RochesterSubway.com : Rochester, You Have a Bike Plan. Now What?

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Rochester, You Have a Bike Plan. Now What?

Monday, March 7th, 2011

Last summer I posted a progress report on Rochester’s Bike Master Plan and I commented on the importance of such planning—even if you don’t own a bike. Well, I’m all giddy with excitement to report… Rochester has a bike plan! Officially.

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Monday, March 7th, 2011
Tags: bike lanes, bike plan, city planning, Erik Frisch, infrastructure, New York, Rochester, Rochester Bicycle Master Plan Project, Rochester NY, transit, transportation
Posted in Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure | No Comments »

Rochester’s Bike Master Plan—It’s Not Just for Cyclists

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

Something outstanding is happening in our community—Rochester is catching Bike Fever. Over the past decade or more Monroe County and local municipalities have been steadily making investments in existing off-road trails and in new ones, especially around our colleges, universities and along the river and lake shore. You may have noticed some new ones near you. Bicycling Magazine even placed Rochester on their list of America’s Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities external link this year. Albeit at #50, but hey, it’s a good start!

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Sunday, August 29th, 2010
Tags: Bicycle Magazine, bike lanes, bike plan, Butterhole Seneca Park Trail, Chuck Thomas, city planning, El Camino Trail, Erie Canal Path, Erik Frisch, Frank Regan, Genesee Regional Off-Road Cyclists (GROC), Genesee Riverway Trail, Genesee Transportation Council, Greenway Trail, infrastructure, Monroe County, New York, Ray LaHood, Regional Trails Initiative, Rochester, Rochester Bicycle Master Plan Project, Rochester Cycling Alliance (RCA), Rochester Environmental News Examiner, Rochester NY, transit, transportation, Transportation Secretary
Posted in Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure | 3 Comments »

Maggie on Ren Square, “This is no fast ferry”

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

In a recent post I implored our readers to send Maggie Brooks an email and request that she listen to Mayor Duffy’s concerns about the Renaissance Square project. It took a while but I actually did receive a response from Ms. Brooks. There no big surprises in it. As expected she defends the project citing the federal dollars, potential new jobs, and the 11 years it’s taken the project to get off the ground (11 years and still counting). But there are a few points that seem rather curious to me—one of which is a “full return on investment [for taxpayers] within seven years. Sure sounds dreamy. Here’s Maggies full response…

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Sunday, July 5th, 2009
Tags: Center City, city planning, downtown Rochester, economic development, high speed rail, highspeed rail, infrastructure, Maggie Brooks, Main Street, mass transit, Mayor Duffy, Monroe County, New York, NY, public transportation, Renaissance Square, Rochester, transportation center, urban revitalization
Posted in Interviews, Opinion, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | No Comments »

Mayor Duffy Awakening

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

The City Newspaper this week published an interview with Mayor Duffy, ‘It’s not too late to change’: Duffy on Ren Square external link . In it Duffy explains his recent coming out against the project as it is currently proposed. He cites recent changes in the business and development landscape downtown, new transportation stimulus funding, and sort of a personal awakening for his change of heart. Let’s show the Mayor we support him…

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Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Tags: city planning, downtown Rochester, Maggie Brooks, Main Street, mass transit, Mayor Duffy, Monroe County, New York, NY, Renaissance Square, Rochester, Rochester City Newspaper, transportation, urban planning, urban renewal, urban revitalization
Posted in Interviews, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | 1 Comment »

Gas Stations Pose Urban Design Challenge

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

On Monday evening, June 8, 2009, the Rochester Regional Community Design Center external link will go before Rochester’s City Planning Commission and appeal the decision to allow a Fastrac gas station to be built on Main Street next to the Main/University Inner Loop on-ramp. Roger Brown, Creative Consultant at RRCDC explains, “Though we don’t agree with the Zoning Board’s decision to allow a gas station at that site … much of our case will be about the urban design of the building and how it needs to be designed according to the Center City Design Standards for Main Street.”

I’ll talk more about those “urban design standards” and how you can help. But first, there’s a virus spreading across America…

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Saturday, May 16th, 2009
Tags: architecture, Center City, city, city planning, design, design standards, downtown Rochester, Exxon Mobil, eyesore, fast food restaurant, franchise, gas station, infrastructure, Main Street, McDonald's, mixed-use, Monroe Avenue, Monroe County, multi-use construction, ordinance, Pittsford, Rochester Regional Community Design Center, Roger Brown, RRCDC, sidewalks, suburbs, sustainability, urban design, urban planning, urban renewal, Walmart, Webster, zoning
Posted in Rochester News, Urban Development | 2 Comments »

Jacky Grimshaw to Give Lecture on Transit-Oriented Development

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Jacky Grimshaw, Vice President of Policy, Transportation, and Community Development at the Center for Neighborhood Technology external link 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 external link .

UPDATE: Listen to the lecture here…

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Friday, May 8th, 2009
Tags: city planning, development, global warming, human-scale lifestyle, Jacky Grimshaw, lecture, public policy, quality of life, rail, Rochester Regional Community Design Center, RRCDC, suburban sprawl, suburbs, sustainability, transit, urban planning, urban renewal, urban revitalization, walkable communities
Posted in Events, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | No Comments »

Designing Rochester

Monday, April 13th, 2009

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being introduced to the Rochester Regional Community Design Center external link . The RRCDC is a group of design professionals, planners, and citizens who donate their time to the purpose of designing Rochester’s public spaces. They offer their design guidance and recommendations to the city through public lectures, design charrettes , and an open-to-the-public design gallery/resource library at their studio on East Main Street. For anyone remotely interested in how cities are planned or issues surrounding urban renewal as they apply to the city of Rochester, the RRCDC is a must-see.

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Monday, April 13th, 2009
Tags: architecture, Center City, city planning, design, design charrette, downtown Rochester, environment, neighborhoods, New York, NY, public spaces, Rochester, Rochester Regional Community Design Center, sustainability, urban renewal, urban revitalization
Posted in Rochester News, Urban Development | 3 Comments »

Daddy, Tell Me About the Subway.

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

I grew up on the south shore of Long Island — about a half-mile walk from a Long Island Railroad station. As a teenager without a car I could leave my sheltered suburban Cape Cod style house, and in less than an hour be smack dab in the center of Manhattan. Not only that, but for just a dollar extra I could reach just about any corner of New York City’s five bouroughs by hopping on a subway car. Can you imagine if New York City had scrapped it’s subway in favor of a highway?!

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