News – Page 9 – Reconnect Rochester

September 18, 2011 by No Comments

UFO Sightings Explained… Abductions Continue…

Sorry if we caused a mass panic last week with all of the reports of UFO’s and abductions. We staged the whole UFO thing. But we can’t apologize for the adbuctions. As it turns out, every dollar we spend on gasoline, over $1.5 MILLION each day*, leaves the local economy never to be seen again. Vanished! The numbers are real. The UFO’s are not. We can do something about the vanishing resources.

Did you know every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic returns. It’s true. Households that use public transportation and live with one less car can save on average $9,000 every year.^[1]

The volunteers at Reconnect Rochester find these numbers downright frightening. And we’re doing something about. We’ve organized a ‘human resistance’ movement have been getting the word out this weekend at the Greentopia Festival about Critical Mass Transit Day.

ON THE 3RD THURSDAY OF OCTOBER, AND EVERY MONTH THEREAFTER, WE WILL LEAVE OUR CARS AT HOME & JOIN TOGETHER FOR A “CRITICAL MASS” TRANSIT RIDE. EVERYONE IS INVITED! NO ONE IS IN CHARGE! LOOK FOR YOUR COMRADES ON RTS BUSES WEARING THIS PIN…

ON OCTOBER 20 SHOW THIS PIN TO YOUR RTS DRIVER AND RIDE FREE ALL DAY!

THAT part is no hoax. RTS has kindly agreed to honor our NO-UFOs pin as free entry onto any RTS bus all day on October 20. Just flash this pin at the friendly driver. Even if you’ve never ridden RTS before, now is the perfect time to give it a try. If only for one day. To get to work, or for a leisurely trip around the block.

Visit Reconnect Rochester at the Greentopia Festival (High Falls, vendor area, booth 55) and grab your FREE pin today… before they VANISH.

September 14, 2011 by No Comments

Getting Ready for Greentopia

The Greentopia Festival external link is getting ready to kick off this weekend. Check out the photo above, snapped earlier today on Commercial Street. Ain’t that something?!

The two-day, interactive fest in historic High Falls will reveal what the region is doing to help the environment – and envision a greener Rochester of the future. The volunteers at Reconnect Rochester are VERY excited to have a booth at this brand new event to help promote the green movement and alternate forms of transportation.

I won’t give away the surprise, but we’ll be featuring an out-of-this-world exhibit highlighting some “green” benefits of transit you probably never knew.

Announcing the FIRST EVER
“Critical Mass Transit Day!”

Reconnect Rochester is using this weekend’s event to get the word out about the first ever “Critical Mass Transit Day”—taking place on the 3rd Thursday of October (10/20/2011) and every month thereafter.

Similar to the cycling version of Critical Mass external link where cyclists take to the streets on human-powered modes of transport, Critical Mass Transit will be a celebration of greener, more social forms of transportation. The rules are simple: on the 3rd Thursday of every month, leave your car at home and walk, bike, or roller skate to the nearest bus stop. Take the bus to work (or where ever it is you go during the day) and then take it back home at the end of the day.

Get Your FREE Ride…

To make things a little more interesting, we’ve teamed up with the Transit Authority to offer you a FREE day on RTS. You heard me right… The first Critical Mass Transit Day can be absolutely FREE for you… No strings. All you have to do is visit our booth at the Greentopia Festival and say hello.

So come visit us Saturday or Sunday in the High Falls overlook area (where Browns Race and Commercial Street meet) and get green with us.

September 9, 2011 by 1 Comment

Help Protect Funding for the ‘Partnership for Sustainable Communities’

The U.S. House of Representatives just stripped funding for the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The Senate will consider funding for the Partnership next Thursday.

NOW is the time to tell your Senators to maintain funding for this important program.

These are tough economic times, which makes it even more important to keep the innovative programs that put federal dollars to good use rebuilding our local economies, strengthening our communities, and creating necessary jobs.

Earlier this year when the Partnership was under threat, your voices made a real difference and funding was preserved. Now we need your voices to be heard even louder.

Tell your Senators: Protect funding for the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

Make sure that Congress knows we will not accept shortsighted cuts that sacrifice the health of our communities.

From connecting affordable housing with jobs to turning dilapidated lots into vibrant downtown centers, the Partnership is making a difference in our communities, where we are hurting the most.

