By: Rob Sliker President, Genesee Regional Off-road Cyclists
The Irondequoit Bay Park System is a natural gem within Monroe County, providing residents access to some of the region’s most beautiful and diverse landscapes. Yet, despite their value, these parks remain underutilized by many who would benefit most. The reason? Each park exists in isolation, with fragmented and informal trails that don’t offer the continuity needed for a comprehensive outdoor experience. We have the opportunity to advocate for the parks to be interconnected by professionally constructed trails that provide seamless off-road connectivity to cyclists for both recreation and active transportation.
Imagine a future where everyone—beginners, families, adaptive users with disabilities—can easily access and enjoy these spaces through a well-planned, connected trail network.
This vision extends beyond recreation; it’s about building resilience to climate change by giving people more access to green spaces and sustainable transportation options. The recently adopted Monroe County Community-Wide Climate Action Plan emphasizes the need for climate adaptation, and trails can be a key part of this effort. By enabling people to use trails for transportation between destinations, we reduce carbon emissions while promoting a healthier, more active lifestyle.
Currently, many trails within the Irondequoit Bay Park System cater primarily to seasoned outdoor enthusiasts. However, these trails are often “social trails”—organic paths not designed with accessibility or sustainability in mind. As a result, these parks can feel out of reach for beginners, families, or those with disabilities. To serve the entire community, we need inclusive trails—wider beginner trails, well-maintained and suitable for all, from adaptive bikes to beginner cyclists. In addition, having designated learning areas with gentle grades will allow beginners to explore at their own pace. Accessible facilities like bike parks, lodges, and rest rooms are also key. Imagine adaptive equipment rentals, making it possible for individuals with mobility challenges to experience the full joy of outdoor activities. This level of inclusivity will allow the parks to serve a diverse range of users, turning them into spaces where everyone feels welcome.
Connectivity
Equally important is connectivity. The goal isn’t just more trails but a cohesive, well-designed network linking all the parks. With professional sustainable trail design, we can minimize environmental impact, avoid sensitive habitats, and reduce erosion, all while creating arteries that connect the parks. For example, trails can be carefully routed to avoid wetlands and constructed using eco-friendly materials that blend seamlessly into the natural landscape. These trails can do more than provide recreation—they can act as vital corridors that help protect local wildlife by offering less disruptive routes for human activity. This thoughtful approach preserves both the environment and the experience, ensuring that future generations can enjoy these green spaces.
Additionally, these trails can serve as critical connectors within the community, not just between parks but between neighborhoods, schools, and local businesses. By integrating the park system into the fabric of the surrounding area, we can encourage active transportation—walking, biking, and other non-motorized travel. These trails become more than just recreational; they provide safe, scenic routes for daily commuting or local errands, reducing car dependency and contributing to a healthier, more sustainable community.
Implementation
Let’s explore a practical example of what this future vision could look like. Imagine starting from the “Mind the Gap Season 3 Submission #4” trail near Route 104, where users can head south toward Norton Street. From there, the path seamlessly connects into Homewood Road, leading you to Bay Park West. As you continue, the trail links into Tryon Park, offering the option to exit at Tryon Road or continue south. The trails then extend further, reaching Browncroft Boulevard, where users can access Lucien Morin Park. From here, you can either circle back north toward Empire Boulevard or push onward into Ellison Park, with access points at Blossom and Penfield Roads. This interconnected system would transform how residents and visitors explore these green spaces, enhancing accessibility, connectivity, and community engagement.
The vision for the Irondequoit Bay Park System is clear: a future where these parks are accessible to all, thoughtfully designed to protect our environment, and interconnected to maximize their value to the community. But achieving this vision requires your support. Whether participating in the Monroe County trails study, advocating for responsible development, or joining local organizations supporting these changes, you can help make this future a reality.
Together, we can ensure that the Irondequoit Bay Park System thrives as a space where everyone connects with nature, enjoys outdoor recreation, and preserves our green spaces for generations to come.
Make your voice heard and provide your feedback through the Irondequoit Bay Park Trail User Study by Monroe County Parks:
At Reconnect, we’re always working to improve mobility access in our community. Sign up for Mobility Action Alerts for tangible advocacy and volunteer opportunities involving transportation, safe streets, and bike infrastructure.
For fun on socialmediathis year, Reconnect Rochester posed the following question: What’s a destination, that at first glance, would seem quite difficult & stressful to bike to, but is actually pretty easy *IF* you use a certain route, probably an unintuitive approach or easily overlooked back way? (Definitely not the way you’d drive there). Over the course of this series we hope to inspire and equip more folks to bike to popular destinations, at least in good weather.
Responses have been coming in and we’re excited to share our next destination: Parcel 5 and downtown, which are deserving of their own deep dive.
Photo courtesy of Bryan Agnello
Some helpful links before we jump in:
The map below around downtown largely incorporates the growing Bike Boulevard network. Reading this recent blog on the bike boulevards is highly recommended before proceeding.
Our ROC Easy Bike map shows the easiest ways for newer/younger riders to bike and scoot around the area. Riders who’ve developed their skills aren’t constrained to the lines on that map. Want to increase your biking know-how and confidence? Take one of our classes sometime.
It has to be said: At the moment, the easy ways to access downtown and Parcel 5 by bike are quite limited.
More and more bike lanes are being added to Main Street over time, which is great. However, what’s been installed so far at the time of this writing doesn’t meet the criteria for riders of all ages and abilities. Main Street between Goodman and Union is built like a gun barrel (an inappropriate design for a road in any city’s heart) and the bike lanes there badly need protection.
Westbound as you approach downtown, there’s the stressful turn-off to the Inner Loop cyclists have to navigate, and as you head further into downtown on Main, the bike lanes between University and Scio are routinely blocked by parked cars. There are no westbound bike lanes from Franklin to Plymouth (except for over the Genesee). At present, there are no eastbound bike lanes on Main Street from Scott Alley to Aqueduct Street.
Furthermore, it’s unfortunate that the northeast side is bereft of decently comfortable bike connections to downtown. Crossing Inner Loop North on St Paul, Clinton, Joseph, North St, or Union is uncomfortable for most riders.
But don’t despair! Five transformational projects are in store that will change the game in coming years:
With the removal of Inner Loop North and the restoration of the surface grid, intersections can be reconfigured and hopefully the Union Street cycle track can wrap around to Innovative Field.
The gradual building of the ideal Bike Spine Network envisioned in the City’s 2023 Active Transportation Plan. As the Plan clearly states, only protected bike lanes will hit the mark: “It is essential that bike lanes be separated from traffic on high-speed streets that carry a lot of traffic” [along this spine network].
So in the future, we have every hope that bike riders of all ages and abilities will be able to access downtown in ways that are obvious, intuitive, direct, safe and comfortable (no secret backways required!).
In the meantime, here is how we think the average bike and scooter rider can access Parcel 5 without too much trouble.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRACY STREET
Boy oh boy. Thank goodness for Tracy Street. It’s the only decently comfortable bike connection from the direction of Park Ave and Brighton. After Tracy Street, cross to the sidewalk on the other side of Alexander when the way is clear. Bike north on the sidewalk just a bit and take Chapman Alley west to Union. Yes, Tracy Street is technically one-way traffic eastbound for a tiny stretch, but you’re probably fine biking westbound along it (bike on the sidewalk for a few seconds if you want a clear conscience). We’re hoping the City makes it both ways for cyclists, like you see in the below New York City example (right).
THE WESTSIDE BIKE/PED BRIDGE OVER 490
This bridge grants pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders easy downtown access from the 19th Ward, Mayor’s Heights and Corn Hill.
THE PORTION OF THE GENESEE RIVERWAY TRAIL ALONG PLYMOUTH
A curious detour of the Genesee Riverway Trail, a vestige of the never-quite completed “Plymouth Avenue Greenway,” runs alongside the Plymouth sidewalk between 490/Utah Alley and Allen Street. More or less a north/south cycletrack, albeit less distinct. While bicycling on downtown sidewalks is generally discouraged, bikes are allowed on this “trail” section of the Plymouth sidewalk.
*Remember to use the ROC Easy Bike map for more detail on these routes!
BROAD STREET
Broad Street doesn’t have dedicated infrastructure along its entirety downtown, but it’s plenty wide, tends to have low traffic volumes and slow speeds, and most folks are capable of biking along it just fine. Take “The Grove at Midtown” cut through below (in between Unwine’d and Dice Versa) to access Parcel 5 from the south. Just go leisurely and be polite, yielding to pedestrians.
THE NORTHWEST BIKE BOULEVARD NETWORK
The Bike Boulevard Network through Maplewood, Edgerton and Brown Square grants very easy bike access from the northwest. This allows riders to bike parallel to Lake Ave without biking on Lake Ave itself (thank goodness!). For the tiny stretch of Plymouth that’s one way northbound (Lyell to Morrie Silver Way), use Verona instead or just hop on the sidewalk briefly.
IN SUM
Whether it’s biking downtown for Fringe or the Jazz Festival, a movie at Parcel 5, a fireworks display, RDDC’s Midday Bash, the Central Library, a hockey or lacrosse game at Blue Cross Arena, or enjoying one of downtown’s many great dining establishments, we hope the routes above get you there relatively stress-free by bike. In the future, because of the many investments being made, you’ll have more direct, obvious and comfortable options. We have a lot to look forward to!
For most of my adult life, I got around using the default transportation mode in America: a car. I didn’t own a bike as an adult and never thought about using the bus. I was perfectly content to drive my Honda Fit to wherever I needed to go.
Then, in the spring of 2019, I had a seizure while walking out into a parking lot after a workout. I grew up with epilepsy, but it was well-controlled and I hadn’t had a seizure in about a decade. As I regained consciousness and the EMTs began loading me up into the ambulance, my mind quickly focused on one thing: not the ambulance bill I was going to get or the fact that I just had a seizure again, but that I wouldn’t be allowed to drive for at least 6 months.
You see, when someone has a seizure in New York State, they lose their driving privileges for 6-12 months until their neurologist and the DMV Medical Review Board clear them. I had to go through this once before when I was in high school and I remember how frustrating it was to lose my independence suddenly and be reliant on others for rides.
That’s what I was scared of: losing my independence to get around because I relied solely on my car for transportation. That’s why this is called “car dependency.”
I lived alone, so my mind was suddenly flooded with questions like:
How will I get to work?
How will I get groceries or run errands?
How will I see friends and family?
The options seemed to be:
Get a bike and a use the bus
Depend on friends, family and Uber/Lyft to chauffeur me around
Be stuck at home for 6-12 month
I chose to get a bike and a bus pass.
Adapting to Life Without a Car
The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods One thing that helped a lot is that I live in a walkable neighborhood in Rochester, the North Winton Village. I didn’t fully appreciate the importance of a walkable neighborhood until I wasn’t allowed to drive.
I live about a mile from Wegmans, walking distance to where I worked at the time (Carlson Cowork), and near plenty of shops, restaurants, and parks. This made a huge difference. Life would’ve been much more challenging if I had lived in the car-dependent suburbs.
Getting around by bike Soon after the seizure, I went to my local bike shop and bought my first bike as an adult, a Trek FX3, which I still ride today. I also made sure to get a bike rack and a set of panniers so that I could carry cargo like groceries (more on that later).
At first, riding my bike on the road around cars was nerve-racking. However, I was lucky enough to find out about Reconnect Rochester’s On-Bike Smart Cycling Class taught by Jesse Peers where I learned how to ride safely on city streets. After taking the class, I was surprised at how much more confident and comfortable I felt biking through Rochester. I highly recommend it!
