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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! We will report the number of trips and miles to the national campaign to show the collective impact of people getting around without a car nationwide.

We truly hope you have gotten something out of this initiative that you will take with you going forward. 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!

rts bus with screen that says 23 West Ave/Airport to Walmart
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The Top 10 Places Bus Riders Need To Go: Practical Ideas for RTS

By: Christine Corrado

Anyone who follows local transportation conversations has heard the same message from Reconnect Rochester: our bus system needs more funding.

They’re right.

Limited resources make it difficult to provide the kind of frequent, reliable service that Monroe County deserves. While advocating for increased investment must remain a priority, it’s also worth asking another question: If resources are limited, where should we focus them?

In addition to prioritizing bus routes and stops with high ridership we should be encouraging new riders, especially those who could opt into using the bus rather than a personal vehicle. More riders leads to higher investment and a better system overall. Why not try connecting residents to the places they depend on every day? A transit system built around life’s essential destinations would make public transportation more practical, more equitable, and more useful option for everyone.

Imagine a network where frequent and well-networked service reliably connects people to:

Retail and Entertainment

Shopping districts, restaurants, movie theaters, and entertainment venues create jobs and help local economies thrive. Transit can make these destinations more accessible while reducing parking demand and traffic congestion.

Major Employment Centers

Employers like the University of Rochester and the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester Institute of Technology, Paychex, Xerox, Amazon, Fairlife, and other major job centers employ thousands of Monroe County residents. Frequent, reliable transit helps workers reach their jobs on time while expanding employers’ access to a larger workforce.

Public Libraries

Libraries are far more than places to borrow books. They provide free internet access, job search assistance, educational programming, meeting spaces, and a welcoming environment for people of all ages. They are among our most accessible community resources.

Grocery Stores and Food Markets

Access to healthy, affordable food is a basic necessity. Frequent transit should connect neighborhoods to grocery stores, the Rochester Public Market, neighborhood farmers markets, and regional food markets so residents can shop without relying on expensive rides or carrying groceries long distances.

Government Offices

Residents need access to city, county, state, and federal offices to obtain IDs, apply for benefits, pay taxes, attend court, register to vote, and access countless public services. Reliable transit ensures everyone can participate in civic life, regardless of whether they own a car.

Schools and Educational Institutions

From pre-K and K-12 schools, trade schools, community colleges, and universities, education creates opportunities for lifelong success. Strong transit helps students, educators, staff, and families access learning without transportation becoming a barrier.

Parks, Recreation Centers, and Community Spaces

Parks, including those in the far reaches of the county, recreation centers, the YMCA, the JCC, and similar facilities support physical activity, mental health, youth development, and social connection. Everyone, not just those who can drive, should be able to reach places that improve quality of life.

Museums, Theaters, and Cultural Destinations

Arts and culture enrich our community, attract visitors, and strengthen our local economy. RTS should make it easy for residents to experience museums, performances, festivals, and other cultural opportunities regardless of income or transportation options.

Healthcare Facilities

Hospitals, urgent care centers, medical offices, pharmacies, and specialty clinics are essential destinations. Missing a medical appointment because of unreliable or infrequent transportation can have serious consequences for both individuals and the healthcare system.

Places of Worship

Faith communities provide spiritual support, social services, volunteer opportunities, and a sense of belonging. Reliable transit helps residents stay connected to communities that are important to their lives.

By prioritizing the places throughout the county (not just within the urban core) that have the greatest impact on daily life, RTS could make every service hour and mile count.

Monroe County deserves both more investment and smarter planning. But until additional funding arrives, focusing on our community’s most important destinations could help build a bus system that better serves the people who depend on it while attracting new riders.

If you believe transit should connect people to opportunity, now is the time to speak up. Share your ideas with RTS, let your state representatives know that transit funding matters, email Reconnect Rochester (info@reconnectrochester.org) and join their statewide coalition for better transit funding.

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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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RTS On Demand Changes Restrict Access to Jobs and Retail for Rochester’s Most Marginalized

The Problem: Large portions of Monroe County will not have any public transportation evenings and weekends

We are alarmed by RTS’s cuts to the On Demand service in the evenings and weekends, effectively stranding residents who rely on this service to access jobs and retail across Monroe County’s suburbs.

For residents in Greece, Henrietta, Irondequoit and other On Demand zones, trips are being restricted to banker’s hours, not hours when people need to get to retail jobs or can spend time grocery shopping. These cuts further exacerbate the declining quality of RTS’s suburban service. In our view, the changes implemented last year made using the On Demand service harder for residents with the introduction of ‘virtual stops’ and restrictive cancellation policies, not to mention more costly with substantial fare increases.

City of Rochester residents who connect to On Demand from RTS’s core service area to access jobs will now be forced to find alternative, typically more expensive, options to commute in the evenings and weekends. Residents may even suffer job loss, and certainly future job opportunities involving weekends or B shifts.

These cuts further exacerbate the declining quality of RTS’s suburban service.

This Will Affect Job Access

According to our 2018 report examining job access in Monroe County, jobs have sprawled out significantly from the City of Rochester to surrounding suburbs, particularly low-middle wage jobs that are increasingly located in job centers like Henrietta and Greece. More recent US Census data shows a continuing trend, with a 10% decline in job sites located within the city of Rochester from 51% in 2002, to 41% in 2022. The further dilution of public transportation service in the suburban mobility zones, effectively cuts off transit dependent Rochester residents from job opportunities, especially now those with any weekend or weeknight shift hours.

These cuts emphasize the need for New York State to fully fund transit in Monroe County. Since the pandemic, funding needs have not kept pace with the costs to run transit across upstate New York.

RGRTA and our peer upstate transit authorities need operating funding increases that keep pace with real costs of running their systems, as well as dedicated revenues to maintain and expand the transit service we need and deserve. With 12% of households in Monroe County and 24% in the City of Rochester without access to a personal vehicle, it is critical that Albany invests in a transportation system that gives people access to get where they need to go without a car, and essential that our transit system is fully funded in the next state budget.

In the meantime, we have strongly urged RTS, since last year’s On Demand changes, to explore returning to a fixed route service in the mobility zones that would offer better reliability to riders.

What Can We Do?

If you are concerned about the impact of these changes, and the state of public transportation in general, we urge you to immediately contact RTS and your state representatives to share how these cuts impact your life.