Please tell your lawmakers not to take away crucial opportunities for our communities.

This is the time when we need your voice the most. Thank you for all that you do.

August 20, 2011 by No Comments

Governor Cuomo Signs “Complete Streets”

Earlier this year, Reconnect Rochester teamed up with Tri-State Transportation Campaign external link and other transportation advocacy groups from around New York state in an effort to mobilize support for, and urge Governor Cuomo to sign New York’s first Complete Streets law. Thousands of you and other New Yorkers signed petitions and wrote and called your representatives. It made all the difference, helping to get this issue onto the agendas of elected officials and making sure it passed during a busy legislative session.

Earlier this week Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill external link that will make streets safer for everyone. The law will ensure that major road projects take into account the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, and people of all ages and abilities.

Whether young or old; on foot, in a wheelchair, on a bike, or in a car, everyone is safer when roads are designed so everyone can use them. Roads designed according to complete streets principles external link are safer and encourage walking and cycling, leading to healthier neighborhoods and better quality of life. This is an extremely important reform that will save lives.

Thank YOU for helping to win positive change!

August 19, 2011 by No Comments

Mapnificent, Meet Rochester.

Posted by: John Lam

Scoop one for Reconnect Rochester! Several days ago we noticed Mapnificent.net (a new site for visualizing transit reachability) hadn’t included Rochester among its cities. Clicking into its support forum led me to a post also seeking support for Rochester. A quick search told us our bus company had just announced the public availability of their General Transit Feed Specification, so in response we posted the location of this feed and within an hour Rochester debuted in Mapnificent external link .

July 21, 2011 by No Comments

Updated Walk Scores

New Walk Scores external link are just out. How did Rochester rank? Below is a list of cities equal or greater in population and Rochester’s Walk Score puts us in the #18 slot. Not too shabby – on the surface. But…

July 8, 2011 by No Comments

Help Stop Devastating Transportation Cuts

Yesterday morning House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman John Mica unveiled his proposal [PDF, 3.6mb] for t-bill authorization, which amounts to a 33-35% cut to federal transportation spending. Below is a quick thumbnail sketch of his proposal, responses/reactions from other lawmakers & advocacy groups, and three things YOU can do to help stop this train wreck…

June 22, 2011 by No Comments

D&C Bike Article Thursday & Complete Streets Legislation Approved in Both NY Houses

The legislation is expected to be signed by Governor Coumo.

On another note, there will be a D&C article on bike commuting that will run this Thursday. Patty Singer from the D&C interviewed Erik Frisch, Bill Collins and others for the article. Check it out.

Scott

June 19, 2011 by 1 Comment

Reconnect Rochester Speaks with MCC Faculty

This past weekend the Department of Chemistry and Geosciences at Monroe Community College (MCC) held its annual Professional Development Field trip for faculty members. This year’s theme was “Seeking a Greener Rochester” and Reconnect Rochester was invited to give a brief history lesson on Rochester’s transit history and a perspective on the future.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous this Saturday as we all gathered outside on the Court Street bridge. This was a fitting location as the very spot where the Genesee River, Erie Canal, the old subway, two extinct railroads and Interstate 490 all meet. And the story we told went something like this…

June 11, 2011 by 9 Comments

‘Dump the Pump’ This Thursday

On Thursday, June 16 Reconnect Rochester and the people of Rochester NY, will join the rest of the country for National Dump the Pump Day. We will leave our cars in the driveway and instead use public transit. Share this on Facebook and let your family, friends, co-workers, and employers know.

Useful Information:

Use Google Transit external link to plan your trip.

Find RTS schedules & route maps external link .

RTS Fares:
Adults : $1.00
All-Day Unlimited Freedom Pass : $3.00
Adult 5–Day Unlimited Freedom Pass : $14.00
Adult 31-Day Unlimited Freedom Pass : $56
Children age 6-11 : $0.50
Children age 5 and under : FREE
Senior/Disabled : $0.50
Senior/Disabled 1-Day Unlimited Pass : $1.50
Senior/Disabled 5–Day Unlimited Pass : $7.00
Senior/Disabled 31-Day Unlimited Pass : $28

For more information: www.rgrta.org/CommuterResources external link

or leave a comment below with any question you might have about riding RTS. We will get you an answer.