Getting around with the bus Besides my bike, I began using the bus more regularly to get to doctor appointments and other trips that were too far away or inconvenient to bike. Although the bus was not as convenient as a car, it was nice not to have to do the actual driving in traffic and I could sit and read.
It’s also really easy to combine a bike and the bus with the nifty bike rack on the front of the bus. Or you can bring your scooter. This adds a lot more flexibility to using the bus and it extends the range of a bike, especially on corridors where it’s unsafe to ride. For example, I recently had to go BayTowne Plaza from the city. Instead of biking on Empire Boulevard and putting my life at risk next to four lanes of 60 mph traffic, I rode my bike from my house to Empire Boulevard and took the bus the rest of the way.
Managing Challenges
Busy Roads Early on, I used Google Maps to map out a route to bike on. This would often give me a route that was shortest, but that also included busy roads that were very stressful to ride on, especially with all the giant SUVs and pickups these days.
At the Smart Cycling class, I learned about Reconnect Rochester’s Low-Stress Bike map and the Bike Boulevard Network. These tools helped me plan out a safe, comfortable bike route to get where I needed to go.
For example, riding downtown for me includes a lovely ride down Harvard St.
Groceries I thought getting groceries would be a big challenge without a car, but I quickly realized that a bike is fully capable of carrying a load of groceries. With a set of panniers, I can carry two fully loaded grocery bags with room on top of the rack for more. It’s also easy to hook up a small trailer to carry more and e cargo bikes are becoming more popular options as well.
When I didn’t ride my bike for groceries, it was easy enough to take the bus. I found the bus more convenient than I expected to get to Wegmans, as long as I didn’t stay too long and miss the bus on the way back!
That’s all to say: Good News Everyone! You don’t need an F-250 to get groceries!
Weather The weather also wasn’t as much of a challenge as I had expected. I try to avoid riding during a downpour, personally, but if the roads are wet or it’s only raining lightly, bike fenders and some rain gear go a long way.
Even in the winter, the roads are usually snow-free most of the time. Also, cold weather isn’t as bad as you’d think on a bike, as long as you have the right gear, like pogies to keep your hands warm. Even if it’s chilly out, riding a bike naturally warms you up with the exercise.
In the summer, the challenge sometimes is hot, humid weather. Riding at a leisurely pace helps, but it can be a challenge if I need to arrive somewhere and I don’t want to be all sweaty. This is where e-bikes have an advantage over regular bikes.
Bus Routes A main challenge with taking the bus was that I often needed to make a connection through the Transit Center. This was compounded with the fact that bus headways were often 30 minutes apart or more. Together, this meant that the travel time could be an hour or more by bus instead of a simple 15 minute drive by car. A short errand could take half a day on a bus.
However, if the bus route is convenient, it’s a great way to get to where you need to go. Just use the Transit app to easily see what bus you need to take and buy a bus pass on your phone!
Transitioning to Car-Lite Living and Lessons Learned
Overall, I was able to maintain my independence during those six months thanks to my bike and the bus. After about 6-months, I was cleared to drive again.
These days, I’d say I’m “car-lite.” I get around by bike if I can, but I drive when I need to go somewhere farther away or when the weather is bad and I just don’t feel like biking (that’s OK, too!). In case I have a seizure in the future (a very real possibility), I want to live a lifestyle that’s not dependent on driving everywhere.
[8/29/24 edit: Welp, unfortunately, I did have another seizure last week. Looks like I jinxed myself writing this. In the future, I’ll have to write an update about Car-Free Living Round 2!]
I learned a number of good lessons during this period
1 – The Benefits of Traveling by Bike
First, I realized so many unexpected benefits from riding a bike for transportation, which is why I still ride my bike to get around today. Some key benefits:
Being more active and enjoying the health benefits
Feeling more connected to the community as I bike through it
Improved mental well-being – I always feel better if I get somewhere by bike than by sitting in a car
A major lesson I learned is how important transportation resilience is. If you’re solely reliant on driving for everything, having a car breakdown, a medical issue leaving you unable to drive, or aging out of driving can be a major life challenge. For this reason alone, I think it’s important, both on a personal level and societal level, to make sure different transportation options are available. Just in case.
3 – The Inadequacy of Rochester’s Transportation System for Non-drivers 24% of Rochester households don’t have access to a car, but Rochester’s transportation system is built around the assumption that everyone has a personal automobile and can drive. This largely ignores the transportation needs of non-drivers; people who also need to get around to live life.
When driving was taken away from me as an option, I realized how difficult our city makes it for non- drivers in our community to get around. The main issues I personally noticed were:
Inadequate public transit: too infrequent, lack of connectivity, and lack of amenities like benches and shelters
Lack of a safe, connected network of comfortable bike lanes
Not enough safe crosswalks and crosswalks spaced too far apart
Roads built for moving cars fast at the expense of safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, kids, and other drivers
Signs of Improvement
Despite the challenges for non-drivers, I am excited about the steady progress and improvement I’ve seen in Rochester since 2019.
A (literally) concrete example of this progress is the reconstruction of E. Main between Culver and Goodman, which includes comfortable cycle paths, traffic calming measures, pedestrian islands, and crosswalks. Now, I bike it almost weekly to shop at the Public Market. Yes, bike lanes are good for business!
Reconnect Rochester has been integral to improving transportation options in Rochester and Monroe County. This work is important so that transportation is less of an obstacle for daily living.
Join Reconnect Rochester in making our city and county more livable by expanding transportation options:
Sign up for Mobility Action Alerts to stay in the loop with opportunities of how to advocate for safer streets, bicycle infrastructure, and transportation options
Be part of the change happening in Rochester by getting “multi-modal” yourself and riding a bike, taking the bus, walking, or rolling for your next trip!
At Reconnect, we’re inspired by the stories of people in our community, like Robert Picciotti, Calvin Eaton and Yamini Karandikar, who are passionate about living a car-lite or car-free lifestyle.
Let us know if you want to share your mobility story! What’s in it for you? The intrinsic reward of knowing you’ve inspired others, and a free t-shirt from our online shop! Contact Chaz to submit your story.
Please join us in warmly welcoming Chaz Goodman to the Reconnect Rochester team! As a super-fan, follower and contributor to our work for many years, there’s no better person than Chaz to inspire and engage others to join our cause. As the Marketing & Outreach Manager, he’ll take the reins of our external communications on social media, our website and blog, as well as support the rest of the team with communications needs for our programs, events and advocacy work. You’ll also see Chaz out and about tabling at events, giving presentations to neighborhood and community groups, and otherwise reaching out and connecting people to our work. It’s a big job, but we know Chaz has the professional experience and personal passion to tackle it!
Read below to find out more about what inspired Chaz to join Reconnect Rochester. You can also see his passion on display in the two blog posts he wrote for Reconnect Rochester before joining the team, one about living car-lite in Rochester and another about biking with his kids to get around. Feel free to shoot Chaz a note to say hello and congrats!
Chaz Goodman (he/him/his)
I am beyond excited to join the Reconnect Rochester team as the Marketing & Outreach Manager. I have been a bike commuter for 14 years. My passion for multimodal communities goes way back to being a kid when my brothers and I would walk to the community pool and I wished we had the freedom to walk to school or the Abbotts from our suburban home in Webster. I once spent an entire day riding the bus, interviewing passengers for a human interest story for my journalism class in college. When I discovered that cities like Rochester once had light rail and robust public transit systems, I became deeply interested in reviving alternative transportation options.
I am an enthusiastic supporter of Reconnect Rochester and their work to correct the imbalance of urban planning that prioritizes car speed above all else. The environmental impact alone of reducing car usage is compelling but as I delved deeper into the issues— the costs, safety concerns, racial injustices tied to urban renewal, and the extensive space required for car culture—this cause became somewhat of an obsession for me. By providing our community with transportation choices, everyone, including drivers, stands to gain. I greatly admire Reconnect Rochester’s pragmatic approach to improving our transit options while centering joy in the movement!
For fun on socialmediathis year, Reconnect Rochester posed the following question: What’s a destination, that at first glance, would seem quite difficult & stressful to bike to, but is actually pretty easy *IF* you use a certain route, probably an unintuitive approach or easily overlooked back way? (Definitely not the way you’d drive there). Responses have been coming in and we’re excited to start showing you some of the answers. Hopefully this will inspire and equip some folks to bike to popular destinations, at least in good weather. Of course, over time, as the City and County’s Active Transportation Plans are implemented, we hope the ways to bike to popular destinations are obvious, intuitive, safe and comfortable for riders of all ages and abilities (no secret backways required!).
Two helpful links before we dive in:
Most of the following maps incorporate the growing Bike Boulevard network. Reading this recent deep dive on the bike boulevards is highly recommended before proceeding.
Our ROC Easy Bike map – the easy ways to bike around the area. Many of the zoomed out maps below couldn’t label every street along the way. You’ll get your answers here.
THE SENECA PARK ZOO
Our wonderful zoo is right beside the Genesee Riverway Trail, El Camino Trail, the beautiful bike/pedestrian bridge connecting Maplewood & Seneca Parks, and delightful neighborhood bikeways in Irondequoit. There is a bike rack at the main entrance. Hopefully someday, the Seneca Trail north of the zoo will lead all the way to Lake Ontario on the east side of the Genesee River.
MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
It’s been a common complaint for years: Monroe Community College, our area’s largest institute of learning, is very uncomfortable to get to by bike. Though bike lanes have been installed on East Henrietta Road from Westfall south to 390, the bridge over 390 can be terrifying. Good news though: The Town of Brighton is developing a Multiversity Plan for an accessible, off-road, and multi-use trail system connecting the campuses of the University of Rochester, MCC, and RIT! In the meantime, there’s an easy, though unintuitive way to approach MCC from the northwest. It incorporates the Lehigh Valley Trail’s north branch, Whipple Park, West Brighton and Corporate Woods.
INNOVATIVE FIELD FOR ROCHESTER RED WINGS GAMES
Biking is the best way to get to a Red Wings game! The Pont de Rennes bridge (scheduled to reopen in November) grants bike/ped access directly from the east. There’s plenty of bike racks at both Innovative Field entrances and security is there during games. When the game ends, you’ll be most of the way home before most attendees get out of the congested parking lots nearby.
*Remember to use the ROC Easy Bike map for more detail on these routes!
RIT & LOVIN’ CUP
At least from the north, RIT and Lovin’ Cup are easy to bike to thanks to the Lehigh Valley Trail’s north branch – a bicycle superhighway along an old railroad bed.
TINSELTOWN & GATES HOME DEPOT
File this in the “This ride isn’t for everybody, but it’s probably way easier than you think” category. From Corn Hill, Cinemark Tinseltown & the Gates Home Depot are only 6.5 miles away by bike. Bike lanes are coming to West Main Street. In the meantime, there are bike boulevards parallel to West Main that take you to the Canal and under 390, which isn’t too bad compared to many other highway underpasses. Hinchey and Pixley get you the rest of the way there. Tinseltown has a well placed bike rack. Furthermore, if you want, you can take Loderdale and Brooklea, which parallel Hinchey and are a breeze to bike along.
We are so excited to welcome two new staff members to the Reconnect team, Henry Litsky and Lourdes Sharp.
Henry Litsky, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, will work closely with our Director of Policy and Advocacy, Cody Donahue, to coordinate Reconnect Rochester’s growing advocacy activities and community mobilization efforts. This includes tracking legislative policy, maintaining our Monroe County Crash Map and Upcoming Street Projects Map, and educating community leaders to boldly advocate for a transportation system that provides mobility options and resource access for everyone through our Mobility Action Alerts.