RTS Public Information Officer
Tom Brede
Work: (585) 654-0730
Mobile: (585) 489-4661
tbrede@myRTS.com

Find your state official and send them a letter

We are also hosting an event this Thursday night at 6:30 pm to discuss how we can win a better bus system for Rochester, precisely because the system is at risk for further cuts if we don’t act as a community to invest in public transportation. We’re inviting you to get involved to discuss your role in getting heard by policymakers to demand a robust bus system that connects people to jobs, healthcare, education, childcare and groceries.

Register

Two women sitting next to each other on a bus. One is talking while the other listens
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CAR FREE: I’ve Never Had a Driver’s License And I Don’t Want One

You may be familiar with our Car Lite blog series profiling Rochesterarians who live with little dependence (but not NO dependence) on a car.  But every so often we come across someone living entirely car free. Read about Libby’s life without a car below. We hope these stories inspire you to try out a car-lite lifestyle!

I’ve Never Had a Driver’s License And I Don’t Want One

By Libby Linn:

I have been car free my entire life. Growing up downstate I never felt any urgency to get a driver’s license. When my classmates turned sixteen, they couldn’t wait to learn to drive. I felt the opposite. My family car had a manual transmission, and without someone available to teach me, learning felt like a hurdle I wasn’t interested in clearing. I planned to stay in cities where public transportation already existed. A car simply wasn’t part of the future I imagined.

Cars always made me anxious. Then, in 2007, my brother was killed in a car crash that wasn’t his fault. That was the last straw. It’s been almost twenty years and I still have no desire to own a car.

Two women sitting next to each other on a bus. One is talking while the other listens

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. 

People assume being car-free means giving something up. In some ways, it does. I sacrifice some convenience but I save so much money. I don’t buy gas. I don’t pay for insurance. I don’t pay for maintenance, repairs, parking tickets, registration, inspections, or car payments. To me, owning a car sounds expensive and exhausting. People don’t seem to understand the economic toll this takes, it blows my mind.

When I moved to Rochester in September 2020 for a job I found that RTS is not the quality I’m used to but it mostly works for me and what I need. I’ve intentionally centralized almost all of my healthcare near Alexander Park so I can ride the Park Avenue bus and walk the final few blocks to my appointments. My therapist meets with me online. Walmart delivers my groceries.

Despite its shortcomings, I believe RTS deserves more investment. How else can it get better?

When I look for work, I first ask whether it’s within walking distance or accessible by a single bus (usually bus 10 or 41). I’ve had two previous jobs in College Town because the 41 made them practical. I’m starting a hospitality course at the Rochester Educational Opportunity Center, something made possible because the Route 10 gets me there. I’d love to work in a hotel, which means I apply only to hotels I can reasonably reach by transit or on foot. The Strathallan became one of those opportunities simply because I can walk there.

To get to my church on South Winton, I ride the 10 as far as East Avenue Wegmans, then walk the rest of the way over the hill. I love Route 41 because it travels across the city without requiring a trip downtown, connecting neighborhoods directly.  Recently I covered an event at Artisan Church near Highland Park. I walked from my apartment on Park Avenue to Goodman Street, caught the Route 41 Crosstown bus, got off near Clinton, and walked the rest of the way. I’m a big walker. I like that it keeps me healthy.  Walking to catch a bus doesn’t bother me; it’s just part of my routine. 

My biggest frustration isn’t riding the bus. It’s where the bus doesn’t go. Rochester’s buses often require riders to funnel through downtown before reaching another destination. Some places depend on RTS On Demand, but I don’t find that system convenient enough to rely on.  I could easily work in retail, I just can’t realistically get to Eastview Mall. Despite its shortcomings, I believe RTS deserves more investment. How else can it get better?

I only use Uber as an absolute last resort. For special events, I’m happy to carpool if that’s an option but if I can’t make it then I just won’t go. This is a lifestyle choice that I’m comfortable with because I don’t feel safe driving. Honestly, I have trouble feeling safe in Rochester as a pedestrian too. I walk around a lot and see people flying through red lights. Drivers seem careless. I don’t love walking through it but you’ll never find me driving.

There are other people in my building like me. People may be surprised to hear how many of us are car free in Rochester. I’m not waiting until I can afford a car. I’m choosing not to own one. And despite the challenges, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

At Reconnect, we’re inspired by the stories of people in our community, like Lorie Reilly, Charles Rubin, and Josie McClary, who are passionate about living a car lite or car free lifestyle.  If you want to support our work and make it easier for others to go car lite please donate and sign up for Mobility Action Alerts to stay in the loop with opportunities of how to advocate for safer streets and transportation options.

Let us know if you want to share your mobility story! What’s in it for you? The intrinsic reward of knowing you’ve inspired others, and a free t-shirt from our online shop! Contact Chaz to submit your story. 

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CAR FREE: I’ve Lived for 16 Years without a Car

You may be familiar with our Car Lite blog series profiling Rochesterarians who live with little dependence (but not NO dependence) on a car.  But every so often we come across someone living entirely car free. Read about Lorie’s journey without a car for more than a decade below. We hope these stories inspire you to try out a car-lite lifestyle!

I’ve Lived for 16 Years without a Car

By Lorie Reilly:

I was living in Boston, MA sixteen years ago when I sold my car and decided to adopt a car free lifestyle. When I moved to Rochester in 2022, I wanted to bring that lifestyle with me, but I didn’t know how that would pan out in a smaller city with limited transit options and much lower density.

While living in Boston, I had learned to tailor my life to the places I could get to without a car, to feel confident cycling on city streets, and to embrace being outside in all kinds of weather. I had the fitness level required to move about under my own steam, and I was fortunate enough to have a job that had transitioned to being fully remote during the pandemic. These were the skills and circumstances that I was counting on to help me transition from Boston to Rochester without a car.

1) Did my car free lifestyle survive the move from Boston to Rochester?

Yes, definitely!

Here are the key factors for making this a successful experience for me:

  • Finding an apartment in a neighborhood that has commerical, financial, and medical resources all within walking and biking distance–this is THE primary ingredient, and it’s one of the reasons why mixed-use neighborhoods are so important.
  • Learning about the bike boulevards and off-road trails that circumvent the busier roads
  • Bicycle repair shops within walking/biking distance
  • Learning how to change my own flats at a workshop offered by the Rochester Bicycling Club
  • A transit system that takes me to places further afield
  • Having another friend who is car free–he gives me tips about gear and routes and inspires me.

2) Have I wavered on being car free since moving to Rochester?

