Pedestrian Safety – Page 4 – Reconnect Rochester

January 29, 2015 by No Comments

2014 the Safest Year to Be a Pedestrian in NYC Since 1910

Posted by: Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com

This month marks the one year anniversary of New York City’s ambitious Vision Zero campaign external link , a plan to eliminate traffic fatalities by the year 2024.

As part of the effort external link , traffic calming and street design measures were implemented, bike lanes were expanded, speed cameras were installed in school zones, the citywide default speed limit was reduced to 25 mph, arterial slow zones were established, public education and awareness were ramped up and the NYPD significantly stepped up enforcement and ticketing for traffic violations. It’s an effort that requires all people, regardless of how they traverse those streets to rethink how they drive, walk and ride about their daily lives. It requires a shift in the culture of getting about in NYC, which is no easy task.

So, one year later, is the campaign making a difference?

January 26, 2015 by 1 Comment

City Council Approves Additional Red Light Camera Study

Posted by: Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com

Last week, the City Council approved further study of Rochester’s red light camera program. This isn’t a brand new study, but an expansion of the study that was released in November. The results of that study indicated a reduction in the number of accidents at 22 intersections external link that have red light cameras. Two intersections had no changes in the collision rates before and after the cameras were installed. And 8 intersections had an increase in the number of collisions. Those 8 intersections are the subject of the expanded study, as well as whether the cameras could be tied into traffic signals to help reduce operation costs…

January 18, 2015 by 8 Comments

Parking Summit This Wednesday

Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester

This Wednesday, 5:30 – 7:00pm at the Penthouse (1 East Avenue – 11th Floor) you are invited to attend a Downtown Parking Summit external link hosted by the City of Rochester. But this is not a meeting to discuss how we create more parking. We’ve tried that before, and it nearly killed our city.

Reconnect Rochester recognizes the importance of having an adequate supply of downtown parking. However, we believe parking should be one component to a much larger, diverse plan to improve access to downtown…

November 13, 2014 by 3 Comments

Rochester Extends Red Light Camera Program

Posted by: Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com

Last night the City Council approved the extension of Rochester’s red light camera program until December 2019. The 6 to 3 vote was originally scheduled for September, but postponed when the results of the red light camera study were not yet available. The official report was released last week…

November 7, 2014 by 1 Comment

New Citywide 25MPH Speed Limit in NYC

Posted by: Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com

New York City’s new lower citywide speed limit goes into effect today. In June the NY State legislature passed a bill that allowed NYC to lower its default speed limit to 25mph . Part of the city’s Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic fatalities, the new lower default speed limit was approved by the City Council in October and signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio last week. And the new 25mph signs are going up today…

September 26, 2014 by 3 Comments

City Council to Vote to Extend Red Light Camera Program

Last week Governor Andrew Cuomo granted permission for several cities and counties in New York, including Rochester, to begin or continue red light camera programs until 2019. [PHOTO: FringeHog, Flickr]
Posted by: Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com

The City Council will vote to extend the red light camera program on October 14th. Rochester began its program in 2010 and there are currently cameras installed at over 30 intersections. The city recently completed its second study on the impact the cameras have on traffic accidents at intersections with cameras. Although the official report is not yet available to the public, some draft findings were shared at a City Council meeting in August. Here are a few…
Read more

July 29, 2014 by No Comments

Cuomo Approves Red Light Cameras Through 2019

Posted by: Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com

Last week Governor Andrew Cuomo granted permission for several cities and counties in New York, including Rochester, to begin or continue red light camera programs until 2019. Red light camera programs remain a controversial topic, but cities all over the country are choosing to continue their programs as they strive to make their streets safer for all who traverse them. New York City Mayor de Blasio is leading the charge in our state with his Vision Zero external link plan, a multi-faceted approach to reducing traffic fatalities – and red light cameras are one of those facets…

July 29, 2014 by 2 Comments

Can Lower City Speed Limits Make Streets Safer?

Posted by: Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com

All across the country, state legislatures are raising speed limits on roadways external link . I think the highest I’ve read about is a tollway in Texas, which is taking on the Autobahn with an 85 mph limit. Highways are getting faster it seems. New York City, however, has been pushing for the authority to lower speed limits on its streets. And in June, the New York State legislature passed a bill to let NYC lower its default limit to 25mph (from the default of 30 mph). Lowering default speed limits on its 6000 miles of roads is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero external link plan to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2024…

June 29, 2014 by 20 Comments

Do Red Light Cameras Make Rochester Streets Safer?