Lourdes Sharp, Project Manager, will fill a newly created role at Reconnect Rochester as we continue to grow and expand our programs and events to support our mission for sustainable, equitable and accessible mobility in Monroe County. She will manage current core programs including our Complete Streets Makeover, and a new Downtown Curb Extension Mural project, as well as other administrative and imaginative projects.
There’s a lot happening in the world of mobility and transportation, and we could not be more grateful to have two new staff members on the team to bring their skills and talents to this work.
Read on to learn what inspired Henry and Lourdes to join Reconnect Rochester!
Henry Litsky (he/him/his)
I am thrilled to join Reconnect Rochester’s staff as the new Policy and Advocacy Coordinator. I have always been fascinated by our nation’s transportation system and the opportunity to advocate for more inclusive and robust streets is a dream come true.
I recently graduated from the University of Rochester after completing an e5 tuition free fifth year focusing on transportation at UR and City of Rochester. I helped to co-found the Students for Equitable Transportation club and frequently attended public meetings and submitted comments on proposed street design changes. Reconnect’s Mobility Action Alerts allowed me to put what I was learning into action to try and make our streets safer.
At Reconnect, I am excited to continue advocating for a robust transportation system that allows everyone access to amenities regardless of your zip code. With the recent city and county Active Transportation Plans, a commitment to vision zero, and a federal DOT supporting initiatives to build safer streets, it is an exciting time to be an advocate. Continuing the work of my colleagues to ensure community voices are heard is an incredibly rewarding experience. I look forward to working with you all!
Lourdes Sharp(she/her/they)
Hello everyone! My name is Lourdes and I am so grateful to join Reconnect Rochester’s growing team as the new Project Manager! The majority of my background is in health-equity and I am happy to explore new ways to address the expanse of population health through Reconnect.
While there are many different definitions of the term “health”, I lean towards a holistic approach that bridges together the structures that influence the spectrum of the human experience and how that impacts our ability to lead healthy lives. Transportation initiatives and mobility justice are incredible routes (bad pun) that can be used to reframe some of these influential structures that impact the quality of our lives. Being able to get around the city safely and with ease is pivotal in allowing some of our most underserved people a means to get to work and have greater financial stability, make it on-time to health-related appointments, and have meaningful social interactions- all which can vastly increase life satisfaction. Together, we can dismantle the historical remnants of things like redlining and division of communities one step at a time and I consider myself lucky to band together with an amazing team to do so!
Born and raised in Rochester, NY, I’m looking forward to connecting with this city and its people in new and meaningful ways. Whether on the road, in the Reconnect office, or at a community event, I hope to see you soon!
I adore biking. I have always preferred it to driving. I spent most of my adult life car-free or car-lite until my wife and I had kids. Then I started driving all the time to take them to daycare because I didn’t feel safe traveling with my infant on a bicycle. After a few years, they were toddlers and I finally felt comfortable returning to bicycle commuting.
I opted to transport them in a Burley Bee bike trailer so my kids could sit side by side instead of adding seats to my bike and potentially putting too much weight on the bike frame itself. It’s lightweight, user-friendly, and comfortable to use. I did worry about visibility because the trailer is low to the ground so I got two flags to put on the trailer. They are bright orange with high visibility reflective stripes.
I took my kids on a few practice rides and words cannot express the joy I felt sharing the bicycle experience with them. On a sunny day, you don’t need to roll your windows down to enjoy the weather because you’re already outside. We say hi to our neighbors. We hear kids playing. We can observe the flowers and gardens by peoples homes. We are a part of our environment.
The other day I heard my son in the trailer saying, “Happy. Sad. Mad. Mad. Sad. Happy. Sad.” and I realized he was observing the facial expressions of people in their cars. He said sad and mad a lot and it got me thinking about how dehumanizing it is to be stuck in a car. If someone cuts you off, you feel rage. You don’t think about them as a person. You just see the big machines that you both have to operate. You’re angry because you could have easily been hurt. Driving is a very high stakes activity.
This is especially clear when we see the remnants of car crashes, which are everywhere. Crashes are cleaned up quickly to keep traffic flowing. You don’t really notice the evidence when you drive by but it’s easy to see the bits of broken window and smaller plastic bits when you’re on a bicycle. Being on a bicycle is a constant reminder of how we have normalized road violence with a street design that prioritizes speed above all else.
With this in mind, I worked out the best route to bike to daycare. Fortunately I could bypass Monroe Avenue (which in Brighton is a high speed, four lane stroad) by cutting through neighborhood streets. From there I went on the sidewalk on Elmwood Avenue. I am thrilled that the town of Brighton added a bike lane to Elmwood Avenue. When I bike on my own, I use it often. I just don’t like it with my little boys in a trailer. Ironically I had spent some time defending this bike lane on NextDoor neighborhood threads. I’m happy we have it, I’m just eager to keep improving bicycle access.
The final part of the journey is the one my wife and I spent the most time discussing and the part of the journey that makes me the most nervous. It is such a small yet very significant part of the journey. Just a couple hundred feet.
It involves crossing South Clinton Avenue at Elmwood. Intersections create a lot of variables. I have had minimal incidents and only two collisions in more than ten years of biking by assuming a driver doesn’t see me until I see eye contact or a signal from them. I have yielded several times despite having the right of way and I’m almost always correct that the driver did not see me. Sometimes they notice at the last second and seem startled or give an “I’m sorry” wave.
I am more annoyed with the road designs than the driver. I would like to see our roads designed with protected bike lanes and traffic calming measures to make it impossible to drive recklessly as opposed to relying on drivers to make the correct choice.
[EDIT: I have since begun avoiding this intersection by using Lac De Ville Blvd and turning on to Rue De Ville before crossing South Clinton. Thanks to Reconnect Rochester’s Easy Bike Map for the tip!]
Still, it has been a transformative experience for me as a parent. My boys love the bike trailer. The first day I dropped my 3 year old off at his classroom a few kids wanted to know why he had a helmet. He proudly told them he got there in a bike trailer. The kids started excitedly talking about their bicycles and their helmets that they have at home.
I rode him in the rain the next day. The Burley trailer has a great rain cover so he doesn’t get a drop of water on him. I have a good raincoat and I change my pants at work so it’s no big deal for me either. My brother who lives in the Netherlands says the parents there like to say, “Are you made of sugar? Why are you scared of a little water?”
Other parents at the daycare frequently comment on the trailer when we roll in. Some of them say “that loks nice!” or “I wish we could do that!” I’ve even shared bike trailer suggestions and safe route recommendations with other determined parents.
That’s what is so incredible about bicycle activism. I can talk about it for hours (and have!) but it doesn’t often resonate the same way as just witnessing the joy of little kids experiencing their community, or starting your day with an active outdoor experience rather than sitting in an expensive, noisy, isolated metal box. As I’ve seen from the last few months of biking my kids to daycare, the interest is there but most people just don’t think about it.
I firmly believe we should do anything we can to encourage parents to bike their kids to get around. It would even make things more pleasant for drivers since every bicycle is another car off the road thereby reducing traffic.
If we keep developing a comprehensive bicycle network we could reduce road deaths, create a more trusting and open community, reduce our environmental damage and even give parents a break from driving their kids everywhere when they get older and start activities and clubs. Imagine a bicycle network where 8 and 9 year olds could safely bike to and from school without adults. It’s possible and these communities exist. That could be us too. If we want it.
At Reconnect, we’re inspired by the stories of people in our community, like Chaz Goodman, Robert Picciotti and Yamini Karandikar, who are passionate about living a car-lite or car-free lifestyle.
Let us know if you want to share your mobility story! What’s in it for you? The intrinsic reward of knowing you’ve inspired others, and a free t-shirt from our online shop! Contact Jahasia to submit your story.
Well the peak biking season is upon us! That means it’s time for our annual Mind the Gap campaign! The Rochester area has seen an investment in bike infrastructure over the last dozen years, but often these investments are piecemeal and disconnected, thus of limited use to the average person on a bike.
Unite the scattered bike lanes.
This voting campaign is all about Reconnect Rochester’s push to connect investments. So we’re once again asking you, our audience: What obvious gaps in our bike network, if filled, would have the largest connectivity value for the greatest number of (current and would-be) riders?
The winning vote-getter in 2022 was Elmwood Avenue, which recently had bike lanes installed – the first for Monroe County DOT! Last year’s winner was Empire Boulevard around the head of Irondequoit Bay. We’re having ongoing conversations with NYSDOT about that stretch of road which needs vast improvement. The gap that receives the most votes this year will be declared the winner! Reconnect Rochester will give this segment special attention in our advocacy efforts. We’ll approach the municipality and the operator of the road (be it City, County or State) with our community support evidence in hand to help make the case that this is a crucial gap to fill.
Without further ado, we present to you the nominees for the 2024 Mind the Gap award:
Okay voters: we hear you! Brighton residents want to be able to bike from the Brickyard Trail and Buckland Park to Meridian Centre Park and the Erie Canal, but 590 stands in the way. Some dream of a bike/ped bridge over 590 (wouldn’t that be cool!), but this voting campaign is about short stretches and low-hanging fruit. Biking along Winton under 590 is way too uncomfortable for most bike riders. South Clinton, however, is more doable. How about protected bike lanes from Senator Keating Blvd to the parking lot beside the Canal? That’s only 4/10 of a mile.
Jurisdiction: Monroe County DOT
2.LEE ROAD CONNECTING ERIE CANAL TRAIL TO 390 TRAIL
Rochester’s west side is bereft of comfortable biking connections. It’s crucial that the 390 Trail and Erie Canal Trail be connected. A great start was made in 2022 with the new 390 Trail extension and Eastman Trail. Unfortunately, a NYSDOT project to construct a trail along Lee Rd from Ridgeway Ave to Trolley Blvd fell through. In the not too distant future, hopefully County DOT can give Lee Road a road diet and protect cyclists from that intimidating semi truck traffic. This stretch is 1.4 miles.
Jurisdiction: Monroe County DOT
3.BUFFALO ROAD BETWEEN HOWARD & TRABOLD
Biking westbound out of the City isn’t easy. The average rider won’t be comfortable biking on Brooks or Chili Ave with their current configurations. The good news however is that once you bike past the Canal & 390, there are some residential streets that get you further west in a low-stress manner. Buffalo Road at least has bike lanes & wide shoulders until you approach Howard. The biggest wall then becomes 490. There’s no other way around it: Buffalo Road needs to be made bike-friendly going under 490. How about protected bike lanes along the half-mile stretch from Wegman Road to Davy Drive? Easy residential cycling then gets you to TSE, the Gates Library and the Amazon Fulfillment Center.
Jurisdiction: NYSDOT
4.CROSSING 104 INTO IRONDEQUOIT
The easiest way to cross Route 104 by bike is via the El Camino Trail. But another low-stress route is needed to the east between Rochester and Irondequoit. Goodman and Culver are not friendly for cyclists. We see two options: Monroe County DOT makes the 104 underpass on Culver more bike-friendly, or the Town of Irondequoit explores this great trail idea put forth by Jack Rinaldo a couple years ago. Such a trail would only need to be half a mile long (!) and it would be transformative.
Jurisdiction: Monroe Co. DOT / Town of Irondequoit
5.TRAIL ALTERNATIVE TO 441
As area cyclists know, biking on 441 is not comfortable at all. Riding a bike from the City to Penfield and southward to East Rochester is quite the challenge. Penfield Road east of 490 isn’t awful. At least there are shoulders to ride in. When those shoulders disappear after Poplar Drive, there’s a sidewalk/market parking lot/sidewalk again on the north side that will get you very close to Panorama Plaza. Behind Panorama Plaza, there is a trail network that gets you all the way to Perinton’s Spring Lake Park. But alas, adults aren’t allowed to ride their bikes on Penfield Trails. Remedying this gap would require the town to update its code. Pedestrians and cyclists can coexist on those trails right?
