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Reflecting on the 2026 Week Without Driving

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the 2026 Week Without Driving! Getting this real life perspective of the joys and challenges of car free living is important and will serve as a reminder of why we do this work.

With 24% of Rochester residents and 12% of Monroe County residents lacking car access, thousands of our neighbors don’t have the option to wait until the system improves. They rely on it today. The more of us who understand the benefits and the barriers firsthand, the more likely we are to build a multimodal community that works for everyone.

In 2026 we saw 43 participants logged a stunning 642 non-car trips for a total of 2,362.52 non-driving miles!

Special shout out to Hannah Geitner who used Flix bus to get to Ithaca instead of driving! We have included her thoughts on the experience below your comments.

Biking Comments

I biked to and from school today and I did better than I thought when I was biking up one of the hills, but the way back was much harder than I thought. My hack is remembering to switch gears when I go up big hills.

Biked to the eye dr, about 2.5 miles from my house. The route is pretty ok, but I wished there was bike parking.

Biked, Roundtrip, Home to the grocery store to buy more coffee beans. Not tricky. It was very easy and I’ve done it before. Mine was the only bike in the rack and I wondered if I’d ever find it full? Would be nice…

I went out for coffee. The biggest challenge was the pavement quality – potholes and broken pavement forced me into the road even when there were bike lanes next to the driving lane.

Today I biked from the Erie canal trail to Jefferson Rd for work today. There’s no good connection from the trail to Jefferson. I needed to bike on the shoulder S winton road which was awful

I rode from home to the Greece Library, using primarily bike boulevards. It’s tricky crossing Latta and Long Pond (several left and right hand turning cars), so I make sure the cars see me before I move into the intersection. I have a light in the front and rear of my bike and on my helmet, and wear a high visibility jacket. It’s pretty hard NOT to see me!

I biked to the pharmacy then stopped at the grocery store on the way back to pick up some stuff. My route starts going north on Mt Read for about 1 mile. The only difficult part is the intersection at Mt. Read/Stone. It’s tricky on a bike.

I’ve been working on low-stress bike route mapping for a few months, and today really emphasized the challenges of our current network. As a confident cyclist, I took some very direct routes that have little or no formal infrastructure (Scio St, Circle St, Woodbury Blvd) rendering them very uncomfortable for many. Anyone who is less confident is stuck using meandering, indirect routes that can add significant amounts of time to a trip. If we want to encourage cycling in our City, we need to make the most direct routes safe for all ages and abilites; even if that means re-routing or inconveniencing drivers.

I rode my bike to the public market to do some produce shopping on my way to the Roc the Riverway guided bike ride. I forgot to snap a picture but Jesse saw me there. Then I picked up a bottle of wine for dinner from Schuber on Park on my way home.

I’m in my own forever war against disappearing bike lanes. Shouts to Culver and Winton! Constantly asking myself if I should just take the lane even when the current stretch has a bike lane just so I don’t risk getting clipped when trying to get in the lane when the bike lane ends. But then I risk the revenge pass! Where a driver passes unsafely because they were annoyed that I slowed them down.

I did a big grocery shopping trip on bike, including a full-size watermelon and a carton of eggs! My panniers make me feel unstoppable!! However, I do despise the East Ave Wegmans parking lot with any form of transportation, but especially on a bike…

Heavy headwinds coming home on the Canal Trail in the afternoon. “Slow but steady wins the race.

Commute to and from work that I do all the time. Riding 7/10 miles on the canal is great. Rough spots are Lee Rd north of the canal, the Chili Ave intersection, and getting to near the Brickyard Trail from the canal.

Bowling on Monday night. I decided to get a locker last year so I could ride my bike without having to worry about carrying my bowling ball and shoes every week.

I rode my bike to the Y for yoga class this morning, then on to Walgreens to pick up photos. This afternoon I rode my bike to get a haircut and used bike boulevards to travel there and home safely.

Biked with my 6-year old to his choir practice on S Clinton. It required a very circuitous route and more sidewalk riding than we typically do. Luckily, the weather was perfect. We probably won’t do this regularly, but I’m glad to know it’s an option.

Cold morning – warmed up after 5 miles or so, but it was a brisk start to the day.

On my bike home from work on Monday, I took a detour to run an errand near Cobbs Hill Park. I usually would’ve taken the Harvard St bike boulevard for this route, but I decided to try out Park Ave itself. And what a nice ride it was! Super low traffic volume on Park Ave at 4:30pm on a Monday, and I played “tag” with a roller skater headed the same way as me; we passed each other a few times. Then to get home from there I biked up and over Cobbs Hill & Highland Park, which were tough but rewarding climbs with beautiful views.

Walking Comments

The weather was perfect today. Walking downtown with the construction on Main Street

There wasn’t always a side walk, other than that it was an easy trip.

All of my walks today were extremely pleasant on account of the perfect weather and being in Manhattan for work. I love when a City supports all 4 of Jeff Speck’s walkability tenets (useful, safe, comfortable, interesting).

I walked to Trillium Ribbon Cutting on Jefferson Ave and very surprised by the lack of visible crosswalks

Walked to dinner and convinced all my friends to go walk too!

Downtown construction made staying on the same side in the correct lane difficult and placed me walking into places cars werent expecting- the closer to State st, the more difficult

I walked from my house to The Rochester Oak Street Complex Center for the HBCU Tailgate party..I walked through the Bullshead Revitalization area and so excited to see ao much done and stating to see the vision come together. If I would have drove im sure I would had been frustrated by the detours.

First time walking to my house to the gym in Gates. I noticed the total difference walking in a town vs city…I almost don’t want to complain anymore about city sidewalks….what an adventure….not sure if I will do that again.

Walked to and from the Y on Thurston, then to and from work downtown and to and from a neighborhood community event. A beautiful day to be outside walking.

I walked from my job County Office Building to Local’s Only on 311 Alexander Street for a lunch meeting and let me tell you I love walking downtown. Seeing the diversity in people walking, handling their business, sitting out talking or people watching makes me happy.

I walked from work to the convention center and truly took in the view of the Genesee River.

Bus Comments

Super easy bus ride to and from work!

Loved event at Salinger’s. Took bus there and back.

Brighton bus line ends in a highway with no sidewalk to cross the river- was disappointed since there’s a trail system right underneath that could be connected by the bridge!

Grateful for living on the bus line direct to work when it’s pouring outside!

I like bikes and I like the bus but I don’t like transferring buses because there’s so much waiting in-between. So I bike to the transfer point where I get on the bus that gets me to work.

My Amtrak got into Rochester late so I had to litterally run with a week’s worth of luggage from the train station to the Transit center to catch the 18:00 pulse or I would have been stuck waiting for an hour. We need 15 minute frequencies or better on all urban fixed routes ASAP

One thing that’s been on my mind for months is the RTS policy of closing its bathrooms during the busiest hours of the commute to prevent bad behavior, but also preventing accessibility and basic human dignity.

Bus to an actual brewery + Bug Jar!

I had a bus delay completely alter my route home today. While this delay was happening at the Transit Center I helped another man pack up his groceries while RTS staff chided him and told him he couldn’t get on another bus. Feels like the bus system requires a lot of patience from riders without giving riders any respect in return, to put it delicately. I had a time I needed to be back, and thankfully I gave myself a lot of time, so I made it home by 6 pm, but it was closer than it should have been.

E-Bikes/E-Scooters

I took an ambitious trip up to Irondequoit from Rochester on my e-scooter. It was a lot of fun! The bike accomodations were spotty, but no one was yelling at me in the road and there weren’t many moments I felt unsafe, even when riding at night.

I took a trip up to Home Depot on Ridge Road, I had to return some items and buy more. Using my scooter in a hostile environment was challenging. I rode a lot on the sidewalks near the Home Depot because there was no dedicated bike lane and driving in traffic felt risky. But coming up from the city there’s bike lanes / easier roads on Goodman, Norton, and Main street. So most of the trip had some infrastructure.

I rode my e-scooter to RIT for a meeting. I rode down the Lehigh Valley Trail for the first time. It could definitely use some maintenance, but it’s a nice way to get between UofR and RIT.

I’ve found that it is sometimes faster to use a e-scooter than the bus since the routes are sparse. The lack of connection leaves long walk times at either end, so using the e-scooter shaves off quite a bit of time compared to the crosstown bus.

Hanna Geitner’s Flix Bus Experience

It is Reconnect Rochester, Inc‘s #weekwithoutdriving! Yesterday’s challenge was to take public transportation. At first, this seemed like a challenge as I had two site visits in Ithaca (75 miles away) but with a quick internet search I booked a round-trip ticket on a Flixbus! Conveniently, the Rochester bus stop is within walking distance to my office where I stashed my bike for the day and the Ithaca bus stop was 0.2 miles from my first meeting. I was able to walk to almost every other meeting site thanks to Ithaca’s downtown density and carpooled with 4 colleagues to one site outside the city center not connected via sidewalks.

Some things I noticed–

  • Its much easier than you think to use the bus. Flixbus, Greyhound, Trailways, etc. have impressive routes across the country that can get you where you need to go.
  • Taking the bus is like having a personal driver, I answered emails, took a quick nap, prepped for my meetings, and enjoyed the first glimpses of fall foliage around the Finger Lakes!
  • Dense community design makes being carless far less intimidating. All but one of my meetings in Ithaca were in a 0.5 mile radius. Within this, I stopped to check out 3 different restaurants/cafes and spent some down time in the public library taking advantage of the free wifi and phone chargers.
  • You can learn a lot about a place by showing up without a car and not relying on rideshares. This felt important as I showed up as a non-native to analyze potential projects. Before my first meeting, I had seen the main bus stops, saw how folks can access them (or not), seen their proximity to services, food, and stores, and used them myself. This was an incredibly small glimpse but it was one I would not have had if I had driven from my house, parked right outside each meeting, then drove back to Rochester. 

What our elected officials say

State Senator Jeremy Cooney, Transportation Committee Chair, on RTS

“We like our drivers, we feel safe on the bus, RTS buses are newer and riding is a great experience! But do they get you to your destination frequently and on time? 

We secured money to study Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to dedicate a lane just for bus service with transit signal priority to move our buses quicker. So if someone misses a bus they’re not waiting 45 minutes for the next one, they’re waiting 5-10 minutes.

I need everyone to call their state representatives and tell them to make transit a priority this budget session. It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity.”

Watch State Senator Cooney’s video on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky. 

Deputy Mayor Michael Burns on Walking

“One of the great things about living downtown is that we reduced the number of cars in our house from one to two because of good public transit and the walkability of downtown.

ROC Vision Zero is our initiative to make sure our streets are safer for all residents whether they drive, walk, or bike. A key component is safe crosswalks with crossing times that are adequate especially at high traffic intersections.

We also have a hazardous sidewalk repair program that identifies hazardous sidewalk areas throughout the city to ensure that folks walking have safe sidewalks.”

Watch Deputy Mayor Burns’ video on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky. 

Monroe County Executive Adam Bello on Biking

“Monroe County believes there should be a complete streets approach to how we design our streets. To make sure it’s safe for everybody to use our roads regardless of the mode they choose.

We changed county policy to allow for bike lanes to be installed on county roads. We have more lane miles planned for the future so it’s not just the city of Rochester but we’re connected into the suburbs as well. 

Try riding a bike to get to where you’re going today and Monroe County’s commitment is to design roads that are safe for you to ride your bike and safe for motorists as well.”

Watch County Executive Bello’s video on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.  

Dr. Miriam Moore, Chief Diversity Officer for Brighton on Disabled Mobility

“I do think if there were better transit options there would be fewer cars on the road subsequently lending more parking for individuals who need accessible parking. 

Living with Avascular necrosis makes walking difficult. Having infrastructure that is in good condition with no cracks or bumps is important. Brighton now has a crosswalk that lights up. I’ve used it and I think it’s awesome for individuals who may not be able to cross at the speed that healthy individuals can.”

Watch Dr. Moore’s video on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky

Our local Week Without Driving initiative inspired the following news coverage:

Thanks again to all of our participants!

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Week Without Driving Emails

Whether you’re motivated by saving money, protecting the environment, improving street safety, boosting your health, or building community connections, thank you for signing up for the Week Without Driving challenge. Discover the freedom and joy of leaving your car at home!

Review the daily emails below and don’t forget to measure your non-car trips and non-driving miles traveled then report each day on our tracking form. 

WWD Day 1: Bus

DOUBLE DUTCH BUS

Don’t forget to log every mile you walk, roll, bike, or scoot on Strava while using Google Maps  to estimate mileage for bus trips. Log your non-driving miles and non-car trips on our tracking form each day. On Thursday October 8th we will tally everyone’s submissions.

Quick reminder that the challenges are guidelines to structure your week and you are welcome to use whatever mode makes most sense for you each day.

Today we’re spotlighting the option to take RTS to get around Monroe County. 

Riding the bus is a great way to connect with your community. You can enjoy a book instead of stressing over rush-hour traffic or hit the town without worrying about parking or whether you’ll be drinking.

Here is something to think about:

Thursdays Challenge

Join Reconnect Rochester for a Week Without Driving happy hour on October 1st! Meet us at Salinger’s (107 East Ave) by bus anytime from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. And/or join us by bus as we walk together as a group to the Transit Center to ride home. This is a great opportunity to meet Reconnect Rochester staff members and others in the community who are interested in alternate transit!

If RTS doesn’t run in your area, try carpooling to a stop with sufficient parking to try a park and ride experience.

