Whatever is happening in Montreal, Rochester has great (and growing) bike infrastructure, too. Here Erik Frisch, a city Transportation Specialist and guru of alternative transportation, describes bike boxes, which allow for safer left turns at busy intersections around town.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/ZrkCgL7TIzY[/youtube]
Montreal's world-class bike infrastructure
Just back from a vacation in Montreal, I’ll volunteer a report about the infrastructure of that admirably bike-friendly city. Montreal is easier to traverse by bike than any city I have ever visited, and appears to have more cyclists on its roads as well. Spending four days there, my wife and I saw nearly all the major sites, visiting every neighborhood in our guidebook — and more. We never used a car, or even the Metro, but logged 110 miles on our bikes. Montreal’s bike infrastructure works for a number of inter-dependent reasons.
First, Montreal has a critical mass of bike lanes and cycle paths — you can ride almost anywhere. On an island city, nearly every bridge has a cycle track, or is used solely for bikes and pedestrians. In a bustling metropolitan center, where construction is necessary, bike routes take detours instead of being blocked. Recreational routes through parks and along canals connect to commuter routes so well that the distinction becomes artificial. City festivals have large valet parking facilities for bikes.
Second, Montreal’s bike infrastructure is well-engineered and clearly marked. Bikes are kept separate from pedestrians, and often separate from cars as well. Major bike routes have cycle paths with a curb between bikes and cars; minor routes have painted bike lanes. Following the paths and lanes is straightforward because every intersection has a sign pointing the way to continuing and connecting bike routes. Many intersections have dedicated traffic lights for bikes. Detours for construction are marked well. The long downhill on Jacques-Cartier bridge has barriers that force descending cyclists to swerve — and therefore slow to a safe speed.
Complicated intersections show evidence of particularly careful thought. Where rue Rachel crosses rue Berri, the cycle track on the west side of rue Rachel turns, continuing on the south side of rue Berri, so cyclists face the difficult maneuver of crossing every lane of auto traffic. To help, bike-specific stoplights usher them across one street, then the other. A large paved area is blocked off at the corner in between, giving cyclists a safe place to wait for the light.
Finally, the cycling experience is so much safer and more pleasant on cycle paths and bike lanes that cycling two or three blocks out of your way is worth the trouble. This further separates bikes from cars, and makes transit safer for everybody: major car thoroughfares are not major bike thoroughfares, but both sets of city arteries are extensive enough and close enough to go where people need. Optimizing every road for both cars and bikes is by definition impossible; by splitting the roads, traffic engineers can optimize for cars where necessary, and bikes everywhere else.
After all this praise for Montreal’s bike infrastructure, I have some questions, too, which I’ll address in
Introducing “Streets for the People”
Posted by: board member Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com
Regular, everyday citizens rallying together can set in motion great change in our communities. After all, the people who are most in touch with what is needed in our neighborhoods are those who live, walk, ride, play, drive, shop and work in them every day.
Reconnect Rochester is happy to announce a new initiative that is a direct result of everyday citizen action: Streets for the People…
Monroe County Crash Map
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
Just about every day on the local news we hear about a crime that took place somewhere in our community. And usually after that news you’ll often hear a traffic report… “An accident at the I-590 split has traffic backed up ALL the way to 104. You better give yourself some extra time for your commute this morning!”
What we don’t often hear about—or think about—are the lives that were impacted as a result of that car crash that has inconvenienced our drive.
Now here’s something that might help put your daily traffic report in perspective: between 2010-2014 there were 22,389 car crashes in Monroe County which resulted in at least one injury or fatality. The volunteers at Reconnect Rochester have been hard at work collecting that data. And a new “Crash Map” they’ve created is revealing an enormously high human toll on our local roadways…
Final Call to Put Your Business on Main Street
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
In case you’ve missed this story, downtown Rochester has 5 large retro-style bus shelters dotting Main Street between the Rochester Riverside Convention Center and East Ave. These shelters are no longer being used by RTS since the opening of the Transit Center. But before the City tears them down, we thought we would try to find someone who might be interested in turning them into something new – such as sidewalk cafes, vendors, newsstands, etc…
ROC Transit Day 2015
ROC Transit Day is next week – Thursday, June 18. Rochester will be going car-free in support of a healthier community and we’ve lined up a fun day to celebrate… bus rides for you and the family, a street dance competition , city-wide treasure hunt , music all afternoon outside Rochester Central Library. Oh, and did someone say flash mob ?
So if you haven’t already, pull together a team of friends or co-workers and hop a bus on June 18. And if you need fare cards, contact us now . See the full event schedule…
City of Rochester Now Seeking Proposals for Main Street Bus Shelters
The City of Rochester has issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) to adaptively reuse, redevelop, and operate five former bus shelters on Main Street in downtown Rochester, NY. The deadline to respond is June 26 and successful proposals are expected to be announced by July 31…
Mayors’ Challenge for Safer People, Safer Streets
Posted by: board member Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com
In January, DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx unveiled the Safer People, Safer Streets Initiative . The goal is to address “non-motorized safety issues and help communities create safer, better connected bicycling and walking networks.” He called it the most comprehensive and forward-thinking initiative the DOT has ever put together on bike and pedestrian issues. It aims to engage transportation specialists, safety experts, leadership and the public to make streets safer for a variety of transportation options. And it recognizes the vital role biking and walking play in a reliable multimodal transportation network…
People Matter Most
Posted by: board member Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com
All over the country, cities are implementing new street design and traffic calming measures to make neighborhoods safer and more accessible for all who use them. This is an effort to reverse some of the negative consequences of policies that for decades have prioritized cars above the people who drive them…
Think Big, Rochester
Posted by: Matthew Denker, Advisory Board Member
Pop quiz! How much money does Monroe County contribute directly to the maintenance and operation of its road network each year? If you answered $13,000,0001 you are absolutely correct. If not, guess again.