Jurisdiction: Town of Penfield
6.DRIVING PARK AVENUE BRIDGE
The City is starting a study to find the best way to fill the gap in the Genesee Riverway Trail north of downtown. As it is now, St. Paul Street bike lanes take riders north to Brewer Street, where the trail resumes over Middle Falls. (The Avenue A bike boulevard gets you here from the east as well). Those who don’t want to descend into the gorge only to climb back up to Driving Park Ave can avoid the hills & stay on flat terrain by taking Carthage Drive and biking on the Driving Park Avenue Bridge for a tiny bit. There are bike lanes on the bridge but motorist speeds are very fast and it’s quite an intimidating experience. How about protected bike lanes on this bridge, or a two-way protected cycletrack on the south side that takes you to the crosswalk and newly installed RFFB?
Jurisdiction: City of Rochester
7.HYLAN DRIVE TO MARKETPLACE DRIVE
Parts of Henrietta (residential streets) are somewhat bikeable but 390 severs Henrietta in two. The north branch of the Lehigh Valley Trail is also severed in two. Perhaps someday Bailey Road, West Henrietta Road and Calkins will be made bike-friendly in order to really complete the trail’s north branch. But an easier lift would be giving Hylan Drive a road diet and really taking care to protect cyclists going over 390. Once a northbound cyclist gets to Marketplace Drive, they can veer off west or east for lower-stress biking. Where the trail ends at Calkins to Marketplace Drive is only 7/10 of a mile.
Jurisdiction: Monroe County DOT
8.EAST AVENUE WEGMANS
Biking to the East Avenue Wegmans and locking up your bike next to the front doors is often way more convenient than driving there and searching for a parking space. But Wegmans could certainly be more approachable by bike in each direction. From the southwest, cyclists can ride along the comfortable Norris Drive or Harvard Street bike boulevards to Colby. There are new bike lanes on East Ave but unfortunately they don’t get you all the way to Wegmans. Surely something can be done too to connect the Harvard/Colby bike boulevard to the bike boulevard across from Artisan Works on Marion Street. That bike boulevard parallels Winton and goes up to Tryon Park. Many voters complain of how uncomfortable Winton is going over 490. This whole can of worms area needs attention.
Jurisdiction: NYS DOT (East Avenue) and City of Rochester (Winton and Blossom)
9.THE JOSANA TRAIL
A critical connection the City intends to make someday is between the Colvin Street bike boulevard and the soccer stadium, where the Plymouth bike boulevard continues north all the way to Kodak Park. This is especially important as this area sees a lot of cyclist-motorist collisions. The intended connection is via the abandoned railroad tracks and would be called the JOSANA Trail. Things always get complicated when acquiring CSX right-of-way is involved, but if this gap wins the contest, perhaps it’ll give the City a sense of urgency in acquiring right of way and finding the funding to implement the planning work that’s already done. This segment of the trail is only a half mile.
Jurisdiction: City of Rochester
10.BETTER CONNECTION BETWEEN THE 390 AND LAKE ONTARIO TRAILS
Thanks to the new Eastman Trail and 390 Trail extension, Greece residents can bike along the 390 Trail almost to Mt Read Blvd, though the 390 Trail is in need of some serious maintenance. The 390 Trail goes all the way north to Janes Road, where some traffic negotiating is required. One has to take a left turn onto Island Cottage Road to where the Lake Ontario Trail starts. This little bit of shoulder riding is only half a mile between the two trails. The shoulders are quite wide but some all ages and abilities bike accommodations would be fantastic along that half-mile stretch.
The Rochester area is famous for its 20-minute commute. For driving that is. Reconnect Rochester is excited to ask a different question in this blog series: Where can you get within 20 minutes on a bike?
Presenting the seventh in a series of custom “bike shed maps.” For this next installment, we chose where Chili Avenue, Paul Road and Chili-Coldwater Road come together in Chili and are showing how far out in every direction you can get on a bike at a casual but steady pace of 10 miles per hour. This means that if you live anywhere in this green area, you can get to that intersection & its stores/workplaces within 20ish minutes on a bike. Thanks again to Brendan Ryan for his help putting this map together for us.
To get us familiar with this green territory in Chili, here’s Joe Osgood sharing his personal travel-by-bike experiences.
In 2022, I started “returning to the office” after a period of working remotely during the pandemic. I already lived a reasonable bike ride from work, so I decided to try bike commuting regularly. I soon found myself investing in some quality panniers – Ortlieb panniers are worth the price – for both work-commuting and getting groceries. As time has passed, I’ve evolved from a fair-weather commuter, to a rain-rider, to eventually getting studded bike tires for the winter – which I highly recommend! At this point, I’ve been living “car-lite” – tending to lean towards biking as my transportation choice unless there is some reason not to (such as time/distance or dangerous conditions). There are quite a few destinations around Chili I can reach in about a 20 minute bike ride, and I’m able to find routes that have minimal car traffic. I’ll share some of those routes below.
Chili Center
The Chili Wegmans is here, as well as Aldi and Target, and lots more. If you’re approaching from the east or northeast, the best way to approach Wegmans is to sneak in the Paul Rd entrance. It’s less busy than the Chili-Paul intersection, and you get closer to the bike rack between the pharmacy entrance and the main entrance (by the bottle return).
If you’re approaching from the west, you can take the sidewalk next to the car entrance down into the Target lot. These metal bars by the entrance to Target are probably meant for herding shopping carts inside, but they also make a great object to lock your bike to. Bike “parking spots” are often more convenient than car parking spots!
Or, skip the bike rack altogether and get yourself a folding bike you can take inside with you. I got a Tern Link D8 from Bert’s Bikes a few months ago and it has served me well so far. My Ortlieb panniers work fine with the rear rack. I recently installed the Tern Transit Rack so I can wheel it around while folded – a worthwhile investment.
Rochester Tech Park
The Rochester Tech Park used to be busy back in the day, but now it has very little car traffic and is actually great for biking – inside the Tech Park, that is. Unfortunately, the Tech Park is surrounded by “stroads”: Buffalo, Manitou, Elmgrove, and Rt 531. Rt 531 is a highway that forms a geographical barrier comparable to a river – Elmgrove and Manitou being the only nearby bridges crossing it.
The best way to get into the Tech Park by bike is to cross the busy “stroads” at a traffic light, particularly the one at Coldwater Rd. While Coldwater Rd has a moderate amount of traffic, it also has a decent-sized shoulder for most of its length.
To get to Coldwater Rd from Chili Center, most cars take Chili Center Coldwater Rd. While this is the shortest way, it’s also the busiest.
A much better option is to take the Paul Rd exit from Wegmans and immediately turn onto Grenell Dr. Go down Chili Ave briefly before turning into the St Pius X church parking lot, which connects to Chestnut Ridge Rd. Then take Fenton Rd to Westside Dr and finally onto Coldwater. It does make the trip 4 miles instead of 3.5, but it’s well worth it to be on quieter roads.
Buffalo Road Tops
The Buffalo Rd plazas on the other side of 490 have businesses like Tops, Home Depot, and Tinseltown.
Buffalo Rd here is an archetypical “stroad” – high traffic volume moving at dangerously high speeds. The least-stressful way to approach these plazas is via Pixley Rd. While Pixley Rd has a fair amount of traffic, it only has 3 lanes of car traffic instead of 6. It also has a wide shoulder for biking.
To get to Pixley, you could take Chili Ave. An alternative is to go through the parking lot of St Pius X church, as described above, and use Fenton to get to Westside Dr. Westside Dr has less car traffic than Chili Ave. Going the Westside Dr route adds an extra half mile to the trip (4.3 miles vs 3.9 miles).
Chili Walmart
The obvious way to get to Walmart from Chili Center is to take Chili Ave. As mentioned above, Chili Ave is okay for biking – at least between Grenell Dr and the intersection with Westside Dr. You could choose to take Fenton Rd and Westside Dr here, but that will add an extra half mile to the trip (4 miles vs 3.6).
Whichever way you go, you will eventually have to take Chili Ave east of the Westside Dr intersection. East of this intersection, Chili Ave becomes a much busier “stroad”. The sidewalks are the best option when biking this stretch of Chili Ave.
At some point, you will want to get to the sidewalk on the north side of the road. There is a sidewalk branching off this one that goes to Westgate Park, and you can take that sidewalk to avoid some busy intersections. Safely cross Howard Rd at a light, and you’ll arrive at Walmart.
Note: Last I checked, Walmart’s bike rack was rusted out and not trustworthy. Ensure you lock your bike to a secure object. I usually use the fence by the garden center.
City of Rochester
While outside of the 20-minute range, I will occasionally do longer rides into the city or across town. Usually such a route involves getting to the Erie Canal trail. Here’s two lower-stress routes to get there.
One option would be Chili Ave to Pixley to Hinchey. This route avoids the more stressful stretch of Chili Ave between Westside Dr and the Canal. Use caution on the last ¼ of a mile of this route when you are back on Chili Ave, as there are multiple slip lanes and busy intersections to cross. Once you get on the Canal trail, you can easily head east towards Genesee Valley Park and take a bike trail from there.
Another option is to take Paul Rd to the airport and then pick up the bike trail that parallels Scottsville Rd. Between Chili Center and the airport, Paul Rd is fairly quiet. It’s a little busier around the southern tip of the airport. The crosswalk at Paul Rd and Scottsville Rd was recently improved for better pedestrian safety. And the bike trail along Scottsville Rd is very pleasant to ride, between the river and trees (and the fire safety training grounds!).
Bicycle-Friendly Businesses in Monroe County: WomanTours
By: Karen Miltner
Bikes are good for businesses and their employees. Through the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) program, employers are recognized for their efforts to encourage a more welcoming atmosphere for bicycling employees, customers and the community.
With the aim of seeing more Monroe County employers give greater thought towards accommodating bike-riding employees and patrons, Reconnect Rochester is proud to shine a light on local businesses who’ve received the distinction of being named a Bicycle-Friendly Business.
First up: WomanTours, a women-only bike tour company headquartered in the Town of Brighton!
Although WomanTours has been in the bicycle touring business since 1995, it wasn’t until 2020 that our company applied for and earned recognition as a Gold Bicycle Friendly Business from the League of American Bicyclists, the advocacy organization that helps cyclists in the United States enjoy the benefits and opportunities of safe bicycling.
We were the first business in Monroe County to garner this distinction. And of course, we were thrilled to receive the Gold designation right out of the gate. Since then, three other businesses have received either Silver or Bronze Bicycle Friendly Business status. We hope there will be more. It’s also encouraging to know that several area colleges and universities, including University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology and Monroe Community College, are also on board.
WomanTours take our pledge to encourage a more welcoming atmosphere for bicycling employees, customers and the community seriously. Some of the resources that have helped us to achieve this:
We proactively selected an office with close access to the Erie Canalway, a major traffic-free bicycle commuting corridor. Then we worked with our landlord to install a bike rack and a shower.
Work dress code is always casual, making it easier to commute by bike.
There are plenty of bike pumps and tools on hand in case commuter bikes need a quick tune-up.
Safety is always our first priority when taking customers on tour, so our pre-tour literature and first-day orientation always prioritize defensive riding. In addition, our tour guides offer mechanical tutorials to our customers, teaching them how to change a flat and handle minor bike repairs.
Our company also likes to give back to the local and global bicycling community.