Some Suggestions

  • If you’ve never ridden the bus before, check out the How to Ride webpage on the RTS website.
  • Try a cart for grocery shopping by bus.
  • Know your route and schedule and make sure to arrive 5-10 minutes early at your stop.
  • Use the Transit App to plan your trip and check the arrival time of the bus.
  • You can pay a few different ways:
    • Using cash (make sure to have at least $2 ready)
    • Purchasing an RTS Go Card (make sure to put at least $2 on it)
    • Using the Transit App (make sure you have opened the app, found the RTS Go logo, and added at least $2 before riding)

What do our leaders think of RTS?

“We like our drivers, we feel safe on the bus, RTS buses are newer and riding is a great experience! But do they get you to your destination frequently and on time? 

We secured money to study Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to dedicate a lane just for bus service with transit signal priority to move our buses quicker. So if someone misses a bus they’re not waiting 45 minutes for the next one, they’re waiting 5-10 minutes.

I need everyone to call their state representatives and tell them to make transit a priority this budget session. It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity.”

-NY State Senator Jeremy Cooney Chair of Transportation Committee

Take Inspiration From Libby

“Living near NYC and then abroad in Europe, I saw how transit can easily work for residents. When you have frequent service you don’t need to plan your trip ahead of time and you can still get around without much trouble. Transit wasn’t viewed as something people used only because they couldn’t afford a car, it was simply how people got around. I wish we thought about transit that way here.”

Libby has never had a driver’s license and she doesn’t want one. She doesn’t bike and relies on RTS or walking to get everywhere she goes. Read about her car free life on our website.

What is Reconnect Rochester doing to help bus riders?

As funding for RTS primarily comes from New York state we are continuing advocacy with our statewide coalition New Yorkers for Transportation Equity. We have also formed a local coalition of RTS bus riders to share their ideas and experiences to guide our advocacy. Our goal is to build a robust bus system that connects people to jobs, healthcare, education, childcare and groceries. 

If you are a regular RTS bus rider and you want to help out, please email info@reconnectrochester.org. If you are NOT a regular RTS bus rider, we encourage you to ride the bus when you can. The more of us who ride, the more the system will be prioritized.

Here’s what participants said last year about riding RTS

“I was so excited to see how easy it was to get a bus to get my errands downtown done! I plan on using the same route to get to The Little this weekend!”

“I take the 6, then the 13 (this route gets PACKED, I’m shocked it doesn’t run every 15 minutes).”

“Routes need to be added that circle around the city instead of just spokes going out from the center.”

“I wanted to try taking the bus to work, but my 10 minute commute would take over an hour on the bus! I realized that if I didn’t have a car, I wouldn’t be able to work at my current job.” 

Good Reads

Many of you listed biking or driving as your typical mode of transportation. Whether you have never ridden the bus or don’t ride it often, we highly encourage you to consider it in your mobility choices. 

Please email info@reconnectrochester.org with pictures of you using alternative transit! We’d love to share them. You can also post them on your own, tag us, and include the hashtag #WeekWithoutDriving #ROCWeekWithoutDriving

WWD Day 2: Walking

WALK ON BY

We hope you are enjoying transit day today! If you haven’t already seen it on our social media, take a minute to watch Rochester’s State Senator Jeremy Cooney,  Chairman of the State Senate Committee on Transportation, discuss public transit on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky. 

Today’s email is to get you ready for Day 2 of the Week Without Driving which will focus on the simplest form of transportation: walking.

Don’t forget to count every mile you walk, roll, bike, or scoot and log your non-driving miles and non-car trips on our tracking form each day. Feel free to use Strava while using Google Maps to estimate mileage for bus trips. On Thursday October 8th we will tally everyone’s submissions.

Quick reminder that the challenges are guidelines to structure your week and you are welcome to use whatever mode makes most sense for you each day.

Here is something to think about:

  • More than 80% of people say having a sidewalk and being walking distance to shops and parks are important factors when choosing a home. Yet the majority of neighborhoods in America are not set up to accommodate these popular desires.
  • As Sunday’s Lucky Flea Market event showed us, opening streets to people is a popular choice.

Friday’s Challenge

Did you know 38.4% of vehicle trips nationwide in 2022 were less than 3 miles? That’s a great distance to do your errands on foot. Whether from work, home, or school, see if you can “trip chain” and combine stops along your route. Bring a friend or family member and enjoy a break from rushing to get around. 

If you don’t live in a walkable area, go to a shopping center (such as Baytown or Pittsford Plaza-both accessible by bus!) and get as many things as you need without getting back in your car again; coffee, library book, hardware store, groceries, lunch etc. Now imagine if this was walking distance from your house and didn’t include a massive parking lot in the center.

Bonus challenge: Join one of the ROC The Riverway weekend activities! Tomorrow (Friday, October 2nd) there are multiple boat tours of the Erie Canal available. Even more bonus points if you get there multimodally and reply to this email with a picture. 

Some Suggestions

  • Look for quieter streets with sidewalks and less traffic.
  • If you don’t have sidewalks, walk against traffic to monitor.
  • A backpack is easier to carry items.
  • Errands too sprawled out? Get multimodal! Hop on a bike, RTS bus, VEO, etc. to go far without the car!
  • Wear shoes you want to walk in!

Take Inspiration From Josie

“Walking connects me to the pulse of the community in a way that driving never could. But it also reminds me how much work still needs to be done.”

Josie McClary is a car lite pedestrian, a strong advocate for alternative transportation and a Reconnect Rochester board member. With 47 non-car trips, she is also one of our prize winners for the 2025 Week Without Driving. Read her reflection on being car lite in Rochester as a pedestrian.

What is Reconnect Rochester doing to help walkers?

Through our quick-build projects such as Complete Streets Makeovers and Downtown SmART Streets, we’re testing pedestrian safety improvements at intersections and using the results to push for permanent change.

We’re also supporting ROC Vision Zero, advocating for a 25 MPH citywide speed limit which has been proven to be safer for pedestrians, and supporting the revival of the Drive 2B Better campaign. Help us spread the message by ordering a Slow, Space or Scan lawn sign or bike license plate!

We’re watching the City’s Active Transportation Winter Maintenance Study closely and are pushing the city to address gaps in the current approach to snow clearance; a huge impediment to walkers. 

Join our mobility action alerts list and never miss a chance to advocate for strong safety measures for pedestrians!

Here’s what participants said last year about walking

Mixed use buildings are the way to go! Two of the five places I went were in the same building as another one of my destinations so I didn’t even count miles for the few feet I walked.

Lee Road should at least have a sidewalk north of Lexington to the City line with Greece where the shoulder starts. You can see a dirt path worn in and can see it on Google maps from this year. Lots of shift workers walking to and from work here.

I had a lot of meetings in the downtown area today. I was surprised how quickly I was able to get there. The tricky part is all the construction going on in the downtown area but still in all a very pleasant walk time today.

Good Reads

WWD Day 3: Biking

BIKE

We’re cruising into the weekend with a spotlight on the most efficient form of transportation in human history: the bicycle! There is so much to say about bicycling in Monroe County that we have a dedicated newsletter, social media channels, and a webpage dedicated to this popular mode of travel. 

Don’t forget to count every mile you walk, roll, bike, or scoot and log your non-driving miles and non-car trips on our tracking form each day. Feel free to use Strava while using Google Maps to estimate mileage for bus trips. On Thursday October 8th we will tally everyone’s submissions.

Quick reminder that the challenges are guidelines to structure your week and you are welcome to use whatever mode makes most sense for you each day.

Here is something to think about:

  • Just one hour on a bike can burn well over 500 calories (depending on incline and how quickly you’re pedaling). It’s an excellent way to get your heart rate up and can actually help slow the decline of cardiovascular health—research suggests cutting your risk of heart disease by up to 82%.
  • Biking can help you retain cognitive abilities, especially past the age of 45 years old. 
  • As we covered in our Park(ing) day blog post, bikes are a much more economical use of space than cars and can help us preserve our most valuable asset: land.

Saturday’s Challenge

Ride your bike for an errand! Hit the library, go to a restaurant or a friend’s house. See how it feels to start your day outside, connected to the community, and getting some light exercise. Reflect on how it feels using Monroe County’s cycling infrastructure. Extra points if you ride recent road projects and tell us your grade for each completed stretch.

Bonus Challenge: Register and join us for a fun group ride with Reconnect Rochester, EE Pathways and DRHS followed by an ice cream social at our office on Wednesday at 6pm. Get familiar with Rochester’s low stress bike routes and get a chance to meet Reconnect Rochester staff members and other area cyclists.

Some Suggestions

  • Use a big backpack or panniers to hold anything you may need. 
  • Visit our ROC Easy Bike Map and to plan your route through the beautiful trails, bicycle boulevards, and protected lanes offered throughout Monroe County.
  • Get to know Rochester’s Bicycle Boulevard network. Bicycle boulevards are streets that parallel major roads that see less traffic and are equipped with speed humps to slow down cars.
  • Use Rochester’s bike map to find a convenient location to lock up your bike.
  • You can put your bike on an RTS bus for parts of the journey where you don’t feel comfortable or if it’s a long trip.
  • Read more helpful tips for riding.

What do our leaders think of biking in Monroe Country?

“Monroe County believes there should be a complete streets approach to how we design our streets. To make sure it’s safe for everybody to use our roads regardless of the mode they choose.

We changed county policy to allow for bike lanes to be installed on county roads. We have more lane miles planned for the future so it’s not just the city of Rochester but we’re connected into the suburbs as well. 

Try riding a bike to get to where you’re going today and Monroe County’s commitment is to design roads that are safe for you to ride your bike and safe for motorists as well.”

-County Executive Adam Bello

Take Inspiration From Lorie

“What are some of the most interesting things I’ve hauled on the back of my bike?

  • A large new rug from a rug store
  • A new guitar from Pittsford Plaza
  • A pot of lentil soup for a potluck supper
  • A small table found curbside”

Lorie has spent 16 years in Boston, then Rochester relying on biking, walking, and using transit to get around. Read about her journey without a car for more than a decade in our Car Lite series.

What is Reconnect Rochester doing to help cyclists?

In addition to sharing an array of bicycle resources, we’re working to help unlock federal funding for key parts of Rochester’s bike spine while supporting the City’s efforts to build a Bike Spine Network and expand protected bike lanes and bike boulevards.

Zooming out beyond the city, we’ll plan to be involved in Monroe County’s Vision Zero commitment. We’re looking forward to a more comfortable crossing for RT-104 at Seneca Ave after sharing our thoughts on the project last year. With your help we gathered more than 500 letters to support a safer Monroe Avenue with the upcoming resurfacing project.

Want to stay up-to-date on bike advocacy efforts? Sign up for our monthly Cycling e-newsletter and/or Mobility Action Alerts.

Here’s what participants said last year about biking

I biked to the grocery store to get a few things for dinner and wondered why more people didn’t do the same…With the right planning, it’s actually easy, fun, AND it helps you to avoid buying unnecessary impulse purchases because you will only buy what you can carry back on your ride home!

BIG shoutout to panniers. And dressing in layers. And then shedding layers and putting them in your panniers!

Home Depot on Portland Ave. was very tricky, but I managed it!

Took the Auburn Trail from cobbs hill to Pittsford Plaza. Not my first time on the trail, but first time using it as a way to get to those stores. Always surprises me how close they are.

Good Reads

WWD Day 4: E-Bikes/E-Scooter

MY ELECTRIC BIKE

If you haven’t already seen it on our social media, take a minute to watch Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, discuss Monroe County biking on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.  

We at Reconnect Rochester are pro e-bike! There is a lot of misinformation and confusion around this helpful mobility tool so we’d like to clear up the benefits of this technology while encouraging safe riding and only using legal e-bike models. Let’s get into it!

Don’t forget to count every mile you walk, roll, bike, or scoot and log your non-driving miles and non-car trips on our tracking form each day. Feel free to use Strava while using Google Maps to estimate mileage for bus trips. On Thursday October 8th we will tally everyone’s submissions.

Quick reminder that the challenges are guidelines to structure your week and you are welcome to use whatever mode makes most sense for you each day.

Here is something to think about:

  • E-bikes and e-scooters are compared to bicycles but more often than not, people are using them to replace car trips. 
  • Electric bikes and scooters open up an entire world of mobility for people who find it challenging to bike due to distance, age, ability, cargo, or any number of reasons. They are also a great companion for people using RTS who need assistance making the last trek of their journey.

Monday’s Challenge

Note: Since not everyone has access to e-bikes we will focus this challenge on our e-bike/e-scooter share system, Veo. 

Download the Veo app and ride to an off site location such as a meeting or lunch. See how convenient it is to use one and leave it behind (not in the middle of the sidewalk!) so you can move around unencumbered. Use the code CARFREE26 for $5 off your Veo ride!

Bonus Challenge: Read more details from our E-bikelash Community Conversation from the spring. Then call your town/village leaders and state representatives and let them know that you support e-bikes! They are mostly hearing complaints and this could introduce nuance to the overall conversation. 

Some Suggestions

E-bike Rules of the Road

We are pro e-bike but a pedal operated class 1 or 2 e-bike with a top speed of 28mph is NOT the same as an illegal, throttle-powered e-moto that goes 30-60mph. If you choose to ride an e-bike make sure it is a legal model, the rider is over 16 years old and you understand where you can and cannot legally ride. 

They are generally prohibited from trails unless the entity with jurisdiction allows them. In our case they are legal on the Genesee Riverway Trail and Erie Canal Trail. E-bikes can’t be ridden on roads with a speed limit greater than 30mph unless there’s a dedicated bike facility. E-bikes must ride single file while regular bikes are allowed to be side by side. No person shall operate an e-bike in excess of 20mph.

What is Reconnect Rochester doing to help e-bike riders?