Not one bit. I’m as firmly committed as ever to life without a car. I honestly feel lucky to be able to walk and cycle everywhere. I’ve never liked sitting in a car and seeing the world from a small window while stuck, immobilized, in a position that hurts my back and cramps my legs. I enjoy taking my time to get somewhere while noticing babies in strollers, ants on the sidewalk, snow on branches, birds building nests, and more, so much more. When I look at the world from a car, I feel separated from the sensory experiences of where I am, as if I’m viewing it all through a TV screen (PS: I don’t have one of those, either).

3) Can I get to everything I need/want to get to?

NEED: Yes! When I moved here, I had a checklist of things I needed to be able to get to within my walking/cycling radius (food shopping, pharmacy, doctor’s office, bank, fitness center, library, farmers market, train station, etc.), and I was lucky enough to find a location that checked all the boxes.

WANT: When you live a car free life, you learn to think differently about where you want to go. I live within a smaller radius than a typical car owner, but I have discovered the pleasures of living deeply within my 10-20 mile radius, and this gives me a wonderful sense of being rooted in the community. Instead of waking up on a Saturday and planning a day trip to a location 120 miles away, I’m content to plan an afternoon at Cobbs Hill or the Rochester Contemporary Art Center. It’s kind of like the refrain of that song “love the one you’re with”–you find the joy where you are rather than chasing it over the next horizon. And Rochester has a LOT of local joy to offer.

4) Does it take longer to get places?

Yes, but when walking or biking, 90% of the joy is in the journey–moving my body, seeing and interacting with what’s around me, savoring the fresh air and the big skies overhead. Going on an errand becomes an adventure as well as a work-out, and I never need to worry about parking. Not using a personal vehicle puts a limit on the number of places I can go in one day and the number of things I can carry, but for someone trying to live in the slow lane and travel more lightly, these are good things.

5) Which of my car-free adventures in Rochester has raised the most eyebrows?

  • Walking home six miles from the airport
  • Dropping off electronic waste from the back of my bike at the drive-thru EcoPark
  • Walking to the post office when it was 2 degrees outside

6) 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

7) What about the winter?

When the roads are icy or snow-covered, I rely on walking to get where I need to go. I bundle up, strap some spikes onto the bottom of my boots, and then plunge out into whatever winter weather awaits. I love the feeling of getting my body warmed up through brisk activity in cold temperatures. It’s like having my own little portable furnace inside my coat. And then of course, coming home to a warm house feels heavenly. Rochester has a wide variety of ever-changing weather, and I use each flavor as an exercise in mindful awareness, of waking up to what it’s like to be alive: “Ahhh, this is the feeling of spring rain on my face.”

8) Biggest car-free travel adventures while living in Rochester?

  • Taking the Greyhound bus to Buffalo to see an art exhibit at the AKG Art museum.
  • Taking the train to Montreal to see my daughter–which involved staying overnight in a closet-sized AirBnB in Toronto to catch the connecting train the next morning.

9) Biggest car-free surprises in Rochester?

  • The #23 bus to the airport for all of one dollar
  • Discovering like-minded people via Reconnect Rochester
  • Having folks call out a friendly greeting from their front porch even though I’m quite removed from them as I bike in the street or walk on the sidewalk. (That never happened in Boston!)
  • A clerk thanking me for riding my bike to the store

10) Why do I do it? When I first sold my car, it was part of a list of changes I made to reduce my carbon footprint, but since then, I have discovered so many benefits to living without a car:

  • Being out in the fresh air and getting lots of exercise
  • Saving a TON of money
  • Avoiding all the logistical hassles and stresses involved with owning and driving a car
  • Enjoying the challenge of figuring out how to get places–it’s a fun puzzle for me
  • Living a hyper-local life which has deepened my relationship to where I live
  • Moving mindfully and intentionally as I go places
  • Having a reduced number of choices to make–that small radius I mentioned above–which can be liberating
  • Exchanging smiles, greetings, and conversations with people I encounter
  • Stopping to enjoy the unexpected things I find as I walk or bike places.

People often think that I’m living a life of hardship and sacrifice–but I feel very fortunate to be living without a car. For me, living car free is an integral part of living my best life.

If any of this sounds like something you might want to try, start by simply replacing a small number of trips per week with an alternative mode of transportation. See how it goes, experiment, and discover what interesting adventures might await you!

At Reconnect, we’re inspired by the stories of people in our community, like Charles Rubin, Leverett Copeland, and Josie McClary, who are passionate about living a car lite or car free lifestyle.  If you want to support our work and make it easier for others to go car lite please donate and sign up for Mobility Action Alerts to stay in the loop with opportunities of how to advocate for safer streets and transportation options.

Let us know if you want to share your mobility story! What’s in it for you? The intrinsic reward of knowing you’ve inspired others, and a free t-shirt from our online shop! Contact Chaz to submit your story. 

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Centering Community Voice and Equity in Automated Safety Cameras

The City of Rochester is hosting a series of public meetings to gather input on the potential use of automated safety cameras to enforce traffic laws as part of the City’s ROC Vision Zero initiative.

Automated traffic enforcement programs have expanded in New York State in recent years thanks to better technology and their demonstrated ability to reduce traffic crashes and hold drivers accountable for reckless driving. Safe streets advocates across New York have called for continued and expanded camera programs because they have been shown to be effective at saving lives.

Rochester and Monroe County school districts have been rolling out bus stop-arm cameras in recent months, using the technology to protect children as the most vulnerable road users. School zone speed cameras were launched in Syracuse and Albany last year and New York City’s school zone speed camera program expanded last year.

As a member of the ROC Vision Zero task force, Reconnect Rochester has championed taking a holistic approach to traffic safety, one that includes multiple solutions: placing a high priority on infrastructure changes to the built environment, lowering the city speed limit to 25 MPH, and educating drivers on safer driving. Along the way, we have been centering the perspectives of people who walk, bike and take transit, including the 24% of Rochester households who don’t have access to a personal vehicle.

The safe systems approach that underpins Vision Zero recognizes that enforcement has a role to play in curbing traffic fatalities. At Reconnect Rochester, we have centered the word “accountability”, and specifically, accountability for drivers who are operating a large, heavy machine with the ability to seriously injure and kill people. Accountability that would, if done correctly, create a change in driver behaviors so that speeding, red light running, and ignoring pedestrians in crosswalks no longer figure into Rochester’s driving culture.

According to data cited by AARP, speeding is involved in approximately 29% of motor vehicle fatalities, while 28% of deaths at signalized intersections result from running red lights. In 2023, these behaviors accounted for 11,775 speeding-related fatalities and 1,086 red-light running deaths. According to analysis by New York Families for Safe Streets just 1% of vehicles in New York State get more than 6 automated camera violations per year (where the technology is currently deployed) suggesting very, very few drivers are racking up automated tickets and putting their community in danger. This is good news because what we need is behavior change, not punishment.