Each year, WomanTours donates proceeds from its Tanzania tour to globalbike, an organization that works to make bicycles accessible to women in rural Tanzania in order to improve their health and well-being. The company has so far donated more than $57,600 to globalbike.
Thanks to our annual Angel Fund Scholarship (supported by an anonymous benefactor), we have been able to offer dozens of women a chance to travel on select tours for free. Candidates are chosen based on need and suitability to the tours.
WomanTours donates older used bikes to R Community Bikes in Rochester, a service that refurbishes bikes for those who could otherwise not afford them. WomanTours also contributed old bikes to Dreambikes, a service that sells used bikes and trains youth to become bike mechanics. (DreamBikes no longer operates in Rochester).
Two of our five staff members in our Rochester office live close enough to commute regularly by bike into the office. One of them is President Jackie Marchand, who also serves as treasurer of Reconnect Rochester. But even those of us who live too far away to commute to work daily take advantage of WomanTours’ bike-friendly resources.
I, for example, live in Geneva, about 55 miles away (an hour by car, four hours by bike). Thanks to our flexible schedules, I work two consecutive days a week in the office, staying overnight in town so I can save a couple hours of driving (and more importantly, two hours of fuel and wear/tear on my car). The other three days of the week, I work from home and telecommute.
I am also able to keep a bicycle on premise. This enables me to ride to and from my overnight lodging. And if I need to run an errand during the work day, I will do so by bike whenever possible. Often, I take a ride during my lunch break or after my work day is over. All three options give me some much needed fresh air and exercise and are a huge reason why my stress levels don’t get out of whack. I know this perk makes me a much happier and more productive employee.
While WomanTours is in the business of providing cycling trips for women of all ages and capabilities, we know our impact goes far beyond a fun outdoor vacation. Our customers tell that our tours coax them to ride more year-round, not just for recreation and fitness, but also for errands, commuting and general well-being. They also let us know that our tours have made them better bike mechanics and safer riders. Lastly, a WomanTours experience has turned many of our customers into bicycling advocates and ambassadors, inspiring their friends, family and neighbors to hop on a bike and enjoy the ride.
WomanTours is a woman-owned and women-operated company that offers domestic and international bicycle tours for women. It is based in Rochester. For more information, go towww.womantours.com.
Ride and rally with us on Friday, May 3rd for the Ride for the Spine, a community ride to support building the Bike Spine Network envisioned in the City of Rochester and Monroe County Active Transportation Plans. Arrive between 2 pm and 2:15 pm at Genesee Valley Park Sports Complex to depart promptly at 2:30 pm and ride to City Hall. Please register so we can have an accurate count: bit.ly/rideforthespine
Confirmed speakers at the rally on the steps of City Hall at 3-3:30 pm:
City of Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello
Congressman Joe Morelle, NY-25
City Council Vice President LaShay D. Harris, Chair of the City Council Committee on People, Parks and Public Works
Michelle King, Black Girls Do Bike
Cody Donahue, Reconnect Rochester
We bike to get around. We bike to stay healthy. We bike with our families to play and have fun. Biking is good for our planet and our pocketbooks. Our biking community in Monroe County is diverse and vibrant. But what if everyone who wanted to bike could feel comfortable and protected doing it? They could if we made our bike network safe, low-stress and seamless. They could if our community prioritized biking as a mobility option for all kinds of people.
However, we know none of these resources can fix roads where cars travel at unsafe speeds and painted bike lanes that disappear and reappear seemingly randomly. We can’t make up for the almost complete lack of dedicated, on-road bicycle infrastructure outside of the City of Rochester. According to the Federal Highway Administration, for about 60% of people who might otherwise ride their bike, these conditions discourage them from even trying to bike to work, to school or to the grocery store. This is especially true for women, children and the elderly.
To our community’s credit, we are starting to change. Rochester’s cycletracks and Inner Loop East project have been featured in national media, Elmwood Avenue became the first County road outside of the city with bike lanes, and Rochester secured $3.2 million of federal funds to test (among other things) bike lane barriers. These projects are a down payment on what we hope will be the transformation ahead to become a more multi-modal community.
Two key transportation plans were adopted in 2023 that, if aggressively implemented, would significantly expand and transform bike infrastructure in our community. The Monroe County Active Transportation Plan and the City of Rochester Active Transportation Plan (hereafter, the “ATPs”) were completed in a coordinated fashion so that the bike network envisioned in the city would continue out into Monroe County’s towns and suburbs. The ATPs quite literally provide a roadmap for building a bike transportation system throughout Monroe County.
The City of Rochester called the main corridors of their bike network the spine and that is why we are calling our ride the “Ride for the Spine”. On May 3rd, we will Ride for the Spine with bicyclists of all ages and all walks of life and rally together with our elected official partners to demonstrate our support for the work ahead. Our goal is to show there are people from all over Monroe County who support aggressive implementation of the Active Transportation Plans, building a high-comfort and seamless bike transportation network in a matter of years – not decades. Continuing at our current pace will not get us to this goal.
To bring the ATPs’ visions off the paper to reality, our rally will ask the following of our municipal leaders:
Build 8 miles of protected bike lanes to complete the minimum grid now
Don’t wait to build the spine. We can attain a “minimum grid” of north-south/east-west axis bike facilities by installing protected, seamless bike facilities on Main Street from the Erie Canal to Winton Rd. (a 6-mile investment) and by filling in the Genesee Riverway Trail gap north of downtown (a 2-mile investment). These 8 miles are the key to success and must be completed in the near-term. Building good quality bike infrastructure is a small percentage of a repaving project and we should leverage every project to deliver it. But relying only on road maintenance cycles won’t be enough. To accelerate progress, the City and County will need to dedicate funding in their operational budgets, and/or seek dedicated State and federal funding.
Build the seamless, high-comfort bike facility every time
When a road that was envisioned in the ATPs spine is up for repaving or reconstruction, the design must reflect protected bike lanes with connectivity to other parts of the network. Painted lanes only suffice for the envisioned “supporting corridor network” for more experienced riders. Protected bike facilities make all road users safer, including drivers. Low-cost materials are available and widely used nationwide.
Build resilience in the face of opposition
City and County officials: You are doing the right thing by implementing complete streets. They make roads safer for everyone and more inclusive for people of all ages and abilities. Protected bike facilities are cost effective, reduce fatalities & injuries, and get more people biking & scooting, which lessens pollution & congestion, saves families money, attracts and retains young people, acts as a social cohesive, gets residents active & healthy, gets kids outside and results in a more equitable and vibrant community. That’s a lot of checked boxes! Certainly there are trade-offs – mostly underutilized parking spots and slowing cars down. Often we bicyclists are motorists too and we find these trade-offs acceptable. Safety for vulnerable road users must be our prime directive and override perceived inconveniences for drivers.
We can do this together, in partnership, for the betterment of our community. Once again, we hope you will ride with us Friday, May 3rd to support building the bike spine network! Please click the button below to register so we can have an accurate count!
As Rochester cyclists know well, when bike lanes are installed here, they tend to be in isolated stretches, and disconnected from each other. Hopefully that will change as a result of the Active Transportation Plan and its envisioned Bike Spine Network. Today, though, Reconnect Rochester wants to highlight a component of the City’s bike network that isn’t disjointed and is quite well executed: the growing Bike Boulevard network.
Bike Boulevards are residential streets through neighborhoods that parallel primary, busy roads (aka, “arterials”). They are traffic-calmed, particularly by speed bumps, and wayfinding signage is installed for cyclists. Though not all bike riders will be comfortable riding along bike boulevards, most people find them manageable, even pleasant to bike along.
For those who haven’t heard my funny Garson story, I’ll repeat it here. In 2021, Garson Avenue through Beechwood and North Winton Village was made into a Bike Boulevard. One day I overheard some neighbors complaining about the changes and the speed bumps in particular: They exclaimed in anger, “We don’t even drive on Garson anymore!” I had to keep myself from laughing: That’s the point, of course – bike boulevards are supposed to slow down and even deter – car traffic. The speed bumps are doing their job.
In 2015, Alta Planning put a lot of good thought into where Bike Boulevards could be installed. As you bike around, try these purple dotted lines!
Rochester’s Bike Boulevards Plan was created in 2015 and the first boulevard along Harvard Street opened in May 2016.
The first Bike Boulevard along Harvard was celebrated with a ribbon cutting
Phase 1 (2016)
Phases 1 and 2 (2021)
2021 was the year that the Bike Boulevard Network got a significant boost with the installation of phase 2. The City is currently seeking CMAQ funds for the construction of phase 3. Since the Bike Boulevards are centrally planned with an eye towards connectivity, they’re linking to each other when installed. (These maps don’t show the trails they connect to; that’s in part why we created the ROC Easy Bike map.) A vocal minority in a public meeting don’t get to say “no thanks” the way opponents sometimes overturn bike infrastructure on arterials (creating gaps in the bike network).
Phase 3 in yellow
It’s important to note that the City of Rochester doesn’t view bike boulevards as substitutes for dedicated bike infrastructure on arterials. Rather they view the two types of infrastructure as complementary to each other. After all, destinations like workplaces, stores, daycares and such tend to be on arterials. The Active Transportation Plan encourages the City to take more care at bike boulevard crossings and this must be a priority. The Bike Boulevard along Harvard Street for instance is great, but jeesh – have you ever tried to cross Goodman there? Especially with a kid tagging along, it’s tough.
Unfortunately, we’ve been waiting for three years now on the wayfinding signage for the phase 2 boulevards. The pandemic wreaked havoc on the supply chain and Monroe County DOT, which is responsible for installing signage, is short staffed and hasn’t yet had the time to put them in at the time of this blog. Coupled with the fact that the City has not done a press release or ribbon cutting, it’s no wonder why the Bike Boulevards are the low-stress bike network and investment/accomplishment no one knows about.
It’ll be quite some time before phase 3 of the boulevards is complete. My take: Bike along those future bike boulevards anyway! That’s what we do on our Flower City Feeling Good bike ride series on Wednesdays: We amp up anticipation for and increase familiarity with that growing network. Phase 3 boulevards are not traffic calmed yet but they’re definitely bikeable and easier to bike along than arterials with no/disappearing bike lanes.
Here are more reasons why I love the bike boulevards and use them for most of my riding:
With less and slower car traffic, there’s less car exhaust to breathe in. Studies confirm this.
Since residential streets are narrower than arterials, there’s typically more tree shade, sometimes even “kissing canopies.” Thus in the summer, it’s easier to stay cool.
Since the streets are calmer, I take advantage of that by listening to podcasts or music as I ride.
Kids along these streets have safer playing conditions, so there’s more joy in the air; more people on their porches saying hi too.
Granted, navigating the area largely by bike boulevards isn’t as direct. Each ride can be a little squiggly. But I’ve ridden along the existing and future bike boulevards so much the last few years that I know where the turns are without consulting a map or signage. And these minute turns are literally a few seconds on a bike, so you’re not wasting much time “being squiggly,” especially if you’ve got an e-bike or e-scooter. For all these reasons, it’s worth it. My kids and I use the Bike Boulevards a lot – especially when getting to Innovative Field for a Red Wings game.
Some quick notes to end on:
The USDOT estimates “that for an alternative low-stress route to be viable, the increase in trip length should be less than 30%.” My hunch is that most Rochester trips along the bike boulevards will be within that 30% threshold.
As a bike rider’s know-how and confidence grows, they can stray outside the lines on our ROC Easy Bike map. Want to increase your know-how and confidence? Take one of our on-bike classes sometime!
Bike Boulevards aren’t just a City investment! Brighton and Irondequoit are investing in bike boulevard networks too.