While there is backlash locally and at the state level, fortunately none of the restrictive bills passed this year’s state budget. With the New York Bicycling Coalition and the NY Safe Streets Coalition, we developed a position paper on common sense e-mobility regulations to stop the harmful bills that were advancing in the NYS Assembly this session. We’re happy to see that potential e-bike regulations will be delayed until the 2027 legislative session, and we’ll keep everyone updated on future threats. 

Here’s what participants said last year about e-bikes/e-scooters

I took my e-bike to work today.  My son had a soccer game so I left work and headed to his game.  Unfortunately, I had to go up Culver and cross over 104 to get to east ridge road. Then I had to take a left on East ridge.  That whole area is not bike friendly but good news, I didn’t get yelled at by a car driver that I should be on the sidewalk.

Took an e scooter for the first time today! It was a little scary– they go so fast! But my legs were tired from an earlier bike ride so it was definitely a good alternative!

Good Reads

Reminder to make sure you are logging your non-car trips and non-driving miles each day and submitting to our form so you can be eligible for our prizes on Thursday. Also reply to this email with your address and we can send you your Week Without Driving sticker!

Please reply to this email with pictures of you using alternative transit! We’d love to share them. You can also post them on your own, tag us, and include the hashtag #WeekWithoutDriving

WWD Day 5: Disabled Mobility

Differently Abled Man

What would you do if driving simply wasn’t an option for an entire week? 

This may be hard to imagine but more than one third of people living in the United States are nondrivers. Teenagers, older adults, visually impaired, those recovering from surgery, people who cannot afford a car, or any number of disabilities, this is a reality. As we age, we lose abilities that we had when we were younger. AAA estimates that older adults outlive their ability to drive by 10 years. 

Non drivers created Week Without Driving so that those who have the option to drive can learn firsthand about the barriers facing non drivers. In Monroe County we are lucky to have a fair amount of resources that make a car lite lifestyle more viable but it’s not without its challenges. When we better understand the gaps we can push for change. 

Living in Monroe County without a car can be difficult. But it doesn’t have to be. 

We hope you’ll sign up to join us for a community conversation on Thursday, 6:30-8pm at our office to share your thoughts on the experience and reflect on the gaps and weaknesses we need to strengthen so our transportation systems work for everyone. 

Don’t forget to count every mile you walk, roll, bike, or scoot and log your non-driving miles and non-car trips on our tracking form each day. Feel free to use Strava while using Google Maps to estimate mileage for bus trips. On Thursday October 8th we will tally everyone’s submissions.

Quick reminder that the challenges are guidelines to structure your week and you are welcome to use whatever mode makes most sense for you each day.

Here is something to think about:

Tuesday’s Challenge

Reflect on your experiences and  gather your thoughts to share at the conversation on Thursday if you’re able to join us.

  1. What was tricky?
  2. What worked better than you thought?
  3. What made you wonder “why isn’t THIS easier?”
  4. Any hacks, new routes, or tips you uncovered?
  5. What was the most surprising thing you learned or experienced during the week?
  6. How did it feel to move through your community in new ways?
  7. What would you say are the biggest challenges for nondrivers in your community?

Meet Miriam

“I do think if there were better transit options there would be fewer cars on the road subsequently lending more parking for individuals who need accessible parking. 

Living with Avascular necrosis makes walking difficult. Having infrastructure that is in good condition with no cracks or bumps is important. Brighton now has a crosswalk that lights up. I’ve used it and I think it’s awesome for individuals who may not be able to cross at the speed that healthy individuals can.”

-Dr. Miriam Moore Chief Diversity Officer Town of Brighton

What is Reconnect Rochester doing to help those with disabilities?

We will continue to advocate to increase options beyond our current car-centric infrastructure that relegates pedestrians to cramped sidewalks with heaved segments and poorly placed curb cuts. While this is challenging for anyone to navigate, it is especially difficult if you are vision impaired, use a walker or rollator, or are in a wheelchair. When we design streets and sidewalks for those with the least physical abilities,  everyone benefits.

We collaborate with disability rights focused organizations like the Center for Disability Rights (CDR), Disability Rights NY, Endless Highways, Rochester Accessible Adventures and others. We follow their lead as they are the real experts in this area and they’ve been at it much longer than we have. Of course we’ll continue to advocate for improved accessibility across all new transportation projects in Monroe County, but if you have ideas for specific projects that you think we should engage in, please let us know!

Good Reads

WWD Day 6: Your Choice

Changes

Almost done! We hope to see you at Thursday’s Week Without Driving community conversation. 

If you haven’t already seen it on our social media, take a minute to watch Brighton’s Chief Diversity Office Dr. Miriam Moore, discuss moving through Monroe County with a disability on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

Don’t forget to report all of your miles on our tracking form by the end of the day Thursday to be eligible for prizes!

Quick reminder that the challenges are guidelines to structure your week and you are welcome to use whatever mode makes most sense for you each day.

Wednesday’s Challenge

Try a mode you have never tried before! We’re hoping you have stepped out of your comfort zone and tried a mobility option that you’ve never tried (or rarely use) to embrace the spirit of the week. If you haven’t done this already, tomorrow is your chance!

Bonus Challenge: Send us a picture of you at a bus stop, near your bike/Veo, or on a walk. We’ll share it on our social media and in our newsletter!

We appreciate you taking this journey with us. We are almost done and we can’t wait to hear your thoughts on everything!

One More Thing

If you value the work we do at Reconnect Rochester in transit advocacy, safe streets projects, and bicycle education, we hope you’ll consider making a tax-deductible donation to support the multimodal movement in Monroe County!

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Making Rochester Streets Safer for All: The 2026 Complete Streets Makeover of Genesee Park Blvd and Pioneer St

Over the years, we’ve received dozens of thoughtful submissions from Rochester residents for places where it doesn’t feel safe to walk or bike. Responding to this growing epidemic was the impetus behind our Complete Streets Makeover program, created to bring attention to street design as one critical factor in the safe streets equation. Do you know of a risky spot in your daily travels? Make sure to nominate it for consideration and you could see this change on YOUR street!

The Selection Process

A steering committee made up of our program partners selected Genesee Park Boulevard and Pioneer Street from a pool of 48 community submissions.  “There are [crashes] at this intersection at least every other week. It has always been a problem…” is what the original nominator mentioned as a concern. As we dug deeper, other neighbors mentioned that drivers failing to yield to the right of way has made them feel unsafe rolling or walking through the intersection. 

That’s especially concerning because this intersection connects people to Genesee Valley Park and some of Rochester’s most popular active transportation routes, including the Empire State Trail and Genesee Riverway Trail. It’s also a key connection for University of Rochester students, families, and children traveling to and from School #53.

When an intersection makes people change their route out of fear, it’s a sign that it’s time to rethink the design.

Getting Community Input

At our neighborhood design workshop in March, 19th Ward residents gathered to discuss the specific concerns they have while traveling through this intersection on a daily basis. Neighbors of all ages joined to envision safer crossings, playful sidewalks, better wayfinding, public art, and a reference to the 19th Ward’s neighborhood traffic calming turkey to serve as a symbol for the need to address safety for all road users.

As fate would have it, the turkey showed up an hour before the installation began to check on our progress!

Our partners at Stantec created a rendering based on the neighborhood feedback. The final design used flexible delineator posts to visually narrow the roadway; using a design strategy backed by traffic safety research to slow traffic and daylight the intersection which prevents parked vehicles from obstructing visibility of oncoming road users when crossing.

While neighborhood residents favored a temporary neighborhood traffic circle, the additional approvals and complex logistics were not possible within the timeline. We moved forward with a curb extension design for the strongest improvement we could install immediately.

We will be working with the 19th Ward to strongly advocate for a traffic circle to be tried in the next couple of years. If efficacious in reducing speed (without barring the ability for larger vehicles to pass through), we will push to have this design element included in the planned reconstruction of Genesee Park Blvd planned for 2032.

Making Magic at Genesee Park and Pioneer

At the installation in May, more than 100 neighbors came together to paint, volunteer, celebrate, and reclaim their intersection. With a vibrant burst of color and tributes to Rochester’s Flower City logo, this design transformed the space to reflect the pride and spirit of our community.

Just as the last of the paint was drying, the sky opened up with rain yet volunteers stayed to pack up supplies and help one another. The timing was eerily perfect as the design was finished! We are so grateful for the camaraderie and giving spirit of our 19th Ward neighbors.

Nothing captures the life of a project better than film. Reconnect Rochester is pleased to share this short film, produced by Floating Home Films, that tells the full story.

The Impact

But did it make a difference? YES! 

Drivers traveling above the posted 30mph speed limit decreased by nearly 18%. More importantly, the changes weren’t limited to just the fastest drivers. Speeds decreased across the entire range of drivers, especially for eastbound traffic, showing that this encouraged safer driving behavior overall rather than simply curbing the most excessive speeding.

This type of broad behavioral change is exactly what traffic engineers hope to see from “self-enforcing” street design. Research shows that by using visual cues and subtle geometric changes, projects like this encourage drivers to choose safer speeds naturally, without overreliance on enforcement to slow speeds.

Even small reductions in vehicle speed can significantly improve safety for people walking and biking, reducing both the likelihood of a crash and the severity of injuries if one does occur. 

Learn even more about the Complete Streets Makeover of Genesee Park and Pioneer

Looking Ahead

In the eight years since we began the Complete Streets Makeover initiative, we have seen time and time again when communities are given the tools to reimagine their streets, safer neighborhoods become possible.These temporary projects help city officials evaluate future investments while transforming neighborhood experiences into meaningful transportation data. 

Keep nominating intersections and trouble spots you experience in your daily travels that could use a re-design! Together, we’ll keep advocating to design our streets for people, and we’ll keep making it happen one intersection at a time.

*Community Partners

The Complete Streets Makeover of Genesee Park Blvd & Pioneer St is a collaborative venture with the following community partners:

Reconnect Rochester

The Healthi Kids Coalition, convened by Common Ground Health

Stantec

City of Rochester

Genesee Transportation Council

19th Ward Community Association

Cub Scouts Troop 1965

Southwest Rotary Club

Southwest Neighborhood Services

Trillium Health

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The Case for Open Streets

By Hendrik de Smidt

As winter loosens its grip on Rochester, I’m eager to get outside and enjoy the sunlight of longer days.  Many of my cherished fair-weather memories share a common thread: the terrace and the plaza.  Internationally, outdoor drinking and dining are cultural institutions.  Town squares and city streets around the world are packed with tables.  The air is filled with the sounds of conversation and the smell of fresh food.  City planners and community members are intentional about creating safe, calm oases within the urban context to eat, drink, walk, and socialize.

Sadly, this experience is not the norm in our city.  With so much of our public realm surrendered to travel lanes and parking spaces, there is little space left for people.  Even downtown and in entertainment districts like Park Ave, cars are prioritized while humans are pushed to the margins.  Where outdoor seating is available at all, it often encroaches onto already too-narrow sidewalks, creating conflicts between diners and pedestrians.  And if you can find outdoor seating, it is frequently located within just a few feet of high-speed car traffic, with all the accompanying noise and fumes. 

While I see this situation as a tragedy, defenders of the status quo insist that allocating valuable urban space for outdoor dining and recreation is pointless in a city like Rochester which is gripped by snow and ice for 3-4 months of the year.  While on the surface this argument sounds logical, our neighbors to the north see things differently.

City streets around the world are packed with tables.  The air is filled with the sounds of conversation and the smell of fresh food…in our city if you can find outdoor seating, it is frequently located within just a few feet of high-speed car traffic with all the accompanying noise and fumes.

Every year during the winter months, the city of Montreal, Quebec is pummeled by an average of 83 inches of snow, with average temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  To put it in perspective, that is almost as much snow as we get in Rochester with a lower average temperature!  But rather than basing decisions about urban space for the whole year on the coldest three months, Montreal has a different philosophy.  Every summer, they open up some of their most vibrant city streets for walking, biking, and outdoor dining.  Local artists and community members are called in to beautify their thoroughfares with planters, murals, and street furniture. 

Montreal has been doing this for several years, and the program is so popular (both with the public and with businesses) that it has been repeatedly extended and expanded.  This year, 8 different streets will be closed to cars, and opened to people, from the end of May to mid-October.  And it’s not just the Canadians.  This year, New York City will fully or partially close sections of over 50 streets for cars to open them for people.  This is on top of recent projects which have removed vehicle traffic from some sections of Broadway in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.

Despite our smaller population, I think this is something we could emulate in Rochester; perhaps from the beginning of the Jazz Festival in June to the end of the Fringe Festival in September.  Partnerships could be created with these festivals, as well as other events and local businesses, to active the newly available public space.  Here are my nominations for Rochester Open Streets.

Gibbs Street between Main Street and East Ave:

Located directly in the middle of the Eastman School of Music campus, this is area is the closest thing that the prestigious college has to a “quad.”  A pedestrianized Gibbs Street would act as an extension of the existing pocket park on the corner of Main and create enough space for small outdoor concerts.  It would also allow expanded outdoor seating for Java’s Café, Ludwig’s Center Stage Café, and Max Chophouse; all of which front onto this section of Gibbs.

Elm Street and Cortland Street at Parcel 5:

Parcel 5 has been growing in popularity as a venue for events and public gatherings; however, Elm and Cortland currently separate it from the nearby pedestrianized areas of Midtown Commons and The Grove to the southeast.  Pedestrianizing these two streets would connect existing assets into a proper public square with the capacity for larger community events.  It would also provide additional outdoor dining capacity for Branca, Patron Saint, and the food trucks that frequently set up shop in the area.