The City is now asking residents to weigh in on what would make an automated safety camera program equitable, fair and effective at curbing unlawful driving. It’s essential that community voice is centered in this process, and we hope you will engage and share what you think would be fair and equitable ways to roll it out.

As we’ve worked through Reconnect’s perspective, we have relied heavily on Vision Zero Network’s Fair Warnings: Recommendations to Promote Equity in Speed Safety Camera Programs to learn from other cities about what did not prove effective or equitable in the roll out of camera programs elsewhere. As the report states, “Speed safety camera programs — when well designed, operated and monitored — are effective at deterring people from speeding, thereby reducing crashes overall and lessening the severity of injuries when crashes occur. They are widely used internationally and in more than 240 communities in the United States.” However, in the context of a transportation system and community like Rochester, with longtime structural inequities based on race and economic status, equitable roll out and operation deserves our dedicated attention.

This current community input effort is critical to involve voices from neighborhoods that are most affected by traffic crashes to have a say in how the program is set up. Based on lessons from other cities, we believe Rochester can avoid unfair pitfalls by:

  1. Finding an equitable pattern of distributing cameras so that enforcement isn’t concentrated in certain areas of the city, but every neighborhood has some degree of enforcement.
  2. Ensuring that all funds collected by the program go, after program expenses, back to the ROC Vision Zero program to enhance traffic safety in our neighborhoods.
  3. Giving residents the opportunity to challenge tickets, review the video evidence, and appeal for alternatives to payment, if necessary.
  4. Providing transparent data sharing on tickets issued, locations, and revenues.

Since Rochester has to follow New York State precedent, some of this is set in statute. For example, tickets start at 11 miles an hour over the posted speed limit, which we hope Rochester sets at 25 MPH citywide by the end of 2026 and the maximum ticket is $50 per violation. No additional fees can be imposed. A 2021 law change meant that camera violations can’t result in points on the license and are a civil penalty against the vehicle owner, so no license suspension is possible. Drivers can still drive to work.

Some advocates have asked: “Why shouldn’t we focus on the highest-injury roadways and not put cameras where there are lower injuries and fatalities?” We followed that logic with the City’s red light camera program a decade ago, and that resulted in placing cameras almost exclusively in neighborhoods with the highest concentration of traffic fatalities, which also corresponds with the neighborhoods with the highest concentrations of poverty and black and brown residents. We believe a citywide approach would be more equitable and ensure a wholesale change in driver behavior.

Next steps:

Join one of the Public Input Sessions and make your voice heard.

Attend a Meeting in Your Neighborhood:

  • 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 28 – Willie W. Lightfoot R-Center, 271 Flint St. 
  • 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 29 – Carter Street R-Center, 500 Carter St. 
  • 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 12 – Edgerton R-Center, 41 Backus St. 
  • 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 13 – Thomas P. Ryan R-Center, 530 Webster Ave. 
  • 11 a.m. Saturday, May 16 – Gleason Auditorium, Central Library, 115 South Ave.
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Reconnect Rochester’s New Bike Infrastructure Grading System

by Jesse Peers, Cycling Manager

Skip to Grading

As Reconnect Rochester has grown over the years, we’ve gotten better and better at getting residents engaged during the public input process for road projects. We get the word out about public meetings and open houses. (Subscribe to our Mobility Action Alerts!) We post the proposed designs on social media, encouraging residents to submit feedback. We equip the public with potential talking points. We encourage folks to show up in droves to meetings to outnumber the naysayers (it really makes a difference!). We’ve even started using petitions folks can easily and quickly sign onto.

As one City Hall staffer told us years ago, “Bike advocacy is changing the way street design is conducted in Rochester.”

But after the last public meeting where the “final design” is unveiled (after which sometimes changes are made), things go silent. After construction is completed, there are rarely ribbon cuttings or press events. No parties or celebratory rides where residents are invited to bike it with City staff. People just happen upon new infrastructure on their own. No mechanism is in place either for the City to receive feedback about their work.

Reconnect Rochester thought it was time for a simple grading system for completed road projects; a means by which residents can assess a new segment’s bike-friendliness and grade various styles of bike infrastructure in different contexts.

But first…

Before we dive in, however, I need to briefly address a common refrain we’ve heard over the years: “If it’s not a protected bike lane, it’s not worth riding in,” and its cousin: “Paint isn’t infrastructure.”

Reconnect Rochester just doesn’t believe that. No one will deny that protected bike lanes are safer, attract more ridership and generate more bike trips. That, of course, is what we’re after! But we must acknowledge too that CONTEXT MATTERS and that the outcome sometimes depends on whether a road project is a rare reconstruction or standard milling & repaving project. A conventional painted bike lane on a road with low traffic volumes and slow motorist speeds is rideable for many people. On the other hand, a conventional painted bike lane on a road with high traffic volumes and high motorist speeds isn’t rideable for many people. Furthermore, as we’ve noted before, “Though not all bike riders will be comfortable riding along bike boulevards, most people find them manageable, even pleasant to bike along.”

Notice the popularly-used diagram above is about *perceived* safety, not actual safety. Motorists drifting into shoulders/bike lanes and hitting cyclists is very, very rare. On the other hand, motorists hit sidewalk-riding cyclists everyday.

Even the most progressive bicycle planners from Europe contend: With 25mph speeds, “painting a lane is an acceptable solution. When speeds hit 30mph, it’s time for hard separation from motorized vehicles.” Once vehicle speeds reach “43mph or higher, there is only one goal: getting cyclists as far away as possible from motorized traffic.”

Reconnect Rochester’s grading system

Everyone’s experience and degree of comfort along various bike facilities is different. And that’s okay. We’re proud to present Reconnect Rochester’s custom grading system below, along with penultimate examples for each tier in my opinion. If you’d grade these examples differently, that’s fine, indeed expected. That’s why we’re grading each project collectively and taking the average.

In my view, with the exception of trails, 5-Star Bike Infrastructure in Rochester is rare. But we do get something every once in a while.

Google Maps shot of the temporary Jersey Barrier protected bike lane we had in 2022

The flex posts Broad Street used to have before they were put away for the season & lost, courtesy of The Urban Phoenix

North Chestnut Street, the way it used to be before its seasonal flex posts were lost

The South Ave raised cycle track (by Highland Bowl), a place where that treatment works since development is sparser

The new side path along East River Road in Henrietta works very well in this context. Well done Monroe County DOT!

