June 18. And if you need fare cards, contact us now . See the full event schedule…
City of Rochester Now Seeking Proposals for Main Street Bus Shelters
The City of Rochester has issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) to adaptively reuse, redevelop, and operate five former bus shelters on Main Street in downtown Rochester, NY. The deadline to respond is June 26 and successful proposals are expected to be announced by July 31…