Park Avenue from Berkeley Street to Culver Road:

This stretch of Park Ave is home to many beloved restaurants and cafes.  While I would love to see the entire length of Park Ave receive the Open Streets treatment, this section is the most obvious and least disruptive.  RTS service could be shifted to East Ave during the window.  Alternatively, a 12-foot span in the center of the roadway could be left unobstructed to create a temporary transit mall.  This intervention would truly bring the corridor to life during some of its most vibrant months.

Which of these locations would you most like to see receive an Open Streets treatment?  Is there another location in the City of Rochester you would like to see temporarily or permanently pedestrianized?  Let us know!

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Advocacy Team Updates: Spring is Springing Edition

After weeks of collectively feeling underwhelmed by the City’s snow management, we welcome the time of year when Rochesterians bundle up for early spring walks and rides! Up until last week, a lot of our public right of way was icy and unrideable, but kudos to everyone (City and private property owners) who cleared their paths and sidewalks to make the melt go faster.

Below are a few highlights from the last few weeks in our Advocacy Team’s work!

Slowing down the roll out of Autonomous Vehicles

After Reconnect Rochester, upstate organizations and advocates highlighted the risks of a rapid roll-out of autonomous vehicles, Governor Hochul removed the proposal from her budget in her 30 day amendments. All signs point toward a continued push during the legislative session, so we’ll keep pushing our message of transparency and oversight.

Image From Dllu via Wikimedia Commons

Road Projects Toolkit and Book Talk

We held our second community conversation of 2026 with Carter Lavin, author of If You Want to Win, You’ve Got to Fight. If you missed it, watch the recording here and buy Carter’s book! We also launched the Reconnect Rochester Road Project Advocacy Toolkit, outlining some of the most useful things we’ve learned while doing road project advocacy. Take a look and give us your feedback so we can improve the usefulness of the information.

Better Buses for Rochester

Transit Awareness Month in February saw a flurry of activity. We mobilized a joint letter with RMAPI, Climate Solutions Accelerator and Healthi Kids on transit funding, attended a legislative breakfast in Albany with the State Legislature Transportation Chairs, met with lawmakers to share support for DMV Surcharge, and put out the third edition of the Voices of Transit series. To better understand RTS’s funding crunch, read the Beacon’s great overview.

Supporting Crash Victims

As a follow up, we installed a Ghost Bike in 2025 for Jerome Blocker and his family members have been active advocates with Reconnect since then. The driver of the vehicle that struck and killed Blocker, then left the scene, was sentenced this week.

Coming up next:

  • Reconnect Rochester is getting ready to fly to DC for the League of American Bicyclists Summit and we will be lobbying on capital hill for funding to multimodal transportation projects in the next transportation reauthorization bill!
  • Save the date: Weds, May 13th is NYS Safe Streets Day of Action in Albany!
  • Save the date: Thursday, May 21 – Reconnect Rochester community conversation on eBikelash!
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Launching our Advocacy Toolkit and Book Talk of If You Want to Win, You’ve Got to Fight

Reconnecters,

People power this movement for more transportation options and a vibrant community – through riding, walking and raising your voice. Your voice can make a difference speaking to your municipal, county, state and federal leaders to get improvements made to your street, bike lanes and sidewalks in your community.

But we know it can be daunting for newcomers to understand the difference between a bump-out and daylighting and any number of other bespoke transportation terms. That’s why today we’re launching Making Streets Safer and More Multimodal in Monroe County – A Living Advocacy Toolkit from Reconnect Rochester!

This toolkit is a compilation of everything we’ve found useful and important in understanding different road projects, national trends and local plans to enhance our multimodal transportation network! It contains links to other partner resources that go deep into all aspects of safe road designs for all users – from kids to seniors and every ability in between.

Why is this important to Reconnect?

All of us on staff are residents and advocates. None of us have degrees in urban planning or traffic engineering. We’re self-taught and we have lived experiences riding the bus, a bike, and walking. We all decided at a certain point that this was a topic we wanted to learn more about, and joined with others to identify a project we wanted to fight for.

In advocacy, there’s a ladder of engagement and we want more residents to be engaged, knowledgeable and powerful in advocating for their neighborhood’s needs. That means having access to the same information, resources and frameworks that we have. It’s fine if you want to trust us and copy the talking points from Mobility Action Alerts, but we also think it’s important to share the knowledge and inspiration while we advocate.

We want to hear your perspectives

Whether you spend time with this guide or not, we always want to hear from you about local projects. Send your thoughts and ideas to our email. Our input to the City, County, State and Federal partners should always be grounded in your feedback.

An invitation

Our blog and social media are great ways to share an idea you’ve had for your community. Write up a 300-500 word post with original pictures and share them with Reconnect and we’ll work with you to get your idea out there. We’ve previously featured ideas about High Falls that might get real treatments in upcoming projects, visions of Bus Rapid Transit on Lake Ave, and proposals for a mixed-use trail on the east side of Irondequoit. 

An opportunity to learn more THIS MONTH!

Join Us! Thursday, Feb. 19th, 6-8 pm

Book Talk: If You Want to Win, You’ve Got to Fight by Bay Area transportation advocate and trainer Carter Lavin. Carter has written the definitive guidebook on how to get involved in transportation advocacy – from the very first step all the way through to winning. We hope you’ll join our February community conversation.

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Kicking off 2026 with the Mayor, the County Executive and a ROC Vision Zero update

Reconnecters,

The Advocacy Team has kicked off 2026 with a slate of meetings with our local leaders to advocate for the things you care about: safer streets, more bike infrastructure, and places that feel safe to walk in.

City of Rochester Mayor Evans & New Vision Zero Report

We began with our annual sit-down with newly (re)inaugurated Mayor Evans and his newly confirmed Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Services, Kabutey Ocansey on the same day the City of Rochester officially started issuing bus patrol tickets (If you have a sec, watch the bonkers video of cars passing stopped school buses). During our meeting we focused on several ROC Vision Zero topics:

  1. We should lower the speed limit to 25 MPH in the City of Rochester as soon as possible. The Mayor confirmed the City is moving forward with this change, as reflected in the ROC Vision Zero report.
  2. The City can establish more quick-build mechanisms to quickly respond to traffic safety concerns, build confidence in ROC Vision Zero, and try new approaches to multimodal safety. 
    • We are committed to working together with the City’s Vision Zero task force to help bring national examples from Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento and even small municipalities like Keyport, NJ to the table.

You can read our Executive Summary of City of Rochester Hopes & Asks and our Budget Advocacy Letter here. 

We also followed up with Mayor Evans about the building of the Intermodal Station Bus Terminal Phase 2, which NYSDOT has funds to build and Amtrak has responsibility to operate. We understand they are working behind the scenes on several issues, but we are also advocating to NYSDOT in Albany to press forward on the design of the station.

Last week, the City also released its first ROC Vision Zero report to the community. It contains a ton of useful information about what the City, partners and community stakeholders, including Reconnect Rochester, have been doing on the initiative over the past year. We’re excited about the year ahead because the report outlines several tangible projects that residents will start to see in their communities, like protected bike lanes, pedestrian enhancements, new bus amenities, and slower speeds. Driver accountability will also take center stage this spring with more public engagement around how drivers who break the law speeding or running red lights should be held accountable.

County Executive Bello Check-In

Monroe County government has been leading the charge to encourage Active Transportation Planning, expanding how community members can report traffic concerns, and to plan for sustainability. During our meeting with CE Bello, we emphasized that now we need to amp up implementation of active transportation. Towns and Villages in Monroe County have some local roads, some county roads and some state roads, and the county maintains 664 centerline miles of roads. The CATP calls for building out a network of bike lanes, but the county budget only envisions 4 miles of bike lanes per year and 10 miles of shoulder widening to make it more suitable for biking and walking per year. At that rate, we won’t have a connected network for a very very long time! Some of the town roads are state roads, which is why we’ve put so much emphasis on building a movement for safer state roads. 

Read our full Monroe County Hopes & Asks document and County Budget advocacy letter.

For example, upcoming projects like Monroe Avenue in Brighton are state projects, and so we need those to also include active transportation features…speaking of which!

Monroe Avenue Public Meeting and Follow-up

Finally, we mobilized advocates to speak up at the Monroe Avenue project public meeting on Jan. 20th. NYSDOT officials heard from Reconnecters who are Britonians and everyone else who just likes to visit Brighton’s businesses by bike, by bus or on foot. As a follow-up to that meeting, we are calling on our advocates to send Action Network emails to the NYSDOT project managers to keep up the pressure. We have a meeting with the new Regional Director of NYSDOT Region 4 in early February where we’ll keep echoing our call for safer state roads.

Coming up next:

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Reweaving a City: Cody Donahue on Bicycles, Belief, and Building a Safer Rochester

Written by George Cassidy Payne and originally published on Medium.

Cody Donahue didn’t grow up with freedom of movement. His childhood stretched along a thin ribbon of rural highway in Oregon’s Willamette Valley — a Walmart, a decimated downtown, and three miles of empty road between home and anything else. “I didn’t have much transportation freedom in my youth,” he says. Bikes came late. Driving later. Independence arrived only in fragments.

He carried that mindset into adulthood: When work calls, a car is the simpler solution. He believed that for years” with “for years, the car was the only option to get around in rural Oregon.”

Then he moved abroad, first to France for study abroad and then to West Africa to work for a nonprofit.

In Dakar, he discovered a city humming without car dominance. People moved through dense streets by foot, bike, taxis, and informal buses called “Ndiaga Ndiayes”, an ecosystem built on proximity rather than horsepower. “Only the very rich had their own car. You could get anywhere by other means. It was a different way of moving,” he recalls.

That realization reshaped his sense of what mobility could be.

Today, as Co-Executive Director of Reconnect Rochester, Donahue channels that revelation into the city he now calls home. He chains errands, bikes to work, hops the 17 bus when the weather turns. Simplicity is the point. Connection is the ethos.

Rethinking the Urban Core

Ask Donahue what Rochester could look like without political or financial constraints, and he doesn’t leap into fantasy. He points to a real project already unfolding: the Inner Loop North redesign.

“We’re actually getting the opportunity to do this,” he says. “The project will replace a sunken, underutilized highway that disconnects neighborhoods with a neighborhood scale street grid. We’re not advocating to eliminate roads — but to create spaces where people can feel comfortable walking and biking with their families. ”

The plan envisions creating 22 acres of new development parcels in the heart of the city, with calm, tree-lined neighborhood streets, restored parks, integrated walking and cycling infrastructure, and connections to the future High Falls State Park. Each section of the 1.5 mile stretch can be somewhat different, but Donahue is excited about the possibility for mixed-use, dense development, and ground-floor businesses around our transit hubs. “We can build up around our Intermodal Station while also expanding its footprint to be the hub for intercity buses,” said Donahue of a project that has state funding and will run in parallel to the Inner Loop North redevelopment.

“This whole area is going to be a lot more vibrant and connected,” Donahue says. “The uncomfortable truth about the Inner Loop is that it was designed to bring people from the suburbs to work and then back home. It wasn’t built for city residents. This project corrects that.”

The state has already secured $100 million for construction. While timelines may shift, bidding is set for September 2027, construction begins in April 2028, and completion is projected for October 2030. Parcel development will follow over the subsequent years, reshaping not just infrastructure but the way people live and move in Rochester.

The Hidden Curriculum of Movement

“Reconnect Rochester now offers everything from ‘Getting Back on Your Bike’ workshops to school safety lessons, winter cycling training, commuter programs, and hands-on Smart Cycling classes,” Donahue says. As he scales that range — from fifth graders to downtown workers — patterns emerge.

“We’re really invested in bike education because kids should have it,” he says. “When they don’t, they develop unsafe habits and carry them into adulthood. That contributes to crashes.” Nearly half the time, the cyclist triggers the crash — not necessarily because they’re reckless, but because no one ever taught them the proper way to ride.

That lack of training intersects with a fragmented bike map.

“We have cycling infrastructure gaps we’re trying to close. The bike lane map looks like someone threw spaghetti at a wall,” he says. “Our Mind the Gap competition helps identify the highest priority connections for the city and the county to make for a comfortable bike network.”

Residents want comfort, predictability, and physical protection. That requires real design: barriers in the street, well-placed cycle tracks, infrastructure that doesn’t force riders onto sidewalks.

Culture plays a role too. Donahue and his team work with employers to add bike parking, secure racks through the city, or negotiate indoor, secure bike storage with landlords. A new downtown lunchtime learning series reaches commuters who may have never imagined biking to work. They hope to reach downtown companies with lunch and learns next year to show downtown workers just how fast and easy it is to bike to work in the Central Business District of Rochester. In May, Reconnect will again host bike to work day to reach new commuters.

Then, there is the matter of our snowy winters. “The world doesn’t shut down in the winter,” Donahue says. “I drive more, but I also take the bus more. Some fat tire bikes handle snow better. And we continue to push the city to clear main bike routes. The City has committed to studying enhanced winter maintenance, so we’re making progress.”

True cultural change, though, requires leadership.

“We’d like to see more of a culture of property owners taking responsibility for clearing sidewalks,” he says. “Madison, Wisconsin has a great approach. It’s just a different civic culture when it comes to tending to the snow.”

A Concerning Trend and an Urgent Response

The national context is grim. Pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. have risen 75% since 2010. Locally, Monroe County averages 12 walking or biking deaths per year, and 2025 has already exceeded this average at 13 as of December.

“We must do better,” Donahue says. “These are preventable losses.”

To shift that trajectory, on-street demonstration projects matter. In 2025, Reconnect Rochester launched Downtown SmART Streets, inspired by Washington, D.C. ‘s Arts in the Right of Way program. Seasonal curb-extension murals function as both art and traffic-calming infrastructure, beautifying streets while protecting people.