Nothing exemplifies 4 stars like raised cycle tracks in places where they just don’t work: frequent/short driveways, many side streets and parking lot exits, buildings close to the street.

Three shots of the raised cycle track on East Main Street between Goodman & Culver

For the most part, when there’s one motor vehicle lane in each direction and conventional bike lanes on each side (and traffic isn’t too bad), I’m giving it 3 stars. Bike boulevards too.

Conventional bike lane Downtown on Andrews Street outside Harro East

Bike Boulevard roundabout in the Homestead Heights neighborhood of Rochester

When there are brief bike lane disappearances or when a continuous lane is next to multi-lane traffic in an urban context, that’s 2 stars. As an experienced cyclist, I can bike these just fine but definitely see why others are turned off.

Disappearing bike lanes on Culver Rd approaching Park Ave & East Ave

Bike Lane on East Main Street between Union & Goodman (by the Auditorium & Armory)

Something is better than nothing. But my heart goes out to anyone having to use this.

Bike Lane on Jefferson Road in Henrietta

I avoid these like the plague. Rochester’s most dangerous roads look like this.

Upper Falls Boulevard in Rochester

We need your help!

Over the course of the peak 2026 riding season, one by one over 2.5-week stretches, we’re going to ask those that are comfortable to ride these recently completed (2023-25) road projects once in each direction, preferably on your own, and tell us your grade for each completed stretch. (Spend some money at a local business while you’re at it, telling them you appreciate bike lanes!) We’ll take the average grade for each project and communicate that to City Hall. Hopefully this feedback will move the needle towards infrastructure that gets more residents on bikes and generates more bike trips.

Ride each of the following stretches and submit your grade whenever you want. For social media purposes, however, we’re focusing on each road project for a 2.5-week period – just to ramp up ridership and attention.

Submit your grade
Submit your grade
Submit your grade
Submit your grade
Submit your grade
Submit your grade
Submit your grade
Submit your grade
Submit your grade
Submit your grade
Submit your grade
Submit your grade

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Announcing the Locations for our new Downtown SmART Streets Project

In June 2025, we launched our Downtown SmART Streets project with two on-street installations that boosted pedestrian safety and attracted media coverage. We had a great time collaborating with local artists to design and install murals for our seasonal curb extensions at E. Main & Gibbs Street as well as Broad and Fitzhugh.

The main goal of curb extensions is to slow down turning vehicles by narrowing the space available and shorten the distance that pedestrians have to interact with cars in the road. Following the installations, more than two-thirds of survey respondents said they felt safer crossing at these intersections. Perceptions of safety emerged as the strongest indicator from last year’s project that the improvements are making a difference while adding a splash of creativity to downtown Rochester.

Using lessons learned from last year’s debut of the project, our Community Advisory Committee (CAC) met again in late 2025 to walk through downtown and assess potential locations for the next two installations. As we explored the streets together, we discussed areas with safety concerns and places with the greatest potential for improvement. We also considered pedestrian and vehicle traffic, along with proximity to busy downtown spaces.

Without Further Ado, Our Selections!

Woodbury Blvd & St Mary’s Place

And

S. Union, Savannah, & Canfield Place

Why Woodbury Blvd & St Mary’s Place?

Woodbury and St. Mary’s offers a clear opportunity to redesign the streetscape and better allocate space. Plus three of the four corners of this intersection are home to Washington Square Park, Geva Theatre, and St Mary’s Catholic Church; with all the various programs that draw people to those places.You can also find Fuego Coffee just a hop skip away. This project will create a more comfortable crossing for the many visitors and downtown residents who pass through the area on foot.

Why S. Union, Savannah, & Canfield Place?

While we love the Union Street cycle track, this long, unsignalized, stretch of road offers little to deter high driver speeds. In turn, residents of S Union Street apartments, Strong Museum of Play visitors, as well as customers walking or rolling to places like Spotted Octopus, Fattey Beer Co, or Nerdvana, often struggle to find safe gaps in traffic when crossing.

These concerns became even more urgent after a tragic hit-and-run pedestrian fatality in June 2025.  A driver hit 70 year old Henry “Hank” Brown, long time doorman at Salinger’s, while he was crossing S. Union walking home from work. This tragedy was a factor in including Canfield intersection where Hank was hit and killed, in the project area. While the west side of the intersection already has a substantial bump-out, the east side could be improved to harden daylighting zones and prevent illegal parking.

Next Steps…

The design team at GPI is creating renderings to redesign the project area for a safer and smarter street. Renderings for both locations will be reviewed by Rochester’s Traffic Control Board. Once the street safety design and artwork for the murals receive proper approval, we will gear up to bring these concepts to reality this spring/early summer!

We need volunteers for this project! Want to help us paint?! Reach out to project manager, Lourdes Sharp (Lourdes@ReconnectRochester.org, 585-210-9716) to explore opportunities.

We will also be updating the paint and reinstalling the delineator posts for both of our 2025 installations at E. Main & Gibbs Street and Broad and Fitzhugh! Have you visited one of these  installations from last year? Let us know what you think!

*Community Partners

Reconnect Rochester

The Healthi Kids Coalition, convened by Common Ground Health

GPI

City of Rochester

Genesee Transportation Council

Dunwoode Design

Buckingham Properties

Downtown ROCS

RDDC

With generous funding from ESL

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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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Where Rochester’s Cycle Tracks Fall Short

The City of Rochester installed its first raised cycle track on Lake Avenue in 2016 beside St. Bernard’s Seminary and the Holy Sepulchre/Riverside Cemeteries. Since then, raised cycle tracks and doublewide sidewalk “trails” such as the Eastman Trail along Ridgeway, have become the City’s go-to protected bike infrastructure. Raised cycle tracks and “trails” like Eastman are separated from the street and “above” the curb next to the sidewalk. Our friend The Urban Phoenix has done a great job examining these and his thoughts are a great complement to what follows.

Bike and scooter riders of all ages and abilities tend to be comfortable on those cycle tracks and this is great! Reconnect Rochester’s historical preference for most City streets, however, has been for protected bike lanes in the street – the gold standard we see in great cycling communities who really grow their ridership. Well-designed raised cycle tracks have their place in some settings, especially for suburban higher speed roads, which we’ll get into in a future blog post.

Rochester’s Union Street cycle track (“above” & outside the street at sidewalk level)

If Rochester’s ideal Bike Spine Network is composed primarily of cycle tracks constructed during very rare, very expensive Reconstruction projects, we won’t have the Bike Spine Network in 100 years.