Let’s ride!

May 16, 2011 by 43 Comments

A New Intermodal Station for Rochester, New York.

Larger View | Order a Print

If you haven’t heard, the City of Rochester is requesting proposals for a new combined Amtrak/Greyhound/Trailways station. We don’t know about you, but we’re giddy with excitement. Rochester has had more than its share of great transit stations – sadly, many have been lost to history. Now, finally we have an opportunity to build a respectable gateway to Rochester that will serve our region well and become a landmark for many many generations.

Reconnect Rochester is not standing idly by. You know what they say about idle hands. Well these hands have been busy drawing up our own vision for the most perfect intermodal transit station Rochester is certainly deserving of.

We hope you feel this design is cool enough to share. Share it on Facebook. Email it to a friend or your local officials and representatives. Help us make this concept a reality.

More details about our concept after the jump…

May 12, 2011 by 2 Comments

Rochester Takes Big Step Toward New Intermodal Station…

The City of Rochester is requesting proposals for a scoping project external link . The project will inventory and analyze the site and corresponding buildings used by Amtrak, Trailways and Greyhound. The end product will be a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) compliant scoping document that lays the foundation for final design, build-out, and occupancy of a new Intermodal Transportation Center.

Reconnect Rochester is proud to be a stakeholder of this project. And BOY OH BOY do we have ideas we want to share.

Here’s a summary of what the City is asking from bidders:

March 22, 2011 by No Comments

U.S. Congressional Transportation Tour Coming to Rochester

House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair John Mica will visit Rochester and Cortland on Thursday as part of the field hearings and listening sessions external link being held around the country by the Committee on the next federal transportation bill.

While the hearings are open to the public, testimony is via invitation only. Members of the public will be allowed to bring written testimony to share with staff at the hearing, or mail in their testimony directly to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The Rochester hearing was originally scheduled for February; local advocates held their own transportation town hall external link to get more inclusive input, and delivered it to Rep. Mica.

Rochester Field Hearing (co-hosted by Rep. Tom Reed)

Thursday, March 24, 9-11am
Rochester International Airport [map external link ]
Rochester, NY

March 4, 2011 by No Comments

Candidates Square Off on Rochester’s Future

Mayoral hopefuls Thomas Richards (Democrat), Alex White (Green Party), and William A. Johnson Jr. (Independence and Working Families)

This past Tuesday evening Reconnect Rochester co-sponsored a Mayoral forum on issues related to land use, neighborhood urban planning, transportation, development and revitalization. Bill Johnson, Tom Richards, and Alex White went toe to toe and Rachel Barnhart (WHAM 13 News) moderated.

In all, well over 200 people turned out and submitted questions ranging from planning to poverty. The event was the first extended, in-depth forum of Rochester’s mayoral campaign and was covered by several local news outlets including YNN, WROC, and the D&C.

Now, in the famous words of sportscaster Warner Wolf, “Let’s go to the video tape!” And let us know what you think of the candidates’ responses in the comments section.

February 21, 2011 by No Comments

Mayoral Candidates to Discuss Rochester’s Future

While Rochester searches for its next mayor to take office and begin the arduous task of planning the City’s future, Reconnect Rochester is taking the issues to the candidates and the candidates to the people.

February 15, 2011 by No Comments

Erie Lackawanna Bridge Project Meeting

A potential threat to the preservation of rights-of-way for a light rail line between downtown Rochester and the University of Rochester is the City of Rochester’s plan to convert the bridge into a bike/ped-only bridge.

It’s important to note that creation of the bike/pedestrian link itself will not preclude transit; on the other hand it is important that the project be treated as a rails-with-trails project rather than a rails-to-trails conversion. This will ensure preservation of the right-of-way for possible future transit.

A rails-to-trails conversion will make a later conversion to rail transit difficult, whereas a rails-with-trails project specifies that an adequate dedicated right-of-way (strip of land) be specifically preserved for future rail transit use.