The 25 MPH Shift and the Politics Around It

Rochester has embraced ambitious mobility goals, Vision Zero, safer arterials, expanded bike networks, but serious injuries and deaths continue to rise.

Donahue is clear about the most actionable fix: lower the citywide speed limit to 25 miles per hour.

A municipal lawyer working with Reconnect Rochester produced a comparative analysis: Boston and Seattle implemented the reduction; Providence did not. Even without added enforcement, the cities that lowered the limit saw reductions in speeds, crash rates, and fatalities. Albany is now seeing monthly declines as well.

“The bottom line is that these programs reduce fatalities,” Donahue says. “This is our guiding star. Slower speeds save people walking to the bus, cyclists, kids — everyone.”

He insists that driver accountability must be part of the solution.

“We can stop those who have no regard for people,” he says. New York State is considering legislation to require the worst repeat speeders to drive with speed governors — devices that physically prevent them from exceeding safe limits. “These policies work.”

And the stakes are bigger than traffic engineering. “We’ve backed ourselves into a societal corner where parents don’t feel comfortable letting their kids walk down the street.”

Where Expertise Lives: Complete Streets in Action

The Avenue D & Hollenbeck Complete Streets Makeover crystallized a principle Donahue now calls non-negotiable: lived experience is expertise.

“It was our fifth complete street makeover — what we call the quadfecta, one in each quadrant before returning to the Northeast,” he says. “We sourced nominations citywide. One thing we learned from the Arnett Boulevard project is that some roads are classified by the state to prioritize vehicular traffic. So our makeovers are now looking at the most local road you can get to reduce the restrictions on what we can do.”

The neighborhood’s R-Center staff had been clamoring for improvements. Their knowledge shaped the project’s design: temporary installations, seasonal centerline flex posts, and monitored interventions. “All summer and fall, not one post needed to be replaced due to damage,” Donahue notes. “We’re conducting a traffic study on speed and turning to evaluate the effectiveness. We plan on doing new installations in new locations over the next three years.”

Complementing these interventions is a design rendering prize, offering a professionally engineered visualization to a neighborhood free of charge. Monroe Avenue in Brighton received one in 2019, now actively used in state-level advocacy to enhance safety and create more vibrant public space.

Downtown, the SmART Streets initiative extends this philosophy: seasonal curb-extension murals at East Main and Gibbs, Broad and Fitzhugh, with more to come, reinforcing walkability through public art. The work demonstrates how neighborhood input and tactical design combine to reduce risk and foster a safer, more inviting urban environment.

Influence, Advocacy, and Evolving Beliefs

Donahue’s campaigns- Intermodal Station expansion, suburban walk audits-highlight a key lesson about New York transportation politics: advocacy matters.

“I would point to a common thread: resident voices,” he says. Promoting density and mixed-use development brings daily amenities closer to homes, reducing car dependence and improving safety.

“The NIMBY contingent is usually a vocal minority,” Donahue notes. “We’re trying to promote YIMBY: yes in my backyard. Call your local officials. Tell them you want sidewalks, bike lanes, transit, more mixed use neighborhood amenities.”

A recent candidate questionnaire across several towns showed majority support for safer streets. Those elected embraced these changes. “We want people showing up to public meetings,” Donahue says. “It makes a difference.”

Reflecting on his early advocacy, he admits a lesson learned:
“Early in my career, I thought there was one right way to do things. But there isn’t. It’s important to realize we can reach the same conclusions through different methods. Live the experience of the people you’re making policies about. If you’re making bus policies, take the bus for a month. We become extremely fragmented in our lived experiences. It’s not obvious we’ll reach the same conclusion, but you have to identify your values and fight for them.”

A City Rewoven

Donahue’s path arcs from a rural upbringing to a global awakening to a Rochester in transition. Throughout, one conviction anchors him: every person deserves to move safely, freely, and with dignity.

He thinks of Dakar, where movement was communal. He thinks of Highway 20 in Oregon, where mobility required horsepower. And he looks at Rochester — slowly, collaboratively reimagining itself.

Rochester is being reweaved. Not just the roads. The relationships.

And for a city once carved apart to speed commuters, that may be the most transformative redesign of all.

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Addressing Questions and Misconceptions: A Reconnect Rochester Tabling FAQ

At Reconnect Rochester we love getting out into the community to talk about our work. This summer we gave presentations, tabled all over Monroe County, and held hundreds of conversations about mobility with supporters, skeptics, and everything in between. Among the skeptics there were a few topics that came up so often we thought it would be helpful to list them out in a blog post along with our perspective.

People on bicycles make everyone less safe.

When a cyclist is riding recklessly they are overwhelmingly just a danger to themselves. Yet the 47 deaths and more than 5,000 injuries that happen on our streets every year in Monroe County always involve cars. It is all of our responsibility to keep each other safe, but drivers have a bigger responsibility given their capacity to do harm to people and property. This is why we advocate for and implement complete streets designs on our roadways to slow down cars.

Bicycle education is a cornerstone of our work at Reconnect Rochester via our On Bike Smart Cycling Classes, Bike Education Programs, and Our Weekly Rides. Many school districts do not provide bike safety classes despite the state requirements. This leads to many kids who don’t learn the safe and legal way to ride. We aim to teach riders how to safely interact with traffic and be predictable in order to make all of us safer. A study found that nearly every road user will admit to breaking the law, though with cyclists it is often to keep themselves safe while drivers will be more likely to break the law to save time.

RTS isn’t safe.

There are millions of RTS bus trips every year in Monroe County. Less than a half percent of reported crimes take place on an RTS bus or at the Transit Center. As Misha Manjuran Oberoi wrote recently for the Democrat and Chronicle, “that’s fewer than the number of crimes reported at both schools, hospitals, bars and more.”

If risk factor is your main concern, you’re much more likely to be involved in one of the 14,000+ vehicle crashes that happen every year than you are to be in danger on the RTS buses. RTS is a great community resource and we encourage everyone to try to incorporate it into their lives when possible. The more of us who use RTS, the more it will be prioritized in transportation funding which will improve frequency and make it a more convenient option.

What about people with disabilities? How are they supposed to get around without a car?

There are many disabilities that make biking or taking the bus challenging or even impossible. At the same time, many people have disabilities that prevent them from driving but still allow them to live independently. We want to ensure that anyone who cannot drive (or anyone who just doesn’t want to) is able to move freely throughout our community. Our board member, Steve Roll, shared a powerful story about this in a blog post. After a seizure left him unable to drive for six months, biking and public transit became essential tools for maintaining his independence.

Furthermore, we have encountered many people in wheelchairs who appreciate our focus on safe streets. Our current car-centric infrastructure that relegates pedestrians to cramped sidewalks with heaved segments and poorly placed curb cuts is challenging for anyone to navigate. It is especially difficult if you are vision impaired, use a walker or rollator, or are in a wheelchair. We actually had someone put one of our Bicycle License Plates on the back of his wheelchair so he could feel safer when he is somewhere without a sidewalk (which, sadly, is true for too many of our roads). And—disabled or not—parents pushing strollers encounter the very same struggles! When we design streets for pedestrians, everyone benefits.

Why can’t you help me get a protected bike lane on my street? It’s just one street!

Many roads fall under different jurisdictions and require approval at the county or even state level to change.  We encourage you to sign up for our Mobility Action Alerts to keep you informed on upcoming street projects and receive talking points to advocate for safe streets. We really need support at public meetings! This is where most of the changes happen. 

Lastly, while protected bike lanes are great, there isn’t always space for them without drastic redesigns which aren’t always a viable option. Check out our ROC Easy Bike Map and utilize Rochester’s Bicycle Boulevard network when looking for low stress bike routes that minimize your interaction with cars.

You need to control those Veo e-scooters and you need to get them out of the middle of the sidewalk.

We support expanding transportation options for everyone, and Veo is a great choice for short trips around the city. You can grab one, ride to your destination, park it, and move on with your day unencumbered. More mobility options mean more freedom. We showcase Veo to educate people on their mobility options but we aren’t affiliated with the company and have no ability to modify their system.

Unfortunately we agree there are too many unsafe behaviors on Veo e-scooters, we have been advocating to the city and Veo to require safety education in their onboarding.

We also advise users to follow Veo’s parking rules which means out of pedestrian walkways with the kickstand engaged. We have encouraged Veo to go to a model which prevents users from parking in the middle of the sidewalk.

What’s the point of bike lanes if no one bikes in the winter?

Winter cycling is easier and more common than you may realize. Our Cycling Manager Jesse Peers wrote a great blog post about this. We encourage you to read it and watch our Winter Edition of Rochester Street Films to learn more!

No one is making you drive! Stop trying to make things harder for drivers just trying to get around.

It is worth noting that we are not anti-car. Cars are an effective tool for the right job but not every trip for every individual. Our work is focused on ensuring there are options for Monroe County residents beyond driving. Transportation options mean freedom. Freedom to choose the way you move through your day and shape the life you want to live. We deserve a transportation system with safe, connected bike routes, frequent bus service, AND roads that work for those who choose to drive.

Many people are not aware of the amount of subsidies that go into road construction and maintenance as well as gas prices; not to mention the amount of valuable public space we have ceded to storing private vehicles in the form of ample free parking. Our institutions do a lot to encourage driving and very little to encourage other modes of transportation despite the evidence that it’s cheaper to maintain road infrastructure and can improve congestion.

We are not necessarily trying to make things harder for drivers. We are pushing our leaders to consider options beyond the car when designing our communities going forward. The fact that many neighborhoods don’t have sidewalks, many roads don’t have bike lanes, and our buses only run once an hour on weekends make alternatives to driving very challenging for the 26% of city households and 12% of county households without access to a personal vehicle. When we make it easier to get around without a car, we can remove congestion, reduce collisions, and make travel easier for everyone including drivers.

You only care about bikes. What about us bus riders?

Reconnect Rochester is a multimodal advocacy organization – we have members who ride the bus every day. Transit is a big part of Reconnect’s history, including the ROC Transit Day celebration and a lot of advocacy around Reimagine RTS. We are involved in the city’s bus stop improvement project to improve amenities at hundreds of bus stops around the city. This summer we rallied RTS on-demand riders to push back on the service changes. Regrettably we were largely unsuccessful, but we will continue to advocate for better service and amenities for RTS riders at every opportunity.

A lot of transit advocacy is directed to the state and federal government so that they fund our system. On a state level our Voices of Transit program (email us at info@reconnectrochester.org if you want to participate!) tells the human stories of RTS riders to our legislators to encourage transit funding beyond car infrastructure. We are part of the New Yorkers for Transportation Equity statewide coalition, advocating for increased transit funding to improve RTS bus frequency and coverage.

We hope these answers shed light on any questions you may have about Reconnect Rochester and our work. We welcome community voice and dialogue and it’s important to us that we continue to push for change that benefits all of us! If you like what we do, we encourage you to subscribe to our email list, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Bluesky, attend one of our engagement breakfast events, and donate to support the cause!

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Fall 2025 Advocacy Updates

Hello Reconnect Advocates! We’re entering December with a renewed energy to start planning our 2026 activities at Reconnect Rochester and reflecting on our 2025 work. We’ve heard from you that you’d like more frequent updates about the issues we asked you to advocate on. Below are some happenings from the summer and early fall around key issues that Reconnect is following:

Rochester Intermodal Station Phase II Project to add bus amenities

It’s been about 18 months since your advocacy led to Rochester being awarded $18 million in the state budget to build the bus station addition to the current train station. The project is somewhat complicated – Amtrak owns the facility, but NYSDOT built it originally and NYSDOT was given the funds. At the same time, the city is undertaking a massive Inner Loop North project across the street from the facility with a lot of changes planned to the road network. We have been in touch with Amtrak & NYSDOT to urge the kickoff of this project and to keep local stakeholders involved in the planning process so we can fully realize the vision of the intermodal station. In the meantime, we are also working with the bus companies to explore ways to improve the experience of waiting for the bus in Rochester. We successfully advocated for the city to install a simmie seat and we’re trying to get additional seating at the stop.

Keep Us Safe on State Roads Campaign

You showed up to ride to Parcel 5 to call on New York State officials to keep us safe on state roads and since then we’ve been busy continuing this advocacy. For those of you who couldn’t attend, the NYS Department of Transportation sent this statement for us to read at the event, which unfortunately didn’t give them the opportunity to see the mass of cyclists who came out to push for safer state roads. Since the event, 311 people signed a letter calling on start officials to invest in safe state road infrastructure for people walking and biking and taking transit! Behind the scenes, we’ve continued to advocate for multimodal changes to Empire Boulevard, Monroe Avenue, West Henrietta Rd. and Lake Avenue. Brighton’s Town Supervisor highlighted the strong prospect that Monroe Avenue would get a road diet, and with the right lane configuration, we could even get 5’ bike lanes on both sides. We need to keep encouraging this kind of thinking for the future.

ROC Vision Zero and 25 MPH

ROC Vision Zero work has really started to get off the ground this autumn, with public engagement planned early in the new year on the automated enforcement and speed limit changes proposed in the plan. Reconnect Rochester and the Healthi Kids Coalition have consistently advocated for speed limit reductions because that policy change alone have shown immediate safety improvements across jurisdictions. The City of Rochester joined other school districts in Monroe County by implementing Bus Patrol stop-arm cameras on school buses, but there are more opportunities to ensure that drivers are held accountable for unsafe driving. Our input is guided by the Vision Zero Network’s resource called Fair Warnings, a systematic review of safety camera programs to ensure equity in implementing the program for residents. The city deployed a seasonal protected bike lane on West Main St. this year and is still putting together a protected bike lane demonstration program alongside other safety programs that will enhance active transportation and winter maintenance. 