Rochester installed some protected bike lanes with bollards/posts on Broad Street and Chestnut ~2017. The bike community was excited, expecting those to be the forerunners of many. But the bollards/posts went missing, we never saw any more protected bike lanes and started seeing a regular dose of raised cycle tracks next to the sidewalk instead. There are 8 recently completed or in-design projects with cycle tracks. Some cyclists have grown concerned that City Hall has developed a raised-cycle-tracks-or-nothing philosophy when it comes to protected bike infrastructure. Fortunately, that seems to be changing. More on that in a bit.

The primary drawback of raised cycle tracks is cost: They’re typically only feasible during rare Reconstruction projects, which come along (if you’re lucky) once a lifetime to a given stretch of road. If Rochester’s ideal Bike Spine Network is composed primarily of cycle tracks constructed during very rare, very expensive Reconstruction projects, we won’t have the Bike Spine Network in 100 years. This goes against the recommendations and spirit of the City’s 2023 Active Transportation Plan, which urges concentrating political will on achieving that Bike Spine Network in the near term.

Luckily there is a cheaper way to build the bike spine: The lower hanging fruit when it comes to bike infrastructure is cheaper, routine preventative maintenance (resurfacing) projects, which roll along every few years and allow for space reallocation between curbs. This is where protected in-street bike lanes become possible, provided the design allocates the space to the bike lane.

This is also where things get thorny: We’d contend that there’s often room for protected bike lanes on many roads. But there’s often not room for both protected bike lanes and on-street parking. This trade-off and elephant in the room can’t be ignored. Along those proposed spines, the safety and comfort of vulnerable road users must override free on-street parking, especially in light of safety initiatives like ROC Vision Zero. If a City reconstruction project comes along to widen a road and enable both on-street parking and protected bike infrastructure, great. Safety above all in the meantime.

For the above reasons, these two tenets hold true:

  • Sidewalk level cycle tracks don’t require confronting bad driver behavior and take more money and time.
  • Protected bike space in the street confronts driver habits (like illegal parking and speeding) and is cheaper and faster to implement.

Other concerns about raised cycle tracks

Cycle tracks might subtly convey to motorists that cyclists shouldn’t ride in the road. Raise your hand if you’ve been yelled at by a motorist to “get out of the street” and “ride on the sidewalk.” Cycle tracks feed this thinking and are seen by some as bowing to car-dominance. Great cycling cities challenge that car-dominance.

So many cyclist crashes in Rochester involve sidewalk-riding cyclists. Raised cycle tracks are not much different than sidewalk-riding and they open riders up to some very common motorist mistakes, especially locally. Motorists pulling out of driveways and parking lots tend to pull right into the sidewalk/cycle track area as they wait for a break in traffic. (They’re required by law to come to a complete stop *before* the sidewalk and only creep up for a better view once they know it’s clear. Very few drivers do this). Bike riders in protected bike lanes are more visible and predictable in the street than they are outside the street.

Raise your hand if you’ve been yelled at by a motorist to “get out of the street” and “ride on the sidewalk.” Cycle tracks feed this thinking and are seen by some as bowing to car-dominance.

The line between sidewalk and cycle track have blurred in recent Rochester projects, which is concerning. See the new doublewide sidewalk on University, the shared path on State Street by MCC and the way cyclists are supposed to go up on the Culver sidewalk now over 490.

Cycle tracks, especially bidirectional ones on one side of the street, often create awkward, unintuitive, inconvenient, sometimes scary transitions when they end abruptly or switch sides of the road. See Elmwood/East Drive or Union/University for examples. (When regular bike lanes end, you just keep going straight).

Though this has gotten better, Rochester has a less-than-stellar record when it comes to curb cuts and smooth transitions for raised cycle tracks. Constant curb cut riding isn’t required when riding in the road.

As the cycle track on East Main Street has taught us, if a resident has multiple cars parked in their driveway, the cycle track is blocked and unusable. Garbage cans, hot dog stands, anything really – can make cycle tracks unusable.

Though Rochester doesn’t clear its bike lanes of snow (they’ve got a plan for (studying) that), at least the responsibility for keeping roadway travel space is clear: the owner of the road. With cycle tracks, it’s ambiguous who should clear the snow. Property owners are responsible for clearing sidewalks of snow, but not the cycle track right next to the sidewalk.

Here’s a much bigger picture problem: Raised cycle tracks don’t calm traffic. Studies are clear that protected bike lanes in the street calm traffic and make everyone on the road, including drivers and car passengers (!), safer. It’s evident to us that this doesn’t apply to raised cycle tracks, when unaccompanied by changes to the street itself. See Lake Ave, which leaves the road entirely to motorists. Is Lake Ave calmer and safer as a result of that raised cycle track? Nope. It’s still a dangerous speedway.

In sum, Reconnect Rochester would love to see more in-street protected bike lanes. They really drive up ridership, create less conflicts, and it’s the cheaper, faster way to realize the City’s vision. We’re excited for the City’s upcoming Protected Bicycle Lanes Demonstration Project, which will “trial a number of semi-permanent barriers…that can be left out during the winter season. These barriers will be evaluated on cost, their ability to create safe cycling infrastructure, their resilience to snow plowing, and their ease of maintenance.” These demo protected bike lanes are expected in 2027 on St Paul, State Street, Ford Street and East Avenue.

For a taste of what’s in store, check out the new protected bike lane segments on West Main Street! This seasonal barrier should be reinstalled in April.

Rochester Complete Streets Makeover 2019
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Announcing the Winner of our 2026 Complete Streets Makeover

Reconnect Rochester’s Complete Streets Makeover project transforms a neighborhood intersection through a temporary installation designed to make it safer for everyone passing through, whether on bike, on foot, or in a car. We selected the winning location for our 6th project from a pool of 48 trouble spots that community members identified as places in your daily travels where you don’t feel comfortable walking or biking. After carefully evaluating each location using established criteria, such as safety concerns and design improvement potential, our Program Steering Committee held a popsicle stick voting session and landed on this year’s winner!

(Drumroll please…)

Genesee Park Blvd & Pioneer St in the 19th Ward neighborhood!

Genesee Park Blvd & Pioneer St sees a high number of crashes under normal conditions but a recent detour has exacerbated the issue. With the detour recently removed and traffic flows returning to normal conditions, residents have since raised real safety concerns traveling through the intersection.