So let’s imagine, for a moment, a future in which only half this money is spent on roads, and the other half goes towards other ways of getting around. What could we really get from this?
Moving Rochester Forward
Posted by: DeWain Feller, Vice President
For decades, transportation planners were focused on moving and storing cars as efficiently as possible. The result today is that Rochesterians have become dependent on driving for virtually all trips. Homes, stores, offices, and industry have been moved outside of the effective reach of public transit. Our downtown’s dependence on parking has thinned out the core of our community until it has become a shell of its former self.
Today, many young singles (and empty nesters) are opting to do away with the expense of owning a car, and moving back into city centers. The cities that have shifted their transportation planning toward walking, biking, and public transit, are the ones that will capitalize the most…
Congress Introduces Safe Streets Act of 2015
Posted by: board member Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com
Congress introduced a bill this week that will help streets across the country become safer for all people, regardless of their mode of transportation. With bipartisan support, The Safe Streets Act of 2015, was introduced by Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA) and David Joyce (R-OH):
National Day of Advocacy Focuses on Transportation Infrastructure Funding
Story via: RTS
Today, RTS will join with the Genesee Transportation Council, and local leaders and transportation partners to participate in the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) nationwide Stand Up 4 Transportation Day.
RTS CEO Bill Carpenter will be joined by Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, James D. Hoffman, Chairman of the Wayne County Board of Supervisors and Genesee Transportation Council, and representatives from the Rochester Cycling Alliance, Reconnect Rochester, and other organizations for a rally at the RTS Transit Center on Thursday, April 9 at 11 a.m…
Ride It: Art and Bicycles in Rochester
Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester
Reconnect Rochester is proud to partner with Rochester Contemporary Art Center to bring you an exhibit focusing on bicycle history and culture in Rochester! Ride It: Art and Bicycles in Rochester will open on Friday, April 3…
Finding a Solution for Sidewalk Clearing in Rochester
Posted by: board member Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com
It’s been a tough winter for anyone having to be outside in Rochester. Transit riders have to hike over ice encrusted snow drifts and stand in streets, because their stops are buried. Pedestrians have to wear crampons to trudge across the uneven icy places where sidewalks once were. Those who are less steady, have things to carry or have to walk with assistance, have been forced to use the plowed streets. Cyclists hold on as they brave traffic, since the bike lanes are no longer there. And drivers cautiously turn corners blocked by snowbanks higher than their cars, taking turns on residential streets with only enough room for one car at a time. But the people walking out in the elements have clearly been given the lowest priority of attention.
You Can Support Increased Transit Funding in NY State
Story via: NYPTA
The State Senate and Assembly are in final preparation of their one house budget bills. If you’d like to see improved public transit service in NY state, now would be a good time to contact your State Senator and Assembly member to request that they support increased transit funding in the state budget…
Available Positions with Reconnect Rochester
Reconnect Rochester is a young organization with lots of ambition and we’re looking for energetic, self-motivated individuals to help us grow. If you have strong leadership skills and a desire to give back to your community, drop us a line and request a meeting…
Focus for a More Sustainable Long-Range Transportation Plan
Posted by: Bob Williams, VP of Advocacy
We are often asked at Reconnect Rochester questions regarding who is responsible for prioritizing transportation projects in our region and the process through which that is accomplished. The answer leads back to the 1962 National Highway Act which required all urbanized areas of greater than 50,000 population to form a Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO, for the channeling of federal funding to both individual projects and transportation programs.
Grab your shovel, it’s time to Reconnect your sidewalk…
Posted by: Brenda Massie, Board Member and Secretary, Reconnect Rochester.
Getting around during winter in Rochester is challenging — no matter what mode of transportation you choose. Subzero temperatures, snowy sidewalks, and dangerous street conditions become part of everyday life. As a pedestrian, it is especially hairy…
2014 the Safest Year to Be a Pedestrian in NYC Since 1910
Posted by: Renee Stetzer, pedestrian safety advocate and blogger at RocVille.com
This month marks the one year anniversary of New York City’s ambitious Vision Zero campaign , a plan to eliminate traffic fatalities by the year 2024.
As part of the effort , traffic calming and street design measures were implemented, bike lanes were expanded, speed cameras were installed in school zones, the citywide default speed limit was reduced to 25 mph, arterial slow zones were established, public education and awareness were ramped up and the NYPD significantly stepped up enforcement and ticketing for traffic violations. It’s an effort that requires all people, regardless of how they traverse those streets to rethink how they drive, walk and ride about their daily lives. It requires a shift in the culture of getting about in NYC, which is no easy task.
So, one year later, is the campaign making a difference?
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- …
- 37
- Next Page »