The broader effort around 25 MPH communities applies to all the suburban towns and villages that are eligible to lower their speed limits to 25 MPH on locally-controlled roads. GTC held a regional traffic safety summit during which we exposed local leaders to the 25 MPH local law and examples in our own region that have made the switch. If you live in a suburban town or village, reach out to your decision makers to tell them you support this! 

RTS Service and Budget Crisis

In June, we shared our opposition to many of the changes that RTS was implementing to their OnDemand service and we continue to dialogue with RTS on some of their choices for that service, in particular the virtual stops. We’re concerned these changes won’t improve the rider experience, and the suburbs would probably be better served by restoring some kind of fixed route service. As we move into the new year, please reach out and let us know your thoughts about bus service in the suburbs. 

In the meantime, we are collaborating with RTS and the New York Public Transit Association (NYPTA) to try to spur more investment in public transit. Transit fuels economic activity and it returns many times over what it takes from the state. As a recent Streetsblog article highlighted, without renewed investments upstate, we’re going to be facing a crisis that could lead to service cuts.

Land Use and Zoning

One of the most common questions I’ve been asked lately is when will the Rochester Zoning Alignment Project be released back to the public. We’re not really sure, timelines keep getting delayed. The public probably won’t get to comment on it again formally before the City Council vote, but again that could change. We’ve been advocating for denser, mixed use zoning along transit corridors and eliminating parking minimums to spur housing in-fill development. The conversation really took off this year after the Sprawl Effect, including several workshops throughout the year on more inclusive zoning policies, blog posts from a Brighton Town Board member about eliminating parking minimums, and lots of conversations about the spiky analysis that Urban3 does. We would still love to get an Urban3 analysis for Monroe County and will keep working on finding funding for that in 2026. 

Federal Headwinds – Transportation Reauthorization

Finally, federal headwinds have continued to be strong all year, but they’re about to heat up for transportation. The surface transportation bill is up for reauthorization and will have a huge impact on local projects. Genesee St, for example, was reconstructed this past year with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the current transportation bill. Just over the past 3 weeks, we’ve heard reports from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that “walking and biking infrastructure” are not important federal priorities and there was a threat (later backtracked) to zero out public transportation funding. The Chair, Rep. Graves (R-Mo) gave an interview in which he said:

It’s going to be a traditional highway bill. That means building roads and bridges, laying asphalt, pouring concrete. We’re not going to be spending money on murals and train stations or bike paths or walking paths. We’re going to spend money on traditional infrastructure — that’s roads and bridges.

This process will keep going well into next year and there are sure to be twists and turns. To stay updated, please subscribe to Mobility Action Alerts, join the League of American Bicyclists Action list and watch for updates from Streetsblog USA.

Quick Hits

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World Day of Remembrance

Save the date for the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday, November 15, 2026 at Maplewood Family YMCA.

More info coming soon. Together we will remember those we have lost, support victims and their families, and discuss ways to act to improve road safety.

The World Day of Remembrance is an international effort to remember, support and act to prevent car crashes, injuries and fatalities. Every year, millions more road victims are added to the current toll of over 50 million killed and hundreds of millions injured since the first road death. As roadway deaths remain at crisis levels, with 40,990 lives lost in U.S. traffic crashes in 2023 and more than 2.7 million people sent to emergency rooms, WDoR offers a powerful chance to raise public awareness and demand real solutions. The U.S. continues to have the highest rate of traffic deaths among 27 high-income countries, underscoring the urgent need for systemic change and a reminder that safer streets are possible.

QUESTIONS?

Contact Cody Donahue at Cody@ReconnectRochester.org or 585.484.1523

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Reflecting on the 2025 Week Without Driving

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the 2025 Week Without Driving! Disability Rights Washington first launched this campaign in 2021 as a way to highlight the barriers faced by those without access to a car. By 2023, the challenge had expanded nationwide, encouraging individuals across the country to rethink their reliance on automobiles.

While we think highlighting barriers is important, we also wanted to inspire Monroe County residents to explore their mobility options beyond the car to see how “one less car trip” can be easier than most people imagine at first. As Simeon Banister mentioned in his reel on our Magic Bus day, the best way to improve our public transit is for people to “use public transit!”

We are thrilled to share that 44 participants logged a stunning 616 non-car trips for a total of 1,970. 41 non-driving miles!

Thank you to EJ Bradford for your photo submissions and detailed reflection of the week! We have included your response along with many of the comments we received from our participants below.

Biking Comments

I biked to the grocery store to get a few things for dinner and wondered why more people didn’t do the same…With the right planning, it’s actually easy, fun, AND it helps you to avoid buying unnecessary impulse purchases because you will only buy what you can carry back on your ride home!

Biked to RIT, the scariest part was being on the road on Monroe Ave in the city. Drivers aren’t cognizant or expecting cyclists on that road and many drive recklessly.

BIG shoutout to panniers. And dressing in layers. And then shedding layers and putting them in your panniers!

Home Depot on Portland Ave. was very tricky, but I managed it!

Traveling with a bike trailer is no joke! Luckily I spent the majority of my trailer laden route on the Genesee river trail. I don’t often have a need to take that trail so it’s nice not to have to feel like your competing with cars especially when carrying cargo.

I’ve decided that 104 is the devil for bikes.  The closer you get, the less bike friendly.

Took the Auburn Trail from cobbs hill to Pittsford Plaza. Not my first time on the trail, but first time using it as a way to get to those stores. Always surprises me how close they are.

Walking Comments

Lee Road should at least have a sidewalk north of Lexington to the City line with Greece where the shoulder starts. You can see a dirt path worn in and can see it on Google maps from this year. Lots of shift workers walking to and from work here.

Mixed use buildings are the way to go! Two of the five places I went were such in the same building as another one of my destinations so I didn’t even count miles for the few feet I walked.

I will carry a bookbag next. I carried shoulder bags, and it wore me out.

I love walking to my yoga class as it helps me transition from my work day to a more meditative and expansive mindset. Plus I often run into people I know, which gives me joy!

I had a lot of meetings in the downtown area today. I was surprised how quickly I was able to get there. The tricky part is all the construction going on in the downtown area but still in all a very pleasant walk time today.

Bus Comments

I was so excited to see how easy it was to get a bus to get my errands downtown done! I plan on using the same route to get to The Little this weekend! 

Well, went to MCC as usual (6, then the 13 buses). After that, took the 17 the entire route to the library for the transportation hearing (it was pretty decent, though I was the only one along with another participant), then I took a short walk to the center to then take the 6 back home.

Bus service to RIT is hot garbage, but taking the RTS 14 most of the way and biking the rest is surprisingly easy!

I head to MCC in the morning, walking to a nearby bus stop along N. Goodman. I take the 6, then the 13 (this route gets PACKED, I’m shocked it doesn’t run every 15 minutes). After my classes today, since I am NOT waiting almost an hour for the 6 (my class ends before 7 pm), I took the 41, up until the Culver Waring intersection, where I then walked a decent amount home.

Unfortunately the bus routes for me to get to most destinations I frequent are incredibly long and inconvenient because there are no direct routes. You have to go all the way to the transit center first before you can go out to a different destination. Routes need to be added that circle around the city instead of just spokes going out from the center.

I was disappointed that I couldn’t manage to get to and from work without my car. I made a few short trips by walking, and I wanted to try taking the bus to work, but my 10 minute commute would take over an hour on the bus! I realized that if I didn’t have a car, I wouldn’t be able to work at my current job. 

 I was frustrated because I had a convention center trip, which is easy by bus, but because my wife had to go to a construction site, I had both kids in the AM and I was short on time so even though its just one bus, I could not make it happen. I think I just need to spend more time planning and change the pace of life.

E-Bikes/E-Scooters

I took my e-bike to work today.  My son had a soccer game so I left work and headed to his game.  Unfortunately, I had to go up Culver and cross over 104 to get to east ridge road. Then I had to take a left on East ridge.  That whole area is not bike friendly but good news, I didn’t get yelled at by a car driver that I should be on the sidewalk.

Took an e scooter for the first time today! It was a little scary– they go so fast! But my legs were tired from an earlier bike ride so it was definitely a good alternative!

Reflections from EJ Bradford

Dressing in packable layers and having a way to store them was the biggest “tip” or “trick” I had this week. When the weather was predicted to be a low of 48/50 in the morning and then 75/80 in the afternoon, that was a big challenge for bike commuting. However, that made the bus much more appealing of a solution for me and was great when facing decision fatigue/paralysis with trying to find comfortable outfits to wear for theses commutes in highly variable temperatures.

I’m a fairly confident bike commuter, however I was shocked at how frequently the bike lane and shoulder was completely blocked by cars/construction/and signage this week. I saw plenty of “no parking” signs but it was clearly unenforced. This was both surprising and the trickiest for me this week. My bike commute is about 9.9 miles in one direction, so it’s longer than the average, but I have some very good bike lanes and options to use the Canal and Pittsford Rail Trail- I challenged myself to try new routes this week and was shocked at the lack of infrastructure.

I have walked from my office to the bus-stop that takes me direct to my neighborhood (the 41) it is about a 3 mile walk, mostly on sidewalks and fairly quiet neighborhoods. The amount of “car-centric” drivers who are shocked by this amount of walking saddens me. People are very comfortable walking that amount in parks, walking tracks, even doing laps in the mall. The social stigma of going on an hour long walk to an actual destination with a purpose in mind is a major challenge I have faced as a non-driver.

Thank you again to all of our participants!

Our local Week Without Driving initiative inspired wide local news coverage:

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Week Without Driving

Sign Up!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2026 Week Without Driving!

43 participants logged a stunning 642 non-car trips for a total of 2,362.52 non-driving miles! 

Read What They Said

Local Week Without Driving Events

10/1 Bus to the Bar

week without driving 2026 (5)

Sign up to meet us at Salinger’s (107 East Ave) by bus anytime from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. And/or join us by bus as we walk together as a group to the Transit Center to ride home.

10/7 Group Bike Ride & Ice Cream Social

week without driving 2026 (13)

Sign up for the final Flower City Feeling Good ride of the year with Reconnect Rochester and EE Pathways! Meet at Schiller Park (350 Andrews Street) at 5:45 for a fun, 7-mile group ride around downtown and the Riverway Trail.

10/8 Week Without Driving Discussion

week without driving 2026 (8)

Register to join us at this community conversation on Thursday, October 8th from 6:30-8pm to share your reflections on a week without driving in Monroe County. Learn more about our advocacy to improve transportation choices and how to get more involved.

Below are the themes we’ll explore in our daily communications for 2026

“Walk On”

Did you know 40% of car trips are under 2 miles? And that 28% are less than 1 mile? Is there somewhere you go regularly where you’d consider walking instead? If you can’t think of anywhere safe or pleasant to walk, conducting a walk audit of your community is easier than you’d think!

Tuesday – “Magic Bus”

With the cost of car ownership estimated at $12,000 a year (due to maintenance, insurance, gas etc.), the $1 price tag of an RTS trip is a great alternative. Check out the RTS routes to see if you can incorporate a bus into your travels!

Wednesday – “Watching the Wheels” 

There is so much to say about bicycling in Monroe County that we have a dedicated newsletter, social media channels, and a webpage just to index our resources. Bicycling connects communities and is great for heart health. Visit our ROC Easy Bike Map and enjoy some of the beautiful trails, bicycle boulevards, and protected lanes offered throughout Monroe County.

Thursday – “Electric Boogie” 

E-scooters are a “micro-mobility” transportation option that offer a fun, affordable, convenient way to get from here to there! Try the Veo system to scoot around within their footprint in the city of Rochester.

Friday – Your Choice

Finish off your week with your favorite mode of transportation.

Saturday – Prize Day & Advocacy

Report the number of non-driving miles and trips you have accumulated for a chance to win a prize! We’ll also fill you in on our ways to get started advocating for safer streets and more frequent public transit!

Sunday – Reflection

How do you feel about the Week Without Driving? What did you discover about yourself and your community? Want to write a blog post about it? We’ll ask to hear your thoughts!

ROC Easy Bike Map

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Using RTS

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Using Veo

DC Summit - Mary and Jahasia on Veo (3)
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Making Rochester Streets Safer for All: The 2025 Complete Streets Makeover of Avenue D & Hollenbeck

Photo Credit: De’Jon Washington

Our fifth Complete Streets Makeover project at Avenue D & Hollenbeck Street is now complete! Since 2018, we’ve partnered with Rochester neighbors to transform neighborhood intersections in every quadrant of the city. By listening closely to community voices and focusing on safety over speed, we’ve transformed these intersections into spaces where pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers can all move with greater confidence.

The Selection Process

Located smack dab in the middle of the El Camino neighborhood, Avenue D is often treated as a thruway for traffic connecting larger roads such as St Paul St and N Clinton Ave where driver speeds tend to be higher. From Conkey Ave to N Clinton Ave, a one block distance from either side of the intersection, we saw a total of 16 crashes with pedestrians and cyclists between 2014-2023 with a noticeable cluster occurring right at the intersection of Avenue D & Hollenbeck St. 

These safety concerns raised red flags for vulnerable road users passing through this intersection. The nomination for this location came from an R-Center staff member who had helped move the needle with traffic safety improvements in this area through organizing R-Center youth to lobby for temporary speed humps as a traffic calming measure along Avenue D. 

With the Avenue D R-Center, an attractive third space for neighborhood youth, at one end of the block and senior housing nearby, the Steering Committee saw a need and opportunity to protect vulnerable road users in the area. 