To be a great biking city, our bike network and investment can’t be hidden from view (mostly along overlooked back ways). The bike network must be obvious and intuitive to grow ridership. There’s more work to be done and the Bike Spine Network of protected bike lanes must be built.
As you can see on the following map from the City’s ATP, pretty much all of Rochester’s residential streets are low-stress to bike along. So don’t feel like you have to stick strictly to the official Bike Boulevards. Just take care when crossing those major roads in red.
Bike Boulevard roundabout at Pershing Drive & Rocket Street in the Homestead Heights neighborhood
By Jesse Peers, Cycling Manager at Reconnect Rochester
Many people in the mobility world are probably familiar with Janette Sadik-Khan, Transportation Commissioner in New York City from 2007-2013. She’s credited in many ways with starting the 21st Century bike boom in the US, which she chronicles in her stellar book Street Fight. Last summer, when I heard she was featured on the Possible podcast to talk about the future of cities, I gave the episode a listen while riding my bike, scoping out a potential route for our ride series. The episode was great and you can listen to it here.
Towards the end of the podcast episode, Sadik-Khan was asked if there was a book that filled her with optimism for the future. She immediately answered and recommended Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future, her favorite book. The novel sounded so intriguing that I purchased a copy and read it last summer. It’s one of the most inspiring books I’ve ever read, and though I wished it emphasized transportation, proximity and land use more, many aspects of it will keep me thinking for a long time.
The premise of the book is that things get so bad climate-wise that the United Nations creates a new subsidiary body with permanent duties to push things forward. The so-called Ministry for the Future’s job is to advocate for the world’s future generations, to defend all living creatures present and future who cannot speak for themselves. Over the course of the book, humanity gets its act together with a broad swath of sustainable initiatives.
A concept that really intrigued me was that of the Half Earth Project and habitat corridors from Chapter 72. To protect critically endangered wild animals, habitat corridors such as Y2Y (Yukon to Yellowstone) are established. When wildlife is cooped up in isolated pockets, it can’t thrive. In the book, nations establish habitat corridors, long unbroken spines for wildlife, that serve as safety zones. Animals get free passage up and down those spines, roads are given under- and over-passes to not inhibit animal movement, wildlife are protected from hunting, and disparate animal populations get a chance to connect, breed and thrive.
While I was reading this book, the City of Rochester’s Active Transportation Plan was being finalized and it struck me how similar habitat corridors are to the envisioned Bike Spine Network. Obviously, Rochester’s bike network now is disparate and piecemeal, hence it can be argued that we really don’t have a bike network yet (would disconnected train tracks all over the country be considered a national rail network?).
The idea of the Bike Spine Network is to concentrate political will, to focus investments, on a few seamless, high-comfort bike routes across the city, hopefully in the near term. I see the Bike Spine Network as Rochester’s “habitat corridor” for bike riders of all ages and abilities: safety zones allowing free passage, along which we can thrive and multiply.
Envisioned Bike Spine Network in dark blue; already completed segments such as the Genesee Riverway Trail and East Main cycletrack are shown as dashed lines
To Rochester’s credit, especially recently, the City often wants to do the right thing: reallocate street space to create dedicated bicycle facilities. But as many advocates know, some people get really mad when space for cars, for on-street parking in particular, is taken away for bike lanes. The opposition can be quite vocal and sometimes the City steps back from safer designs (remember Lake Ave?).
It’s time for bike riders (and people who would bike if they felt protected and comfortable) to be vocal.
Please join us on Friday afternoon, May 3, 2024 for Reconnect Rochester’s Ride for the Spine. More info here along with an RSVP form to help us get a headcount.
We want as many people as possible to ride to City Hall together that afternoon and surround the city with support and positive energy for the Bike Spine Network. If you have kids (or nephews, nieces and/or grandchildren), consider taking them out of school early so they can join in the fun. When we get to City Hall’s steps, we want the Mayor, County Executive, Commissioner and Councilmembers to look out upon a sea of diverse people (people of color, kids, women, seniors) supporting these changes. Together, we’ll give City Hall political capital to work towards these improvements in a timely manner. We hope to see you on May 3rd!
Photos from the People’s Climate Movement rally in April 2017
Last week, Reconnect Rochester went on our annual (virtual) trip to champion public transportation and safe streets for all of Rochester (and New York State). We spent the day speaking with legislators about the ways we can improve transportation in our region and across the state.
Presenting our best thinking on safe streets and transportation priorities with legislatures is one of the biggest ways we influence policy behind the scenes.
The meetings were very productive and we found several ways to advance the priority bills and budget investments discussed below.
One of our biggest pushes of this year has since made it into the so-called “One House budget”. The next step is to get Governor Hochul to include it in her budget. We are running a petition calling on New York State to include $15M in this year’s budget to build an intercity bus terminal as an expansion of the Louise M. Slaughter Intermodal Station. You can add your name to the petition here.
We were also curious to see this new $10 million for “Higher Speed Rail”. 🤔
We’d like to shout out Reconnect Rochester Multimodal Advocacy Committee members Bill Collins, Jason Partyka, Doug Kelley, Evan Lowenstein, and Steve Roll for devoting their time to the effort, and a huge thank you to all the legislative offices who took the time to meet with us: Assemblymembers Demond Meeks, Harry Bronson, Jennifer Lunsford, Sarah Clark, and William Magnarelli, and Senators Samra Brouk, Jeremy Cooney, and Tim Kennedy.
Do you want to get involved with safe streets lobbying? If you are interested in joining advocates in Albany on May 7th, you can sign up for the New York Safe Streets Lobby Day by registering here. If you are planning to go, feel free to drop us a line.
Check out our full list of 2024 transportation asks below:
New York State 2024-25 Transportation Priorities
Public Transit:
Historic levels of investment have been made at the federal level for public transportation. We are asking for you to support:
A 15% increase in Statewide Operating Assistance (STOA) funding for upstate transit systems
Increased capital investments into green infrastructure to reach the state’s climate goals
Dedicated sources of revenue to ensure sustainable, predictable, long-term funding streams for transit services. While economic development projects should be built on public transit lines, consider establishing transit funding for economic development projects (for example, A9225/S8563)
Expanded fare-capping and fare-free programs
Bicycle and Pedestrian (Active Transportation):
Pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities are on the rise. Reconnect Rochester is working with the NYS Safe Streets Coalition to prioritize legislation to address this silent epidemic. Consider sponsoring or co sponsoring the S.A.F.E. Streets Act which includes the following legislation:
Complete Streets Maintenance Includes, when possible, complete street design features in resurfacing, maintenance and pavement recycling projects and further enable safe access to public roads for all users. (Briefing document) S2714 (Kennedy) |A01280 (Rivera)
Defined Safe Passing Require motorists to allow at least three feet between vehicle and pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheelchair users when overtaking or passing statewide except New York City which will continue to require “safe distance.” (Briefing document) S1724 (Harckham) |A04346 (Steck)
Stop As Yield Allows cyclists to treat stop lights as stop signs and stop signs as yields, reducing vehicle conflict while prioritizing pedestrian right-of-way, and encouraging increased cyclist use of low-traffic, secondary roads. (Briefing document) S2643 (May) |A3986 (Fahy)
Complete Streets Budget Ask Increase funding in the Department of Transportation Capital Projects Budget for Complete Streets from $5 million to $10 million. (Briefing document)
Other Supporting Bills The New York State Coalition also supports several additional bills that will help make our roadways safe. (List of Additional Bills Supported)
In addition to the S.A.F.E. Streets Act package, these are additional bills related to bicyclists that we would encourage you to sponsor or co-sponsor:
Ebike Rebate (S314/A275) – Directs the New York state energy and development authority to establish a ride clean rebate program for electric assist bicycles and electric scooters.
Ebike Access (S1123/A2627) – Repeal certain provisions of the vehicle and traffic law and would allow ebikes to be ridden anywhere regular bikes can.
Right of Way for Bicyclists (S8210/A8272) – Requiring that vehicles yield the right of way to multi-use trails that cross roadways.
Relates to consolidated local highway assistance payments (“CHIPS”) (S7890/A8273) Revises the consolidated local street and highway improvement program (“CHIPS”) formula to include bicycle lane and Greenway trail mileage; allows CHIPS funds to be used for the purpose of constructing or maintaining bicycle lanes, Greenway trails, and other multi-use trails.
Train and Long-Distance Bus:
Accelerate the Amtrak Service Development Plan (SDP) implementation timeline for improving upstate New York’s intercity passenger rail service so that projects in Central and Western New York start at the same time as downstate projects.
Climate Resiliency: Co-sponsor S1981/A4120 to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 20% and expand transportation options to meet climate and equity goals. Learn more about the effort here.
If you’re a cyclist, there is nothing quite like riding on a dedicated bike right-of-way for the first time. In a world where the car is prioritized, new trails, dedicated bike lanes and cycle tracks are rare but welcomed community additives that appeal to those of us who choose or rely on the benefits of biking for transportation.
Over the last several years, my home city of Rochester has installed a number of cycle tracks in key areas:
Along the new Union Street neighborhood (built on top of the former Inner Loop expressway)
At College Town, connecting the University of Rochester campus and Medical Center with restaurants, bars, a bookstore, a pharmacy and more. The track also connects to a “mixed use” trail, which is actually a double-wide sidewalk, connecting the U of R to the nearby suburb of Brighton.
Along East Main Street, connecting downtown to a major residential and mixed-use neighborhood.
Having spent a significant amount of time on these alternative mobility thoroughfares to commute, run errands, and meet up with friends, I’ve learned a lot about the good, the bad, and everything in between. Let’s dig in.
The Union and Howell cycle track connects a residential neighborhood that did not exist ten years ago with major bike routes in and out of the city, bisecting East Avenue, Chestnut/Monroe Avenue, and Broad Street. Along its path is the world renowned Strong Museum of Play (featuring the National Toy Hall of Fame), which boasts more than 600,000 visitors annually.
Also adjacent to the cycle track is a brand new Hampton Inn and Suites, a handful of bars and restaurants, a trendy coffee shop, and and two locally-owned convenience bodegas.
The two major streets that the track crosses, East and Broad, have fully-synced traffic and pedestrian signaling that defaults in the direction of the cycle track. Since the lights are timed, there’s never a need to dismount the bike and press a “beg button” to legally cross either of these streets. Furthermore, and most importantly from a safety perspective, for cars that turn left onto East or Broad from Union Street, there is a left hand turn signal arrow that defaults to red unless a car is position to make a left-hand turn. In essence, riders on the cycle track are prioritized over left-hand turning cars via this signal-controlled scenario.
Why is this last point so important? Because for cycle tracks to be effective AND safe, we need to acknowledge that, when a driver is making a left turn, they are likely looking out for oncoming traffic, not pedestrians or cyclists that they might be “turning into” beyond that traffic. This is a prime reason why nearly all cycling organizations discourage “sidewalk cycling.” Research shows that, when making turns, drivers rarely look beyond the roadway itself for points of conflict. This is why controlling left turns by cars into the path of paralleling cycle tracks with a left-hand turning arrow is an absolute must if the cycle track is to be a truly safer option for those of us on two wheels.
Lastly, the Union and Howell cycle track has relatively few street and driveway crossings. Most of the ones that do exist are either signal-controlled as mentioned above, or low traffic corridors. For cycle tracks to truly be effective, it is important that points of contact with streets and driveways are minimized. Otherwise, as noted previously, it is no different than the risks of sidewalk riding.