Posted by: Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com

The City of Rochester began installing red light cameras in 2010. There are currently over 30 intersections equipped with red light cameras (see the full list and a map here external link ) The cameras are active 24/7 and get still photos and video anytime a vehicle runs a red light. Registered owners of vehicles that are “captured” running red lights in those intersections are sent a Notice of Liability in the mail.

Many drivers, of course, do not like the presence of the cameras. They feel like big brother is watching…

March 16, 2014 by No Comments

Mount Read Boulevard Corridor Study: Public Meeting This Thursday

The City of Rochester, in partnership with the NY State Department of Transportation, Monroe County, Town of Greece, and Genesee Transportation Council, is leading an effort to develop a vision for improving Mount Read Boulevard external link from Buffalo Road (NYS Route 33) traffic circle to Stone Road.

If you use this section of Mt Read Blvd, either on foot, bike, car, truck, or public transit, you are invited to attend a public meeting this Thursday…

January 26, 2014 by No Comments

Join the Call for Safer Streets in Rochester

Last week the City of Rochester decided it would not move ahead with a planned road diet along Lake Avenue that many had hoped would improve safety for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and those who depend on bus service in the area. The Lake Avenue Improvement Project external link would have replaced two automobile lanes with a center turning lane and bike lanes. Due to pressure from the Charlotte neighborhood and merchants associations, city engineers will be sent back to the drawing board, ordered to keep all four auto lanes…

October 26, 2013 by 5 Comments

Monroe County Had 2,679 Vehicle Collisions Involving Pedestrians & Cyclists Over Last 4 Years Report Shows

Yet, New York State plans to spend fewer dollars on pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure; advocates call on the Governor to allocate more resources.

According to state data, there were 2,679 vehicle collisions with pedestrians or bicyclists in Monroe County over a four-year period from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2012. Using the New York State Department of Transportation’s Accident Data Files, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a non-profit transportation policy watchdog organization, found that pedestrians were involved in 1,479 of these collisions and 1,200 involved bicyclists.¹ Thirty-three of these collisions were fatal (28 pedestrian collisions and 5 bicyclist collisions). The City of Rochester had the highest number of collisions (1,614) and the town of Greece the second highest (215)…

May 10, 2013 by 3 Comments

Creative Street Design Reunites a Village Divided

The village of Poynton external link in the U.K. was a community in decline, divided by decades of anti-social traffic engineering. Where the intersection of two busy highways once dominated the town center, a bit of creative street design has revitalized local businesses, made life a little easier for the townspeople, and pleasantly surprised motorists and skeptics as well. The concept has been dubbed “shared space” and we want to know if it could work here in Rochester, NY. Watch this video, and give us your thoughts…

January 19, 2013 by 5 Comments

Transportation Choices and the Impact on Our Community

Posted by: Mike Governale

Greetings. I’m Mike Governale, founder of Reconnect Rochester. I’m a graphic designer, originally from the NYC area and I now live in Rochester, NY. I have a deep fascination and love of cities – how they are formed over time and the way they continue to evolve.

Dense urban places have proven themselves, over tens of thousands of years, to be arguably the most sustainable form of human habitation. But over the past 70 years many cities—especially those in the U.S.—have lost this edge.

I write a blog, RochesterSubway.com external link , that explores Rochester, “America’s first boom-town,” and how it suburbanized itself to near extinction. The site looks at the amazing physical and social history of this place. And what it needs to do before it can become urban, sustainable, and relevant, once again.

Last November I gave a talk at TEDxRochester. The talk focuses on how our transportation choices impact land use, and ultimately the health and sustainability of our community. I think the presentation serves as a good introduction to who I am and why Reconnect Rochester is so important to me…

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…

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.

October 27, 2010 by 1 Comment

Redesigning the R.T.S. Terminal from the Inside Out

Last month RGRTA hosted a pubic workshop to invite ideas and comments from the public on our new RTS Transit Center external link . Reconnect Rochester was there and we offered our best critique. After all, the success or failure of this project will impact us all for decades to come.

The following is the result of a collaborative effort by Reconnect Rochester members to contribute to, or try to improve upon RGRTA’s preliminary proposal (PDF, 5.7mb). The ideas and visuals outlined below are by no means a finished product; but just enough to convey our ideas. As always, we welcome your feedback in the comments.

Essentially, we are looking for a scheme that is:

As compact as possible
As safe as possible
Has least impact on adjacent assets
Provides for pedestrian scale on Mortimer
Can be recylced for other uses if/when bus operations are altered