Getting Community Input

At a community workshop in February 2025, we sat down with residents of the El Camino neighborhood to hear firsthand what it’s really like to navigate this intersection every day. After walking everyone through the idea of complete streets and how they can make roads safer and friendlier for everyone, we opened the floor. People shared stories, frustrations, and creative ideas, and we listened closely. A visit to School No. 8 added youth voices and ideas to the mix. Then we got to work turning those hopes and concerns into concrete design features—practical changes that reflect the community’s vision for a safer, smarter intersection.

A unique element to Avenue D & Hollenbeck St is that it is an “offset” intersection as opposed to a conventional t-intersection meaning that Hollenbeck St ends at Avenue D and continues again a few feet down on Avenue D. A recurring comment from the community was that drivers cutting diagonally across the intersection when traveling along Hollenbeck St posed a high risk for pedestrians. 

Based on community input from this session, the Stantec team drafted a conceptual drawing of street design improvements. Their rendering focused on elements that could be brought to life in the temporary, on-street installation and then translated into permanent improvements. For this project, they proposed flex posts in the center of Avenue D to direct vehicles to turn right, then left, giving drivers more time to watch for pedestrians and making their movements easier for pedestrians to anticipate. Flex posts in the middle of the roadway is the first installation of its kind in Rochester. This project will serve as a pilot of this intervention to improve pedestrian safety at offset intersections.

Making the Magic Happen at Avenue D & Hollenbeck

On Saturday, June 7, the street came alive as neighbors, the school community, and community partners* rolled up their sleeves together—painting a vibrant mural (designed by Artist TaQiyya Burrs), setting flex posts in place, and brightening the block with fence art and flower planters in the adjacent empty lot.

We are continually grateful to Floating Home Films, for documenting the transformation and producing a video of the process.

The Impact

The flex posts have helped to guide drivers on how to safely navigate through the intersection. The butterfly mural helps to reinforce the El Camino neighborhood’s identity while serving as a visible reminder that streets are shared spaces. Pre and post-installation data collection showed that the roadway has seen up to 16% reduction in the average speed off vehicles traveling westbound.

Most importantly, testimonials from neighborhood residents indicated a marked improvement in safe vehicle movement, feelings of safety, and added vibrancy in and around the intersection.

The Complete Streets Makeover of Avenue D & Hollenbeck inspired wide local news coverage:

Looking Ahead

In collaboration with the amazing neighborhood team, we will continue taking action on long-term advocacy opportunities, working with community partners for as long as it takes to achieve permanent changes to further improve pedestrian safety on Avenue D.

If you have a spot where you don’t feel safe, keep an eye out for our next project when we ask for nominations from the community. In the meantime, make sure to let the county know by filling out their Traffic Safety Concern Form.

*Community Partners

The Complete Streets Makeover of Avenue D & Hollenbeck was a collaborative venture with the following community partners:

Reconnect Rochester

The Healthi Kids Coalition, convened by Common Ground Health

El Camino Neighbors

Avenue D R-Center

Northeast Neighborhood Service Center

Stantec

City of Rochester

Father Tracy Advocacy Center – FTAC

Genesee Transportation Council

Rochester Latino Rotary Club

Ibero-American Action League, Inc.

Lincoln Branch Library

Eugenio María de Hostos Charter School – Rochester, NY

Conkey Cruisers

Artist TaQiyya (Ty) Burrs

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What is NYS Doing to Keep Cyclists Safe on State Roads?

Join Us on Parcel 5, Friday, Aug 22 at 5:30 PM to Find Out!

Join us for a rally on Parcel 5 at 5:30 PM on Friday, Aug 22 to call on New York State to “Keep Cyclists Safe on State Roads!” There’s an optional group ride from Genesee Valley Park Sports Complex (131 Elmwood) that leaves promptly at 5 pm. Pre-registration encouraged!

Register

Some Background:

During Reconnect Rochester’s Ride for the Spine bike rally in 2024, one of our partners at City Hall made a passing remark that left a lasting impression: “It’s great so many cyclists turned out to hear from the Mayor, the County Executive and Congressman Morelle, but where’s New York State? They have authority over so much of this.” 

Of course, they were right: The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT)’s decision-making authority over a road project can make or break bike infrastructure choices that any local authority – whether it be the City, Towns, Villages or the County – wants to implement. Projects in our region that are building better bike infrastructure use a combination of federal, state and local funding, and the requirements – and often constraints – imposed by these funding streams dictate what is considered as feasible in the design process. While engineering guides from the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), to the AASHTO and NACTO bike guides have made momentous leaps forward, design standards used by traffic engineers at all levels of government take far too much time to adopt and implement that progressive guidance.

NYSDOT’s decision-making authority over a road project can make or break bike infrastructure choices that any local authority wants to implement.

For suburban towns and villages, the hand of NYSDOT is even heavier: state roads built before the interstate highway system designed to move freight or serve as highway alternatives are now the main streets of local communities. Unfortunately, Smart Growth America’s Dangerous by Design report in 2024 cited that across the U.S., nearly two-thirds of traffic deaths in metro areas happen on state-owned roads—often fast-moving arterials that weren’t designed for people walking, biking, catching the bus, or simply crossing the street to enjoy a coffee or get home. The burden of mortality isn’t evenly spread either: Black and Native Americans, older adults, and people walking in low-income communities die at higher rates and face higher levels of risk of becoming victims of road violence when compared to all Americans.

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To cite a recent Vision Zero Network analysis, state roads “serve very different purposes today – including local traffic, people walking and biking, school buses and delivery vans – without having been redesigned for these uses.” It is urgent for communities, therefore, that New York State officials, including planners, traffic engineers, municipal public works heads, become more responsive to the way local communities are growing and the ways the roads are used today.

That’s why this year, Reconnect Rochester is asking NYSDOT and other state leaders to speak to us about what they are doing to keep cyclists safe and build the all-ages/all abilities bike infrastructure on all roads, but especially on the state roads that are often the Main Streets of our county’s towns and villages.  We see some glimmers of a culture shift , but it will take much more to turn such a large ship. Good intentions are present throughout the Draft NYSDOT 2050 Strategic Master Plan, signs of newly prioritizing active transportation are present in the agency’s move to update a two-decade old walk/bike plan. Now is the time to reiterate to New York State: safety for your most vulnerable people using the road is safety for everyone, including drivers!

But these intentions aren’t yet fully realized: A recent Brookings Institution analysis concluded that NYSDOT is among the lowest-ranked state DOTs in the United States when measured on evidence that it is shifting its mandate from car-centric infrastructure to building and maintaining multimodal transportation systems that serve all users and responds to environmental change. As articulated in our New York Safe Streets Coalition feedback on the 2050 plan, NYSDOT can show its seriousness about its strategic intentions through more transparency, funding allocations to public and active transportation, and public engagement with local communities.

What’s at stake for Monroe County’s cyclists of all ages and abilities:

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To illustrate what’s at stake for cyclists in our community, let’s look at the map. Two years ago, Monroe County hired Toole Design to craft the County’s first Active Transportation Plan. It was very high level  and created a common vision as a starting point for discussion. The question it asked: If there was an ideal countywide bike network someday that connected towns & villages, what lines on a map would make most sense to invest in? The map below is the result.

The red circled roads are owned & maintained by NYSDOT. Thus, if our county is ever going to be bikeable (for more than just the brave and bold), NYSDOT will need to modernize the way they design and maintain roads to prioritize complete streets elements and build with the safety for all users in mind. Monroe County is working on an implementation plan for the CATP (work item 8756) that will make more specific recommendations, and we’ll let you know when there’s a chance to give public input.

Image of Lake Ave

While the City of Rochester has a lot of control over how it designs its roads, NYSDOT owns and operates portions of the most dangerous road in the city and New York State: Lake Avenue. The City has recognized the unacceptable level of road safety problems on Lake Avenue, and has put on the table the idea of reengineering Lake Avenue to be a multimodal corridor equipped with continuous bike infrastructure and bus rapid transit through the ROC Vision Zero initiative. As recent events confirm, NYSDOT’s cooperation on making Lake Avenue a safety corridor is more urgent than ever. 

A local sign of culture shift toward accommodating complete streets and active transportation is NYSDOT Region 4’s project on Route 204 – Brooks Avenue in the Town of Gates, which coincides with New York State Bike Route 5. Reconnect Rochester’s input to the project last year highlighted the opportunity to connect the City of Rochester, the Airport, Gates employers and commercial center on 33A with multimodal investments on this corridor. For this project, NYSDOT coordinated with the Town of Gates and local business partners to close sidewalk gaps, and improve bus shelters. Through a combination of shoulder widening and restriping, the project will provide 5’ minimum shoulder width through corridor (with the exception of the railroad underpass area – which is outside of the NYSDOT jurisdiction) and the installation of a refuge island and other enhancements to provide for a crossing of Rt 204 at the Canal Trail. This is the kind of attention to multimodal needs that we’d like to see on every project. 

What can you do?

The most impactful thing you can do this month is to show up to the rally on Friday, Aug 22 at 5:30 PM at Parcel 5! Even if you can’t bike that day, walk down to the Parcel for the rally! You can also sign up for our Mobility Action Alerts to learn about upcoming state advocacy opportunities in 2025-2026!

What can New York State do?

  • Adopt a “complete streets” design policy for all state road projects if the service life of such resurfacing, maintenance or pavement recycling project is at least ten years. 
  • Implement dedicated bike facilities, sidewalks, enhanced pedestrian crossings, traffic calming or road diets (where appropriate) to create safer places for ALL users of the road.
  • Build safe cycling infrastructure on Empire Boulevard (Penfield) and Monroe Avenue and West Henrietta Road (Brighton) during upcoming road projects!
  • Build a safer, multimodal Lake Avenue as part of ROC Vision Zero!
  • Create a fully connected network of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in Monroe County working with towns, villages, the City of Rochester, Monroe County and residents. Improve connectivity across municipal boundaries, between neighborhoods, jobs, and safe routes to schools.
  • Allocate more funding to active transportation enhancements on all road projects.
  • Advocate to the federal government to ensure that the surface transportation reauthorization includes bike infrastructure funding explicitly. 
Image of Empire Blvd
Image of Monroe Ave
Image of W Henrietta Rd

NYSDOT has an important strategic choice to make: Do we maintain the roads and bridges we have and add safety for all users, or do we spend our limited resources expanding highway capacity to save drivers a few minutes of time? Reconnect for one would like to see our local roads maintained and more bike lanes, sidewalks and transit stops added. We know that adding lanes induces new demand for car trips at a time when climate action demands we reduce our vehicle miles traveled, especially for short daily trips that are most appropriate for walking, biking or transit. Let’s make it safer for more cyclists to use state roads!

Take Action!

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“Keep Us Safe on State Roads” Ride & Rally August 22nd 2025

THANK YOU to all who joined us on August 22nd, at 5:30PM at Parcel 5 outside Senator Jeremy Cooney’s office. We were proud to send a strong message to New York State Department of Transportation that we need safer infrastructure on state controlled roads such as W. Henrietta Rd, Monroe Ave, Lake Ave, and Empire Boulevard.

The Monroe County Active Transportation Plan and the City of Rochester Active Transportation Plan were completed in a coordinated fashion with commitments to building safe walking, biking, and transit facilities that cater to people of all ages and all abilities. Yet in order to extend our infrastructure into Monroe County suburbs and beyond, we will need to address the many roads under NYSDOT jurisdiction that are included.

We are grateful for the 150 cyclists who attended 2024’s bike ride and rally at City Hall aimed at drawing more attention to the issue of the scattered and disconnected nature of bike investments so far and the need to change tacks, concentrating on attaining seamless and protected central axes of the envisioned Bike Spine Network in the near term.

This year, we have invited NYSDOT to tell us first-hand, “what is New York State doing to protect cyclists on state roads?” Despite the many Bike Resources we offer to encourage our community to ride, 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. 

WHAT DO WE WANT NEW YORK STATE TO DO?

  • Adopt a “complete streets” design policy for state roads and build infrastructure during regular maintenance projects. Implement dedicated bike facilities, sidewalks, enhanced pedestrian crossings, traffic calming or road diets (where appropriate) to create safer places for ALL users of the road.
  • Build safe cycling infrastructure on Empire Boulevard (Penfield) and Monroe Avenue and West Henrietta Road (Brighton) during upcoming road projects!
  • Build a safer, multimodal Lake Avenue as part of ROC Vision Zero!
  • Create a fully connected network of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in Monroe County working with towns, villages, the City of Rochester, Monroe County and residents. Improve connectivity across municipal boundaries, between neighborhoods, commercial centers, and transit hubs.
  • Allocate more funding to active transportation enhancements on all road projects.

QUESTIONS?

Contact Cody Donahue at Cody@ReconnectRochester.org or 585.484.1523

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Riding Towards Safer Streets at The ROC ‘n Roll

If you have joined one of our weekly rides, you have experienced the community and joy that comes with navigating our streets and trails on two wheels. This feeling is something that everyone deserves to experience safely. This is a big part of why we do the work we do at Reconnect Rochester. On Sunday, June 1st we will host our 4th annual ROC ‘n Roll fundraising bike ride so we can continue to advocate for robust and equitable transportation choices across Monroe County.

There are many incredible bike rides for a multitude of worthy and important causes every year, but we are proud to say that the ROC ‘n Roll is the only ride that directly benefits multimodal advocacy.

This is why we’re inviting you – our community of riders, advocates, and believers in complete streets – to join us on this ride to support this work. If there’s any reason you cannot join, we hope that you can donate to support the cause or attend the after party for riders and non-riders alike!

If you can only make one group ride this year (which we sincerely hope is not the case as we have many wonderful rides planned), we hope you can join us at the ROC ‘n Roll. 