Please attend an open-house
public meeting this Wednesday:

Time: February 16, 2011 from 7pm to 9pm

Location: Phillis Wheatley Community Library
33 Dr. Samuel McCree Way

For more information, contact Holly Barrett (428-6384) or barretth@cityofrochester.gov

February 12, 2011 by 4 Comments

Transportation Equity Town Hall – February 17th

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITE TO ATTEND… A Transportation Equity Town Hall with the New York State Transportation Equity Alliance, Reconnect Rochester, and Empire State Future on February 17th from 6 to 8 PM in the Kate Gleason Auditorium at the Rochester Central Library.

New Yorkers’ transportation needs are changing, but our transportation policies are stuck in the past. Come join New York State Transportation Equity Alliance for a forum on how federal and state transportation policy impacts New York. Learn how we can shape these federal and state policies to create faster, cleaner, safer, healthier and more equitable transportation choices for all New Yorkers.

Rep. John Mica, Chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a Field Hearing in Rochester on February 18, 2011 regarding reauthorization of The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient ransportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), enacted August 10, 2005. SAFETEA-LU authorized $286.4 billion for Federal surface transportation programs for highways, transit, and bicycles and pedestrians for the 5-year period, 2005-2009. The latest continuing resolution for extending funding will expire on March 3, 2011.

Don’t miss these TWO huge events…

Transportation Equity Town Hall

Presentation and Roundtable with members of:
Tri-State Transportation Campaign
UPROSE
Empire State Future
WE ACT for Environmental Justice

February 17th, 2011
Rochester Central Library external link
Kate Gleason Auditorium
115 South Avenue
6-8 PM

(RSVP to the Facebook Event external link and tell a friend!)

AND…

POSTPONED: U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure
Field Hearing in Rochester

Chairman Rep. John Mica (R-FL) & members:
Tom Reed (R-NY)
Richard Hanna (R-NY)

February 18th, 2011
Greater Rochester International Airport external link
3-5pm

Check updates at:
http://NYSTEA.net external link
and
http://ReconnectRochester.org/take_action.php

For Information & RSVP:
Ya-Ting Liu
Tri-State Transportation Campaign
(212) 268-7474
yating@tstc.org

February 4, 2011 by 12 Comments

A New Future for Transit in Rochester: Our Mayoral Policy Statement

Reconnect Rochester is a group of transportation advocates calling for the creation of a fully integrated multi-modal transportation network for our region. We believe the next Mayor has the opportunity to champion a dramatic shift in our transportation infrastructure. The transit system this city and region needs will require dedication of time, staff and resources.

We urge all candidates to pledge their commitment to this vision as part of their platform for candidacy.

Read what each candidate had to say about this document and the future of Rochester’s transit system below.

What follows is our reasoning and recommendations for the future Mayor to incorporate into his or her platform.

November 11, 2010 by No Comments

University of Rochester Bicycle Active Transportation Forum, Monday Nov. 15, 5:30pm SMH, Flaum Atrium Case Method Room

University of Rochester Bicycling – Active Transportation Symposium – Workshop

5:30 pm, Monday, November 15th, Case Method Room # 9576, 1st floor Adjacent Flaum Atrium off the Mezzanine

The University of Rochester Center For Community Health and the Rochester Cycling Alliance are sponsoring a forum on bicycling and active transportation with a specific focus on educating the audience on the successes of Northern cities like Minneapolis, Minnesota and Madison, Wisconsin as well as opportunities for Rochester.Dr. Brad Berk Strong Health Systems CEO, will be introducing a symposium on bicycling and active transportation. The City of Rochester is in the final stages of developing its Bicycle Master Plan that will be finalized in early 2011. The University of Rochester will play a critical role in the success of encouraging the Greater Rochester Community to promote bicycling and walking as economical, safe and healthy modes of transportation for adults and children.

The forum will present a concise overview of the safety, health, economic and lifestyle benefits of active transportation (bicycling and walking) and will invite the audience to comment on the barriers to promoting bicycling and walking both on and off campus. Transportation challenges of the University Master Plan and Rochester Bicycling Master Plan as well as logistics of bike commuting will be presented. The workshop is to educate and organize individual’s interest in promoting better access to biking and walking in Rochester.

This is the first of 4 progressively larger symposiums on bicycling and Active Transportation which will be held over the next 6 months.

For further information contact Scott MacRae via Scott_macrae@URMC.rochester.edu or Glenn Cerosaletti at Glenn.cerosaletti@rochester.edu