The Bad
The Union and Howell cycle track is not concrete or asphalt. Instead, it features a soft surface that mimics that of a high-school track and field consistency. In other words, it actually takes slightly more effort to pedal on this surface, as it absorbs the energy of the wheels on top of it instead of maximizing it. I’ve heard many local cyclists say that they prefer riding on Union Street instead of the cycle track for this reason, entirely defeating the purpose of the progressive infrastructure.
While there is little else truly “wrong” with this cycle track, I would not be the only person to question whether it’s necessary in the first place. While I will NEVER question any project that works to safely and conveniently prioritize cyclists (which this cycle track does!), some green-painted bike lanes on a lightly-traveled, low-speed set of streets that this track parallels would probably have been just fine.
College Town
OK full disclosure, this one is complicated. College Town, a tick south of downtown Rochester, was completed in 2015 as a “new” mixed-use stretch along Mount Hope Avenue adjacent to the University of Rochester academic campus and medical center. It replaced a lifeless collection of dated administrative buildings in an effort to create an exciting space where college students, university and med center employees could eat, drink and gather. While I have at times been critical of the project for a number of reasons, it has, for the most part, stood the test of time.
The College Town cycle track was supposed to be a part of the original plan, but it never materialized until many years after the mixed-use corridor was completed. As a result, there was a bit of a cycling disconnect between the U of R campus and College Town. That was all changed in 2019, when the cycle track was finally installed, connecting Wilson Boulevard (U of R’s main access road) with Mount Hope Avenue.
Furthermore, in the last year, the City of Rochester included a short extension to the cycle track, connecting Mount Hope Avenue with South Avenue, and connecting to the double-wide sidewalk/mixed use path paralleling Elmwood Avenue.
The Good
The cycle track is a much needed piece of connective tissue between the U of R academic campus and the entertainment district that is College Town. College Town also houses the bookstore for the university, a Barnes and Noble on the corner of Elmwood and Mount Hope, adjacent to the cycle track.
The track has very few points of conflict with road and driveway traffic, making it very safe and easy to traverse.
Finally, the College Town cycle track does not exist in a vacuum. It is a piece of protected cycling connectivity to the adjacent suburb of Brighton via the double-wide mixed-use sidewalk that parallels Elmwood Avenue, which also connects to the Highland Crossing Trail and new bike lanes along Elmwood from Goodman Street to Twelve Corners. On the West end of the cycle track, riders can also access the Genesee Riverway Trail, which connects to downtown Rochester to the Empire State Trail.
The College Town cycle track is not just an example of bike infrastructure that connects this to that, but also connects a number of other pieces of bike infrastructure.
The Bad
The one truly negative takeaway of this cycle track is at the point when it crosses from the South side to the North Side of Elmwood Avenue. Cyclists have to push a pedestrian crosswalk button to cross, and while I have never actually set a stopwatch, I am pretty sure that the wait for the light and pedestrian signal to change is 2 minutes.
This might not seem like a long period of time until you realize how frustrated you get as a driver if you have to wait 30 seconds for a light to turn green.
Furthermore, at Elmwood and South Avenue, the cyclist must press the pedestrian signal button to cross or else the signal will display “Don’t Walk” even if the green light signal direction is in the cycle track’s favor. In other words, the cycle track signal does not automatically align with the car traffic signal, which is a fundamental fail if you are attempting to build a high-functioning cycle track.
East Main Street
Just a year ago, the East Main Street cycle track was completed. This was a special moment in cycling infrastructure in Rochester, because this did not service predominantly wealthy white neighborhoods. Instead, the track provided cycling connectivity for mixed income East Main Street neighborhoods between North Goodman Street and Culver Road. For a population that is more likely to rely on bike riding for transportation, this is a step in the right direction.
The Good
Giving bikes prioritized space is almost always a good thing. As I ride on this cycle track, I am grateful to be out of the street, without the fear every cyclist feels with every car they hear approaching from behind. The track connects residents with downtown, and plays host to bodegas, restaurants, East High School and RTS Bus headquarters.
The Bad
Unlike the other two examples in this article, the East Main Street cycle track crosses a tremendous number of residential and commercial driveways, not to mention side streets. Many of the driveways are blind to both the cyclist and a driver that might be pulling out of a driveway or parking lot. In essence, this cycle track is no different than riding on the sidewalk which, as bike experts will warn, replaces the danger of being hit from behind with the greater danger of being t-boned by a driver who doesn’t look both ways before entering a crosswalk or sidewalk (which, from my experience is most drivers).
However, if a cyclist traversing the East Main Street cycle track rides slowly and actively watches for cars with each and every driveway and side street they cross, all will probably be OK. I would argue, however, that the point of a cycle track is to lessen this mindset of the cyclist, not heighten it.
What Do These Examples Tell Us?
Good cycle tracks should, first and foremost, make a cyclists safer. This means finding every possible way to minimize potential conflict points with automobiles. Placing cycle tracks in places where there are fewer driveways and side streets is optimal.
When contact points with automobiles must occur, ensure that there is signaling that either disallows drivers to cross or turn when cyclists have the right of way. These signals should be fully synced and automated such that the cyclists does not have to press a “beg button” in order to safely and legally cross a street. Finally, even if a “beg button” needs to exists, it should give the cyclist the right away in 15 seconds or less.
Signage reminding cars that they are turning into a cycle track that cross the road is also optimal.
The surface of the cycle track should be paved with a hard surface, not one that absorbs the momentum of the bicycle wheels. No one wants to ride on a surface that saps your energy with every pedal.
The track should connect to other bike thoroughfares, including trails, other cycle tracks, streets with bike lanes, low speed streets, and designated bike boulevards. A cycle track that exists on an island is simply for show, not substance.
Finally, cycle tracks should connect people to a wealth of different community resources, including jobs, grocers, retail, healthcare, community services, restaurants, and entertainment. If we are to make biking for transportation a priority in our communities, we have to be thoughtful about the resources that these networks connect.
Cycle tracks come in many shapes and sizes, and it goes without saying that not all are created equal. I personally ride and appreciate each of the “new” Rochester cycle tracks and use them as their design requires. With each concept, we can build on the knowledge from iterations that came before, providing a safer, more practical, enjoyable, and connective experience for the bike rider of all comfort levels and walks of life.
Reconnect Rochester presents Voices of Transit, an ethnography profile blog series that along with the qualitative survey data from over 200 RTS customers, shows how our current bus system helps (and sometimes hurts) transit-dependent riders in their daily lives. Read more about the initiative here and to review the survey results from the Transit Ambassador Pilot Program, click here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and give us an introduction to your transit story.
I’m from Northern Pennsylvania, near Allegheny County. Before moving to Rochester, I lived in Denver for a couple years and was looking to move, and a friend recommended that I move out here, so it’s been about 10 years now.
Tell me more about your experience with riding RTS. Which routes do you ride the most?
I’m car free so getting around Rochester now is better than it was, especially after Reimagine RTS because now buses run at least every hour and there’s more coverage. Before Reimagine, I worked out in Webster and on the weekends I would get on the bus at 6:30 in the morning, work from 10 AM – 6 PM, and when I got off of work I had to walk from my job in Webster to Winton Road which was the closest bus stop.
So it’s a lot easier, but it still has some complications. Now, I work at Eastview and I take the 41, 11L and Victor OnDemand service to get to work. Coming home, I’ll take OnDemand from Eastview to Blossom Loop and then walk 2.5 miles home to Rosewood Terrace. At Blossom Loop, there’s the 9 and 10 which alternate every half hour so I can take that to the 41, but then when I get to Goodman, the 41 at that time starts to come every hour. So at that point, do I wait for a half an hour or do I just walk home?
Tell me more about your experience with OnDemand.
It’s not bad, but it’s tricky to schedule. I have to schedule the night before, but it’s not guaranteed that I’ll get a ride, and it can be frustrating because if you can’t find a ride at the time that you need you have to try and schedule in 15 minute increments until you get a ride.
I think OnDemand to Eastview makes more sense than maybe a fixed route, but they do need more drivers to service that area because the few times when I couldn’t get a ride, I’ve had to walk home from Eastview which was 4.5 hours. The second time, I walked to Pittsford just in time to catch the 11L home.
What’s your experience with bus stop amenities? What would make you more comfortable while you wait?
I get on the 41 at Greeley and Parsells, and there’s a shelter and bus stop cubes, but there’s a lot of stops where there’s nothing there and you just have to stand on the side of the road hoping the weather holds out. I also like that the bus stop cubes make the stop more visible to drivers which is nice.
Is there anything that you would change about the current service? What’s your hope for the future of public transportation in Rochester?
I would like to see the 22L go back running every 15 mins. I also work at the Maplewood YMCA and it was easier to get to and from work when it was every 15 minutes compared to every half hour.
Also, Route 50 is terrible. It runs every two hours. I went for an interview in East Rochester on a cold day and I was stuck standing outside in the cold waiting for the bus. Luckily, my interview ended 15 minutes before the next bus came, otherwise I would’ve been waiting another 2 hours for the next bus. It should run at least every hour, but I understand that there may not be enough riders to support that.
But, things are in a good space and service could be expanded to make it easier for people to access more parts of the city and suburbs.
Anything else you would like to add? There’s the southern part of Webster all the way down to Henrietta where there’s no service coverage for OnDemand or regular bus service and I think that gap could be filled.
Reconnect Rochester presents Voices of Transit, an ethnography profile blog series that along with the qualitative survey data from over 200 RTS customers, shows how our current bus system helps (and sometimes hurts) transit-dependent riders in their daily lives. Read more about the initiative here and to review the survey results from the Transit Ambassador Pilot Program, click here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and give us an introduction to your transit story.
I’m from Sao Paulo, Brazil and I moved to Rochester in October 2021 to live with my stepdad. Moving here was a little scary since this was the first time I’ve ever traveled outside of my home country.
I grew up taking the local buses with my mom. In my hometown, you don’t need a car to get around, and it’s a lot easier to get around with the bus because you don’t have to deal with traffic.
I was 7 years old when I first took the bus alone. My mom told me I had to take the bus to school by myself because she had to be at work early that day. I was so afraid that I almost started crying because I didn’t know how to ride the bus without her. But she stayed on the phone with me the entire time and once I got on the bus she had me hand over my phone to the bus driver so that she could tell him which stop I needed to get off for school. After that experience I became more comfortable with taking the city bus by myself to get to school and even to explore the city as I got older. Even if I got lost, I always knew how to get back home by bus.
Tell me about your experience riding the bus in Rochester. What do you like and dislike about it?
I don’t have a license so I ride RTS almost daily to get to work and school. It’s been difficult learning how this system works compared to what I’m used to in Brazil. Here in Rochester, I have to travel to the center of the city to transfer to my next bus. In Sao Paulo, if I’m traveling on the west side of the city I can transfer buses there easily. I don’t need to go to the middle of the city to transfer buses.
I live in North Gates and work in Chili, but there’s no bus that connects both places. So I have to take the #19 toward city center and then take the #18 back out to Chili. It’s a 15 minute drive, but can take over an hour by bus.
Something that I do love about this bus system is the Transit App. I don’t have to worry about remembering to carry a card or stopping somewhere to refill it with money. It’s on my phone and I always have my phone on me. I also like being able to plan out my trips on the App and see how long it will take me to get somewhere.
I also love that there’s air conditioning on the bus which is basically nonexistent on the buses in Brazil!
As someone who’s a new RTS rider, if you could change anything about the bus system and the amenities, what would that be?
I generally like the amenities that I see around, especially the ‘mini houses’ that protect you from the rain and snow. These aren’t too common in Brazil, but I want to see more lighting at the bus stops.
I would also like to see more lines that directly connect each neighborhood instead of people having to go all the way to the Transit Center.
