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On Monday June 28 at 7:00pm you are invited to a FREE screening of PBS’s eye-opening film, BLUEPRINT AMERICA: BEYOND THE MOTOR CITY. The documentary is touring cities across America to raise questions—and seek answers—about the future of transportation in America. Can we build the “infrastructure of tomorrow” today? Can the cash-strapped and car-dependent cities of the so-called Rust Belt become new models for fast, clean, public transit? The links and similarities between Rochester NY and Detroit MI are glaringly obvious—and I think you owe it to yourself to see this film.
If you happened to pass by Main Street on Friday afternoon you would have seen crowds of downtown workers staring up at the sky. That’s because more than 70 members of the local business community were dangling from the First Federal Building as part of a fundraiser organized by the Seneca Waterways Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Participants each raised $1,000 to earn themselves the opportunity to rappel down the exterior of the 21-story, “flying saucer” capped building at 28 East Main Street. Proceeds will be used to support urban programs of the Boy Scouts.
Stop everything… do you smell that? No sir, I showered yesterday so it’s not me. That lovely aroma you just caught a whiff of is coming from Highland Park. Oh yeeeyah, since 1898 Springtime in Rochester means more than just flowers. Flowers are for pansy-ass towns. Here in the R-O-C we do LILACS. So grab your old lady and your Kodak—we’re taking a trip to the early days of Rochester’s Lilac Festival…
Rochester is buzzing with talk about new downtown development, new transit stations, high speed rail, and downtown circulators. But how do these pieces fit together? Cities across America are using transportation investments like these to transform themselves in a big way. And, if we play our cards right, we too can join the list of revitalized American cities.
On May 10, 2010, John Robert Smith — CEO of Reconnecting America and one of the people who helped spark this revolution — will be in Rochester to help give us some perspective. Come see how he and others are reconnecting America and find out how transportation can help shape a new Rochester.
If you were at the Circulator Study Public Meeting tonight, THANK YOU! Turn out was good. It could’ve been even better… but there were plenty of people there asking questions and giving input and the room had a constant buzz. Even the media thought enough to make an appearance. There will be another public meeting in June/July to share the preliminary findings of the study so stay tuned and continue to share this story with friends and neighbors. We’ll need even more of you at the next meeting.
The City has partnered with C&S Companies to analyze and make recommendations to enhance commuting, circulation, and parking in Downtown Rochester. Among the potential enhancements under consideration is a circulator transit service—a.k.a shuttle buses or streetcars. Listen carefully Rochester…
A few months ago two of my readers (I’ll call them Tim and Jeff) contacted me to find out if RochesterSubway.com gave tours of the abandoned subway tunnel. I explained that while I wasn’t in the business of giving tours, I would be happy to go down there with them when the weather warmed up. Tim and Jeff were both on board and I soon posted an “event” on the RochesterSubway.com Facebook page to invite others to join us—cause “safety in numbers” is my credo. Anyway, I figured I’d get 3-6 people to come along and it’d be a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
Soon enough that little Facebook event had attracted 43 Yes’s and 55 “Maybe’s”. Oh shit!
Do you work downtown? The City of Rochester wants downtown workers to take their “commuting” survey . But this survey is about way more than just parking. The City is considering the possibility of a “circulator” system (i.e. Shuttle Buses or Trolley/Streetcars) to move people around downtown.
Although the survey only mentions RTS Buses and Shuttle Buses as options for mass transit commuters, there is a comment box on the very last page. This is your opportunity to voice support for a downtown streetcar circulator. We want the City to give strong consideration to the impact that a streetcar line could have on economic development in Rochester. A shuttle bus is a nice idea but will have the same effect. So be sure to leave a comment in that final box!
If you and the kiddies find yourselves moping around the house this winter watching the lint in your bellybuttons pile up, don’t blame the good people at the New York Museum of Transportation! That’s because NYMT is holding “Bring Your Own Train Sundays” every Sunday now through April 25. Visitors who bring there own model trains can take over the throttles under the supervision of museum volunteers. Visitors are also welcome to become a subway motorman for a day on the museum’s N-scale model of the Rochester Subway.
After receiving rave reviews for his 2008 lecture on global rail travel, “Wish You Were Here” series sponsor Thomas N. Tischer has agreed to present again at the Dryden Theater — this time to discuss the role streetcars and trolleys played in the development of U.S. cities and their European counterparts.
This Sunday, July 19 2009, RochesterSubway.com will be in Rush NY at the New York Museum of Transportation . The only trolley operation in New York State will be celebrating the energy-efficient traction era with a day of special trolley activities. Slide shows, substation tours, the Chevy Equinox hydrogen fuel cell electric car, and exhibitors supporting rail transit will be featured, along with unlimited trolley rides—all included with museum admission.
Jacky Grimshaw, Vice President of Policy, Transportation, and Community Development at the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago will be in Rochester this Wednesday, May 13, to discuss neighborhood revitalization and the importance of transit-oriented development. RocSubway followers do not want to miss this event. It’s also the final lecture in this series entitled Reshaping Rochester hosted by the Rochester Regional Community Design Center .
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After the Erie Canal was rerouted south of downtown Rochester, the Rochester
Industrial & Rapid Transit Railway (the “subway”) was built in
its place as a link between the five different railroads and interurban trolley
lines that served the Rochester area. As the industrial landscape of Rochester
changed, and highways replaced the railroads, the Rochester subway gradually
became a relic of a bygone era. In 1956 the subway was abandoned and much of
its route was converted into Interstate 490 — built to connect Rochester
with the New York State Thruway (I-90). RochesterSubway.com exists to help spark
public dialogue around how we can better connect the neighborhoods of Rochester
NY, its cultural offerings, and surrounding communities. We believe Rochester’s
future is written in her past. Read more about the history of the Rochester Subway.
On Monday June 28 at 7:00pm you are invited to a FREE screening of PBS’s eye-opening film, BLUEPRINT AMERICA: BEYOND THE MOTOR CITY. The documentary is touring cities across America to raise questions—and seek answers—about the future of transportation in America. Can we build the “infrastructure of tomorrow” today? Can the cash-strapped and car-dependent cities of the so-called Rust Belt become new models for fast, clean, public transit? The links and similarities between Rochester NY and Detroit MI are glaringly obvious—and I think you owe it to yourself to see this film.