While pedestrian crashes have been less frequent than vehicle collisions, drivers failing to yield the right of way has led to residents feeling unsafe. Some report that they take a longer route to bike or walk to Genesee Valley Park because it feels safer than passing through this intersection. Genesee Park Blvd & Pioneer St sits just steps from the Empire State Trail and Genesee Riverway Trail, where people regularly walk, run, and bike. Its proximity to University of Rochester off campus student housing and School #53 leads many students and families to rely on this intersection on a daily basis.

This intersection also has extra road space to work with, and the layout presents strong potential for design improvements. Plus, Rochester is planning a reconstruction of Genesee Park Blvd in 2032 which creates an opportunity to test safer street design on a temporary basis. Through data collection, we can evaluate what works for all road users and center community voice to help inform the permanent redesign.

Next Steps…

We’ll hold a Community Workshop in March to gain insight from the residents of the 19th Ward about the enhancements they would like in the intersection. No one understands what it’s like to use our streets better than those who walk, bike, roll, and ride along them everyday.

Complete Streets Makeover Community Workshop in 2025

Our friends on the complete streets design team at Stantec will use community input from the workshop to create conceptual design enhancements of an improved streetscape. We’ll then see these concepts transform into reality through a temporary on-street installation in May. This transformation is only possible through the input and support of neighborhood residents coming out to help with the installation. Keep a look out for updates along the way!

*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

Visit the Complete Streets Makeover program page to learn more about why we do this, the process components, and short films about our past projects.

Is there an intersection or trouble spot in your daily travels where you don’t feel safe to walk or bike? Nominate it for our next Complete Streets Makeover project! FILL OUT OUR NOMINATION FORM.

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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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Embracing Car Lite in the Frozen North

Car Lite Rochester is a blog series that highlights the stories of Rochesterians living a car-lite lifestyle. The term “car lite” encompasses a variety of multimodal transportation lifestyles, featuring little dependence (but not NO dependence) on a car.  It typically looks like sharing one car within a household or only using a car when absolutely necessary.

So, we hope you’ll continue to follow along.  Maybe you will be inspired to join our bloggers in living a car-lite lifestyle!

Wanna rep it? Check out the t-shirt in our online shop.

Embracing Car Lite in the Frozen North

By Charles Rubin:

Let me start by saying that I’ve never driven a car. I was born with a condition called optic atrophy (an underdeveloped optic nerve) which has rendered my eyesight poor at best. I’m not blind but operating a motor vehicle, plane or anything that moves fast is likely not a good idea. It mostly affects my ability to see things at a distance. Often I can’t read street signs unless they are directly in front of me and, at night, that can be a problem too.

That doesn’t mean that I’m immobile. At 71, I’m an avid bicyclist, love to walk and get deep pleasure navigating mass transit offerings – even when they seem designed to defeat the most intrepid traveller. I take distinct pride in getting places and doing things that sceptics claim should be impossible. I’ve biked from Jerusalem to Eilat in Israel and from Pittsburgh to Easton in Pennsylvania. My inconvenience is lessened by being married to a woman who is an excellent driver. I try my best not to rely on her for all of my travel needs.

My wife and I moved to Brighton several months ago. We had been living in Hoboken, New Jersey; a paradise for the carless (and a massive Vision Zero success story!). For those that have never been, it’s a city that in its one square mile contains every possible service you could need. Great shopping, restaurants, entertainment, schools, medical facilities, churches and synagogues, artist studios and galleries, gyms and lots of green space. Transit was a dream with NJ Transit buses and trains, bikeshare, light rail, even a ferry to New York City in easy striking distance.

So why would we leave for the wilds of western New York? That damn word affordability. In 8 years our rent had risen over 50% and there was no end in sight. Buying a home was not a viable option either as 2 bedroom apartments in our area were starting at $1M. Living In Rochester, we estimated, would bring down our housing costs by 80%. On our visit to scope things out, we found a rich and welcoming environment. So far this has all proven to be true and more.

The transit landscape that we arrived to in Monroe County, though, has been less than paradise-like. We are walking distance to a Tops, a dollar store, Starbucks, the post office and a wonderful Korean fast food spot. We are serviced by the #12 South Clinton bus line, giving us easy access to downtown and with the 50 cent senior fare makes me just want to take it for fun.

We love to walk and in our first weeks, ventured from our home on treks to the Public Market, Neighborhood of the Arts and Highland Park. It was encouraging to be able to navigate the city so easily on foot. We were delighted that every destination that we put into the GPS when we did decide to use the car seemed to be 9 minutes away.

While the temps remained above freezing all was well; even biking was a viable option for me. Then the winter set in for real with icy sidewalks, temps in the teens (and lower who knew?) and snowbanks everywhere.

At the end of December, while out on a walk after a snowfall, my wife slipped and fractured her wrist. Unfortunately, it was her dominant hand. Fortunately, no surgery was required but driving for the next 6 weeks and perhaps longer was not an option. She was hesitant to venture out with her arm in a cast and the sidewalks still snow covered. This created a whole new dimension to our car lite existence

I am fortunate that my employer, an international NGO, allows me to work from home. I travel to NYC once a month for a full day of meetings with my colleagues. Every part of this journey is do-able by public transit except from my home. Sure, RTS offers service but their own trip planner says the trip will take 1 hour and 20 minutes with switching buses at the Transit Center. A rideshare will take 11 minutes. My employer will graciously cover the expense.

In NYC, the transit ecosphere I am most familiar with, It’s a fool’s errand to drive to the airport. There is almost always traffic, the fees to park are more like a ransom and, if you know your way around, mass transit is the smarter choice. Note that this option isn’t widely publicized. There’s an airport bus from Newark for $18 but I can get you to midtown in the same time for $4.50. Just travel light!

On our transit journey in Rochester we’ve needed to become more patient. The cast will soon come off, my wife will regain the confidence to take long walks (and make more frequent use of those crampons) and the temps will eventually rise. In the Scandinavian countries they have a concept called hygge which is translated to a cozy, contented mood that folks adopt during the winter months. They wear warm comfortable clothes, surround themselves with the things they love and hunker down. There are only six more weeks of winter according to the groundhog.

Still, I am out there every day. My neighbors have commented to me that they admire my trekking on foot to the grocery store and my morning runs on frigid days. They have suggested that they will join me when things warm up.

Rochester and its environs are full of places that I’m going to explore; George Eastman House, the Genesee Valley Trail system, the Strong Museum of Play to name a few and I’m determined to do it car free and I’m determined to convince my family and friends to join me. I’ve always felt that I’ve wanted to live my life as an exclamation, not an explanation. I want to model the behavior I expect in others. That’s why you’ll see me at the bus stop, tooling along in my bike when I can find the proper gloves and checking out every walking trail. I’m sure I’ll have company.