Anything else that you would like to add?
I love that people here care about the customer’s experience. In Brazil, that’s not a thing. But it’s nice to see people like Reconnect Rochester and RTS interviewing people to make changes to the bus system.
2023 was a non-stop busy year at Reconnect Rochester as we worked on many fronts, both on stage and behind the scenes, to champion better mobility. Check out below the Top 10 things we’re most proud of accomplishing this year.
We give thanks to all the people and partners who took part in these efforts by bringing your energy and gifts to this work — whether coming out for a community bike ride, being part of our latest street makeover project, reaching out with financial offers of support, or sharing the good word on social media. All of it counts in this mobility movement we’re building together.
Top 10 Things We’re Most Proud of in 2023
(In no particular order of importance)
#10
Elevating Voices and Sharing Stories
This year, we stepped up our efforts to elevate human voices and stories about the joy and challenges of getting around by bus, on bike or on foot. We invited guest bloggers to share their mobility stories on our blog, everyday cyclists to contribute to our #ROCbyBike Instagram posts, and RTS riders to be part of our Voices of Transit blog series (you’ll hear more about that later).
#9
Getting More People on Bikes in Monroe County
Through bike classes, tours, community rides and pit stops, we work to build bike community and to educate and inspire more folks to get on bikes. We’re always innovating and finding new ways to reach people. In 2023, we rolled out a custom bike route assistance service, offered new learn-to-balance & ride classes at City Rec Centers, developed a Bike to School How-To webpage, curated an exhibit on Rochester’s fascinating bike history, and generated buzz with #PizzaByBike photos on social media.
There are so many accomplishments we now have a TOP 10 CYCLING HIGHLIGHTS list if you want to check that out! These efforts are led by our rock star cycling manager, Jesse Peers.
#8
Making Our Streets Safer
On June 10, Reconnect Rochester and our amazing team of partners came together to transform the intersection of Arnett Boulevard and Warwick Avenue in the 19th Ward. This project was our fourth Complete Streets Makeover, completing our ‘quadfecta’ of a project in every quadrant of the city. We published a full project recap in this blog, and as always, captured the magic in film and in photos to inspire other neighborhoods and communities to get out there and take back their streets.
We followed up the project with our October edition of Rochester Street Films and a screening of The Street Project, a film about the national scourge of road violence and the fight to make our streets safer. The audience was moved by a powerful post-film discussion with 19th Ward community members who have suffered personal loss and taken action for change.
#7
Deepening Our Community Engagement
One of our favorite things is to host quarterly Engagement Breakfasts, open to anyone interested in learning more about our work and plugging in. Every gathering brings a new mix of people, and fruitful connections and conversations. In addition to inviting people in, we are going to where people are, talking up mobility at meetings and events around the community. This year we also introduced Mobility Action Alerts as a new way to engage folks and let you know about real-time opportunities to take action.
We spent a lot of advocacy energy this year weighing in on the City’s Active Transportation Plan and the Countywide Active Transportation Plan, with the hope that the vision and commitments in these plans will spur a new approach to road design in Monroe County. We saw evidence of that in our biggest win of the year when Monroe County implemented a road diet and installed bike lanes on Elmwood Avenue in Brighton, making it the first County road to have dedicated bike infrastructure. Several City projects have also raised the bar on road design that implements complete streets designs.
#4
Outreach to RTS Riders
This summer, we launched a new Transit Ambassadors outreach program to find out what’s on the minds of RTS riders and gather their ideas for how the system could be improved. We learned so much to inform our own advocacy work, and we delivered the survey results with recommendations to RTS leadership to inform their decision making. We got to know 5 RTS riders especially well through longer-form interviews, and published their stories in a Voices of Transit ethnography series.
#3
Measuring Our Progress
How well (or not) is our community providing safe, convenient, and accessible transportation options for people living in Monroe County? We took a step toward answering this question with the selection and addition of 10 transportation data indicators to the ACT Rochester community dashboard. These indicators will help us track community progress, as well as our organization’s own impact. Next we’ll work to set targets and goals for transportation. Where are we now, and where do we want to be?
#2
Raising Funds While Building Community
In June, we hosted our 2nd annual ROC ‘n Roll community bike ride. Over 100 cyclists came out, and we raised nearly $10,000 to help fuel Reconnect Rochester’s work. This annual fundraising ride is part of a larger strategy to diversify and expand our funding sources so we can sustain our growing organization, and we’re lucky to have Fundraising & Development Manager Lindsay Crandall on board now to coordinate the effort!
#1
Building an All Star Staff Team
In 2023, we welcomed Lindsay Crandall (top right) and Cody Donahue (top middle left) to our staff team in the new positions of Fundraising & Development Manager and Director of Policy & Advocacy (respectively). This growth was made possible in great part by the continued support of Dr. Scott MacRae and a generous grant from the ESL Charitable Foundation’s Building Strong Neighborhoods initiative.
More human power means more impact, and we are loving all the new and expanded ways we’ve been able to pursue our hopes and dreams for mobility in Monroe County.
Reconnect Rochester presents Voices of Transit, an ethnography profile blog series that along with the qualitative survey data from over 200 RTS customers, shows how our current bus system helps (and sometimes hurts) transit-dependent riders in their daily lives. Read more about the initiative here and to review the survey results from the Transit Ambassador Pilot Program, click here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and give us an introduction to your transit story.
I’m originally from Atlanta, GA, but my mom moved here when I was an infant so I grew up in Rochester.
I’ve been riding RTS for years, before Reimagine RTS and before the Transit Center was built, so I know the “good and bad”, as a frequent rider and longtime customer.
Can you talk about why you ride RTS?
I used to drive a lot but now that I’m pushing 60, I don’t have the patience to sit behind the wheel anymore. I’m also on SSI, so I’m on a fixed income and it’s cheaper to use RTS. I also found that I wasn’t always driving, so if I’m not always driving, then I don’t need to own a vehicle so I got rid of it.
It’s easy to go to a lot and buy a car, but people don’t think about how much it costs to maintain it. I don’t need to worry about that [maintenance] with RTS.
It’s also cheaper than having to pay people gas money to give me a ride.
What do you enjoy about RTS?
The Transit Center is the best thing RTS has done because it’s one place where I can access all of the buses. And Rochester gets cold! So, rather than having everyone wait outside in the winter, it’s nice to have a warm shelter to wait for your bus.
I live a few streets away from the Transit Center and it’s convenient to be able to walk a few blocks away from my apartment with my grocery cart, catch the #3 to go to Walmart, get back on the bus with my groceries and go back home.
I also just learned about the RTS OnDemand service. I have family that live near Emerson St. and it’s hard to visit them using the regular routes because I have to walk far. I love walking but I’m getting older. I have a bad hip and I have a cane, so I can’t walk as far as I used to. So having the OnDemand service drop me off right where I need to so I can visit my older sister is convenient and cuts down on travel time.
I will also say that the security guards at the Transit Center are very pleasant. I do think they could be trained to de-escalate situations better, because I have seen incidents that could’ve gotten out of hand, but overall 85-90% of my experiences with RTS as a frequent rider are pleasant.
Is there anything that you don’t enjoy about RTS? Or anything that you might change?
In terms of the OnDemand service, I don’t like that I have to schedule in advance, that defeats the purpose of OnDemand, especially if I make last minute plans to visit family for example.
Also, over the years I’ve found people who are selling monthly passes for $20 instead of paying $56* which is obviously cheaper especially if I don’t ride the bus all the time. I liked the old passes where you use it and it counts how many times you use it and it adds up to a month. But, getting a monthly pass now can be a waste of money if I don’t ride the bus everyday. If I only use it half the month, then the other days are going to waste.
The only other thing I would change is how they allow people to hang outside, hustle items and smoke outside of the Transit Center because not everyone is comfortable with smoking and people soliciting you**. Other than that, the Transit Center is a wonderful thing.
What are your thoughts on bus stop amenities? Is there anything that would make you more comfortable while you wait?
There are a lot of conversations that RTS only wants to put shelters in areas that they think are “good areas”. It’s a surprise to me that there’s one on Jefferson Avenue but they don’t keep it clean unfortunately. I think if there will be shelters, there needs to be a crew of people to maintain it.
What’s your hope for the future of the RTS bus system?
Consider lowering the cost of the monthly bus passes or make it so that you are only credited for the rides that you actually take. I would also suggest that it should be mandatory for every driver to lower the bus to make sure it’s accessible for all riders getting on and off the bus. We shouldn’t have to ask the driver to lower the bus. It’s my biggest pet peeve.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I appreciate the customer surveys and feedback session and that RTS is willing to hear from their customers.
*According to the RTS site, “RTS Go caps the amount you spend to a maximum of $3 per day ($1.50 for reduced fares) and $56 per month ($28 for reduced fares). The more you ride with RTS Go, the more you’ll save.”
**Editor’s Note: Prior to publishing this piece, the Reconnect team met with RTS and were notified that the area past the pillars at the Transit Center is public space so they cannot directly manage loitering and other activities, however RTS contracted with the Rochester Police Department to have officers stationed in front of the Transit Center (on RTS property) throughout the day to discourage activities that may be uncomfortable to riders.
Reconnect Rochester presents Voices of Transit, an ethnography profile blog series that along with the qualitative survey data from over 200 RTS customers, shows how our current bus system helps (and sometimes hurts) transit-dependent riders in their daily lives. Read more about the initiative here and to review the survey results from the Transit Ambassador Pilot Program, click here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and give us an introduction to your transit story.
Before I moved to Rochester, I lived in NYC and walked and biked everywhere. I have a brain injury and have been disabled for the last 14 years which prevents me from driving. Now, I ride RTS to get everywhere that I need to go. In the winter, I have a fat bike that I use to bike around the city too.
Can you talk about why you ride RTS? What do you like about it?
I live in a building that has a lot of elderly and disabled people with mobility challenges, so I take different routes like the 23, 14, or the 3 to get to Walmart to buy groceries for my neighbors, or to get to Home Depot to buy parts to fix the mechanical problems on their wheelchairs.
I live on a tight income and I don’t have a car so riding the bus is very convenient. I also love the Transit App, it makes it easy to find the bus schedules and figure out where I need to go.
The other day there was a woman with crutches carrying bags getting on the bus and I love that the bus driver waited for her to sit down and find her stability before taking off, that’s important.
Is there anything that you don’t enjoy about RTS? Or anything that you might change?
I use my [Transit] app and I only pay .50 cents for a ride and one time the driver asked for my ID and I was surprised because this hasn’t happened to me before, I didn’t know what he meant. He got angry with me and things escalated quite quickly. The second time it happened, the driver snatched my card out of my hand. Not all bus drivers are like that. But, we are all human, we have our days.
What are your thoughts on bus stop amenities? Is there anything that would make you more comfortable while you wait?
There are a lot of people drinking and smoking and using the bus shelters as housing. I know that this can’t be avoided but I would prefer to not have to hear [sic] that while waiting for the bus.
What’s your hope for the future of public transit in Rochester?
I work with the National Council on the Arts and I bring culture and art to rural communities around Rochester like Victor, Brockport, Medina, and Geneseo. I don’t drive and biking is 21 miles to Brockport, even longer to Geneseo, so my only option is the bus. But it’s not frequent or in some areas there’s no service. I have heard of OnDemand but I have no idea how it works so I would hope that there’s more service in these areas.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
One of my greatest joys of riding the bus in Rochester is that I get to hear people from all over the world, speaking different languages. Like if I take route 1 down St. Paul near the school for English learners, I hear different languages, people dressing in traditional garments, I love it!
the Union Street cycle track can wrap around to Innovative Field.