Here is just part of what you are supporting:

  • The ROC Easy Bike Map to help everyday riders feel comfortable
  • Sparking land use conversations via The Sprawl Effect and putting a spotlight on smart land use policies as a key to transit rich communities
  • Customized bike routes for people to reach their destination safely
  • A county-wide crash map to raise awareness and support local advocacy efforts around safe streets
  • Free bike classes to teach you how to safely negotiate traffic
  • Nearly 300 advocacy meetings in 2024 contributing to make gains such as; funding a new intermodal bus station, more 15 minute service routes for RTS, bus stop improvements, building the bike spine, and ROC Vision Zero

These milestones show what’s possible when we work together. The funds we raise can continue our mission to champion transportation choice.

Here’s how you can help:

  1. Sign up to ride with a friend or a group. *Bonus points if you come up with a themed group costume at the ride*
  2. Attend our After Party with live music, games, a raffle, food & drink from Rohrbach’s Brewing Company, and a chance to link up with our county’s mobility advocates.
  3. Send a donation to show your support for our work. Spread the word on why you donated and why this cause is worth supporting. 
  4. Share this blog post with your network!

This work takes all of us. The more we grow, the more we can accomplish. We need your help; not because you’re a great rider or a generous supporter but because you get how important and joyful this work truly is. 

Now let’s ROC ‘n Roll.

If you want a more walkable & bikeable community, get familiar with the recently adopted Active Transportation Plans by the City of Rochester and Monroe County. Press your electeds to implement those recommendations. For those wanting a deep dive on how bike lanes get built and how to be a good advocate, please subscribe to Reconnect Rochester’s Mobility Action Alerts.

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Advocacy Team Key Updates – First Quarter, 2025

We’ve been busy at Reconnect Rochester since the start of the year pursuing our 2025 Plans and Priorities. Below are a few key updates on what’s been going on in advocacy, especially those projects or events we asked you to mobilize around, and what to look forward to in the next few months:

Growing Our Movement:

Our biggest goal as an advocacy team this year is to grow our base of active, informed and engaged advocates throughout Monroe County. We’re always looking for more people to join the movement – get in touch if you are interested! We have opportunities to support multimodal transportation from taking surveys to speaking to elected officials or writing letters. The easiest way to learn about opportunities is to sign up for Mobility Action Alerts and we will send actions and events you can join.

Annual Executive Meetings:

Back in January, we held our annual meetings with Rochester Mayor Evans (City Hopes & Asks) and Monroe County Executive Adam Bello (County Hopes & Asks), setting the stage for our advocacy throughout the year, including budget advocacy that will be ramping up in the City soon. See our 2025 Budget Input submitted to the City.

ROC Vision Zero:

The Beacon’s ROC Vision Zero forum was well attended with a keynote by Mayor Evans, and an expert panel we helped assemble. Reconnect Rochester is serving on the ROC Vision Zero task force and will be participating in committees on education and community traffic safety champions in March and April.

Public Input to Street Projects:

We submitted street project input on the Bull’s Head Street Project Meeting, N. Clinton Project, and Dewey/Emerson this quarter. North Clinton merits a shout-out for being an exemplary design according to the principles outlined by the City Active Transportation Plan. This project is the first design presented of the streets identified in the Federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant that was announced last year, but as we’ll elaborate more below, we’re concerned this funding could be at risk under current White House-driven reviews of projects.

Transportation Equity and Improving RTS Rider Experience:

Transit has been a big focus. We rallied support for public transit and transportation equity on Rosa Parks’ birthday, Feb. 4, sharing riders’ voices and lobbying with RTS riders in Albany. In addition, we met with RTS Leadership in late February to deliver our 2025 Hopes and Asks of RTS, specifically to urge faster progress on frequent service and address OnDemand service shortcomings in the suburbs. We hope to learn more about the results of the OnDemand survey RTS ran last month. We are also very actively inputting to the Bus Stop Improvement project that aims to put bus stop amenities at most stops in the City. Sign up for the New Yorkers for Transportation Equity local forum on 4/10 to join local advocates!

Zoning and Land Use:

We don’t know when the next version of the Rochester Zoning Alignment Project code will drop, but we have continued our focus on promoting transit-supportive land use that we had last year in our ZAP comments and Sprawl Effect Rochester Street Films Event. We’re continuing our focus on land use in the Transportation Impact Collective and partnering with Our Local History, Empire Justice Center, RMAPI, and the Climate Solutions Accelerator to deliver informational presentations to pro-housing advocates countywide.

Media Engagement:

Through our daily media monitoring, we are identifying problematic news articles covering crashes and sharing timely feedback using our Crash Reporting Toolkit as a guide.

Federal Uncertainty:

Last but certainly not least on our minds (and likely yours too) is the chaos and uncertainty set off by President Trump’s Executive Orders. Throughout the last two months, we have stayed in close contact with national advocacy groups such as the League of American Bicyclists, America Walks, and the National Campaign for Transit Justice. Focusing on just Monroe County, we analyzed USDOT memos and Trump Executive Orders and identified about $150 million of discretionary funding aimed at bike, pedestrian, transit and safer streets projects, already appropriated by Congress, announced, and some already under contract, potentially at risk through these orders. We have shared this information with Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Congressman Joe Morelle, who will be meeting with Rochester cyclists in Washington during the National Bike Summit next week. Currently, we believe White House-mandated review outcomes will be announced in April 2025. We will continue to fight for resources that were appropriated by Congress and awarded to our community to fund multimodal transportation projects.

Save the Dates!

We’re excited about several things coming up:

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Co-Leading Reconnect Rochester’s Future

Strong leadership is an essential ingredient to any organization’s success. Today, Reconnect Rochester’s Board of Directors is excited to announce the appointment of Mary Staropoli and Cody Donahue as the organization’s Co-Executive Directors. This shift to a shared leadership model marks a strategic move toward a bright future for Reconnect Rochester as we continue to champion safer, more equitable transportation solutions across Monroe County.

About Mary & Cody

Mary joined Reconnect Rochester as our first employee in 2016, serving first as Director of Planning & Development and as Executive Director for the past three (or so) years. She has overseen tremendous organizational growth, and an exciting shift from an all-volunteer effort to a staff-driven organization with seven (7) fabulous team members who handle a vast array of programming and advocacy work. 

Mary brought to Reconnect Rochester 20+ years of experience working, volunteering and providing independent consulting services to a wide range of local non-profits and community groups. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College in Human Resources & Organizational Development, and a Master of Public Administration from SUNY Brockport.

Cody has served for the past 18 months as Director of Policy & Advocacy at Reconnect Rochester. During that time, he has driven the mission forward by working with the grasstops and the grassroots throughout Monroe County to build coalitions, partnerships and authentic community engagement, and significantly expanding our statewide advocacy profile. 

Prior to Reconnect Rochester, much of Cody’s professional career was spent at UNICEF and other international NGOs before landing in Rochester where he worked for Planned Parenthood of Central & Western NY. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Oregon State University, and a Master of Arts in Sustainable Development from SIT Graduate Institute.

Why Co-Leadership?

Shared leadership models are trending in the non-profit sector, and that’s because the benefits are numerous at both the organizational and personal levels. Here are some reasons cited in our research and by the folks we talked to with co-leadership experience:

Organizational Benefits:

  • Sustainability, succession planning, continuity of the organization with two people working closely together and sharing strategic decision making
  • Covering the various functions results in more “rational, do-able job”
  • Complementary skills allow different focuses, higher skill level and leadership capacity in more areas
  • Two individuals can be “thought partners” for strategic thinking and everyday decisions, and building organizational culture
  • Coverage when someone is on leave or needs to focus on a project (balls won’t drop)
  • Nimble/respond quickly to opportunities with ability to “pass the ball back and forth”

Personal Benefits:

  • Allows for better work-life balance, lower burnout, ability to take time off
  • Burden of responsibility shared, psychological weight less when it’s “we”
  • Having a confidante to talk through everyday decisions = less feeling “alone at the top”

What Makes It Work?

Rather than rushing headlong into it, we did our research and due diligence to understand the concept of co-leadership. We spent several months meeting and learning from folks who had been in co-leadership roles to understand the benefits, cautions/pitfalls, and we especially wanted to know – what makes it work? Here are some insights we heard:

  • Shared values & perspective, approach to the organization and the work
  • Complementary skill sets & experiences to bring
  • Low ego personalities, competition/power leanings
  • Both competent (so one is not over-functioning)
  • Mutual respect and appreciation, easeful working relationship
  • Both committed/able to have frequent, candid, direct communication

As we  measured ourselves against these characteristics, Mary and Cody found that every box could be checked!

Who’s Handling What?

Something else we learned from exploratory interviews is that a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities is important to offer clarity for both internal staff and external stakeholders.

Mary’s expertise lies in organizational and administrative functions, so she will maintain a more internal focus in the areas of fundraising & development, marketing & communications, human resources, financial management, office administration, and organizational development & planning. She will also continue to lead program development, and oversee Reconnect Rochester’s on-street projects like the Complete Streets Makeover.

Cody’s expertise lies in policy and advocacy work, and his focus will remain on driving the content of our work, and representing us externally in the media and out in the community. Advocacy areas under Cody’s purview are policy & legislative expertise, data & resources, grassroots organizing, and grasstops relationship management. He will pick up oversight of our bike education & programming.

Shared leadership responsibilities will include organizational culture & team building, diversity & inclusion work, strategic planning, staff supervision, and managing “big relationships”.

What’s Next?

We get on with the work! We have built an amazing staff team, and there is so much to do to keep championing mobility and transportation in Monroe County. We’re excited to tackle it from a position of even greater organizational strength!

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Statewide Advocacy Ramps Up

Reconnect Rochester is back in Albany for a new legislative session!

On Jan 28th, we joined the New Yorkers for Safe Streets Coalition, a group of 150 organizations and dignitaries from across the State to advocate for four priority bills.

Reconnect Rochester has taken the lead on Complete Streets Maintenance, a bill that would require NYSDOT to consider complete streets design features on all types of road projects or when they receive both state and federal funding. Complete streets design features on all road projects would allow the necessary design interventions needed to enable safe access for all road users including pedestrians, people using mobility aids, cyclists, and public transit users.

Thank you to the bill sponsors Senator Sean Ryan and Assembly member Jonathan Rivera for meeting with us!

Simply put, state roads are the main streets of many of our towns and villages in Monroe County, and NYSDOT isn’t currently required to consider complete streets on their most common and most frequent types of projects. Even when towns want to improve safety, the state often doesn’t remove barriers to doing so. With NYS not currently meeting its climate law mandates for transportation, this is a cost-effective way to expand safe walking and biking infrastructure through existing maintenance routines. 

With minimal additional investment, design elements can be considered in projects that will take place in a matter of years not decades. This is how most major cities currently expand active transportation infrastructure.

NYSDOT is in the midst of updating a wildly out-of-date walk/bike strategic plan (2005 was the last update!). That plan will set the goals, but our bill is the way they can implement it. We understand it may require some process changes within NYSDOT to plan for AT infrastructure on each project and we would urge NYSDOT to show leadership on making it a best practice in the country rather than shying away from these urgently needed changes. 

On Transit Equity Day, we called on lawmakers to let us Get Around New York!

The uncertainties around transit funding, federal aid in doubt, wasteful highway spending, and our state DOT’s position at #49 for cost effectiveness did not dampen the enthusiasm of our New Yorkers for Transportation Equity coalition as we celebrated Transit Equity Day on Feb. 4th in Albany! On the 112th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ birth, we urged state lawmakers to embrace transformational policy change leading to more concrete bus, rail, trail, sidewalk, safety and connectivity improvements within and among New York’s rural, suburban and urban communities. On Friday, February, 21st we sent a formal letter to Governor Hochul’s office pushing her to fully fund public transit in New York State.

Thanks so much to Senator Brouk and Assembly Member Bronson’s teams for meeting with us on February 4th to discuss transit equity issues.

The new federal administration has already attacked funding for transit riders, seniors, immigrants, refugees, low-income and disabled New Yorkers. New York State must dramatically alter how federal funding is spent so as not to waste taxpayer dollars. Highway expansions are ineffective. Highways do not solve long-term traffic problems, they entrench archaic land-use, and they create worse traffic and transportation outcomes long-term.

We urge the State to fix roads and bridges first, reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) 20% by 2050, and invest taxpayer dollars in mass public transit, walkability, and density. 

Thank you to Senator Jeremy Cooney, Chair of the NYS Senate Transportation Committee who said, “Following the legacy of civil rights heroes like Rosa Parks, Transit Equity Day is a time to reflect on the ways public transportation fueled the progress of yesterday, while also working towards a better tomorrow. In this year’s budget I’ll be advocating for more sustainable and reliable initiatives to get New Yorkers from Point A to Point B, pushing for more funding for public transit systems, and continuing to use transportation as a means to combat poverty.”

There are proven strategies that New York can implement this year. Our state can fulfill the goals of New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and include the Get Around NY Act (S4044/A4230) in the One-House Budget this year.

Public Transportation Investments

As in past years, Reconnect Rochester met with RTS and the New York Public Transit Association’s lobby team and we support their state budget recommendations, highlighting the particular need for upstate state operating assistance to increase 15% per year. Why is this important? State funding is the largest proportion of the RTS operating budget and increases are needed to make routes run more frequently.

Senator Cooney and Assembly Member Bronson have also been highlighting the connection between transit, economic development and job access. Senator Cooney’s January op-ed appeared in statewide publications calling on the state to establish a Workforce Equity Fund of $5 million to connect workers to job opportunities and combat poverty across the state. We’d add that we should incentivize economic development projects in transit-supportive corridors (See the Sprawl Effect for more on land use). 

Supporting Local Coalitions

In addition to Reconnect Rochester’s state priorities, we’re actively participating in supporting other state coalitions:

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.