At Reconnect, we’re inspired by the stories of people in our community, like Leverett Copeland, Josie McClary, and Jasmine Burley who are passionate about living a car lite or car free lifestyle.  If you want to support our work and make it easier for others to go car lite please donate and sign up for Mobility Action Alerts to stay in the loop with opportunities of how to advocate for safer streets and transportation options.

Let us know if you want to share your mobility story! What’s in it for you? The intrinsic reward of knowing you’ve inspired others, and a free t-shirt from our online shop! Contact Chaz to submit your story. 

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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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A Smarter AV Deployment In New York

Currently, the Governor’s budget proposes to allow for-hire Autonomous Vehicle (AV) operation in New York State outside of NYC. The proposal leaves licensing and regulatory decisions to the DMV. A scaled AV deployment could nearly double vehicle miles traveled, reduce transit ridership by three quarters, and hinder emergency response operations. We encourage the legislature to act with caution and ensure the following nuances are clearly addressed:

  1. Allow municipalities a say in managing their streets: The Governor’s proposal requires a demonstration of local support as defined by the commissioner of the DMV. The NYS legislature should define public support to be in the form of a municipal resolution by the local governmental body (Town Board, Village Board, County Legislature, City Council) and these bodies should be explicitly allowed to create incentive zones, exclusion zones, and other regulations tailored to local needs to address transit deserts, congestion, and other specific local issues.
  2. Transparent data collection & public release: The NYS Legislature should require that metrics including but not limited to disengagements, traffic violations, mileage, incidents involving vulnerable road users, all crashes, and video of crashes should be reported to New York State and posted publicly. Transparency will allow lawmakers, advocates, and academics the opportunity to evaluate the AV pilot program and build trust with the public. 
  3. Time-limited process which requires reauthorization: We support the NYS Legislature requiring a licensing and reauthorization process which evaluates safety traffic control, traffic enforcement, the local workforce, and emergency services. 
  4. AV operators must be held accountable: Law enforcement must be able to issue tickets to AVs which violate vehicle and traffic laws.The Governor’s proposal says vehicles must remain compliant with traffic law but does not provide a framework to incentivize safe operation. 
  5. Remote operator oversight: The NYS Legislature should require that remote AV operators working with vehicles driving on New York’s roadways have a driver’s licence valid in New York State. Companies should be required to disclose training procedures and regulators should establish specific requirements to ensure operators have enough remote operators to respond to their fleet in an emergency.

If you live in New York State, lawmakers need to hear your voice to urge for a cautious and well thought out AV legalization! Please send a letter to your NYS representatives and the Governor’s office with your thoughts.

Image From Dllu via Wikimedia Commons

New York should learn from municipalities across the country, and address these issues proactively:

  • San Francisco has seen a number of dangerous and illegal behaviors by Waymo vehicles including stopping in bus and bike lanes, making illegal u-turns, and recently, the entire fleet stopped working while on the road during a blackout (12/25).
  • In Atlanta, local police officials have complained that there is no process for citing AVs for behaviors that warrant a citation for a human driver(5/25).
  • In Austin, Waymo vehicles have repeatedly failed to stop for school buses, putting children in danger (12/25).
  • In Santa Monica, like in the majority of localities, local officials have officially stated that their hands are completely tied to response to resident requests for policy fixes (6/25).

Help us push for a smarter AV deployment in New York! Use the form below to customize a letter to your representatives!

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Embracing Community: 20 Years Car Lite In Rochester

Car Lite Rochester is a blog series that highlights the stories of Rochesterians living a car-lite lifestyle. The term “car lite” encompasses a variety of multimodal transportation lifestyles, featuring little dependence (but not NO dependence) on a car.  It typically looks like sharing one car within a household or only using a car when absolutely necessary.

So, we hope you’ll continue to follow along.  Maybe you will be inspired to join our bloggers in living a car-lite lifestyle!

Wanna rep it? Check out the t-shirt in our online shop.

Embracing Community: 20 Years Car Lite In Rochester

By Leverett “Coach” Copeland:

My family and I arrived in Rochester, NY in the fall of 2005 without a car. We would walk or take RTS to travel around the city and use taxis for groceries. In the 20 years we have resided here in Rochester we only owned a vehicle for 2 years. As a whole we have been car lite most of our Rochester residence.

Having a more comprehensive transportation service like RTS has made it possible to travel to places outside my community and region. Although it is difficult when the weather is either very hot or very cold, because of no shelter or comforts, the transit system in Rochester is very reliable, consistent, and appreciated.

The main reason that we do not use a vehicle is that financially it creates an issue. We could afford the opportunity but with the creation of transportation services like Lyft or Uber, plus stores delivering groceries and food, we enjoy the car lite life. Being car lite helps me familiarize myself with my community and my neighbors. I have the opportunity to build better relationships and my social environment, which improves my health and well being.

Although there are some challenges, such as weather, being car lite has many more positive instances and rewards. Walking through my community, rather than driving, has me more attuned to my neighbors and businesses. I am able to advocate for the community with deeper insight and empathy. It also increases my ability to communicate and represent to those in power what the community desires and needs.

I’m grateful for the Complete Streets Makeover project that Reconnect Rochester did at Avenue D and Hollenbeck last year. It’s good that we worked to make the street safer from reckless driving but also came together to make it happen. I think the biggest thing is that the community feels acknowledged and something was done to meet a need. They have pride in the fact that someone cared enough to try and slow traffic down for their kids and beautify the intersection. We really need it. I think this is the beginning of turning Rochester around – where it’s not as violent but it’s more vibrant

Photo by De’Jon Washington

As for my future being car lite, I believe I will continue and do not see any reason to change. Having a vehicle is nice but for my mental and physical health, as well as community awareness, being car lite is how I will continue. I am able to serve on various committees and boards as well as volunteer and serve in many capacities and being car lite has not diminished my abilities or access.

At Reconnect, we’re inspired by the stories of people in our community, like Josie McClary, Jasmine Burley, and Karen Nozik who are passionate about living a car-lite or car-free lifestyle.  If you want to support our work and make it easier for others to go Car-Lite please donate and sign up for Mobility Action Alerts to stay in the loop with opportunities of how to advocate for safer streets and transportation options.

Let us know if you want to share your mobility story! What’s in it for you? The intrinsic reward of knowing you’ve inspired others, and a free t-shirt from our online shop! Contact Chaz to submit your story. 

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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.