RochesterSubway.com : New Circulator Would Connect the Dots for Downtown Rochester

New Circulator Would Connect the Dots for Downtown Rochester

March 20th, 2011

The City of Rochester has been busy busy busy. Last week we took a look at our new Bike Master Plan. This week we’ll get a chance to review and ask questions about the proposed Center City Circulator. What? You have no idea what a “circulator” is? No worries. Watch the video clip below and learn about Washington D.C.’s new-ish circulator system with Gabe Klein, Director of Washington D.C.’s Department of Transportation (DDOT).

Next, plan to attend the public meeting this Thursday (5:30p) to review Rochester’s circulator plan, study, whatever you call it. For extra credit you should read the study [PDF].

So what Rochester hot spots would you want to see connected with a cool, easy-to-use circulator? The East End? Museums? Four Corners? Cornhill? High Falls? The business district? It’s all in this study. But choosing a route (or routes) won’t be so easy. The planners have narrowed it down to five possible routes (see below). Each has its pros and cons (i.e. cost, complexity, service level, etc.).

OPTION 1:

This option provides the most coverage, connecting popular locations and parking facilities. But it’s complex; requiring three separate routes. And it’s the most expensive; requiring five buses to keep headways short.

OPTION 2:

Provides good coverage with two routes plus one additional PM route. According to the study, this option generally provides the best balance of serving commuters and visitors in both day and nighttime. This option is only slightly less expensive than option 1, requiring one less bus.

OPTION 3:

Two lines that provide good east-west coverage along Main Street, and north-south coverage along State Street, Clinton Avenue and Monroe Avenue. These routes could convert into a nice starter streetcar line. This option would cost the same as option 2.

OPTION 4:

According to the study, this option provides a system that would most likely represent the future circulator system were the RTS routes along Main Street upgraded to a fixed-guideway system. This option is estimated to cost nearly 47% less than option 1, requiring only 2 buses. However, this alignment leaves much of the west side out of the picture.

OPTION 5:

This option may not have all the bells and whistles as 1-4, but it’s simplicity might actually make it very easy to use, especially if your just visiting Rochester for the first time. Although you’d might have to walk a few blocks, it does cover much of the Center City. It’s also the cheapest; nearly 70% less expensive than option 1. On the other hand, we don’t want to skimp and have this project fail because we weren’t willing to put the dollars into it.

I know I don’t have to say it, but this will be an EXTREMELY important project if the City chooses to take it on. Finally, we could have a popular and convenient way of navigating downtown. Have dinner on Park Ave, catch a game at Frontier Field, and suck down a cold one at your favorite East End pub – without ever reaching for your car keys! I don’t know about you, but chills just ran down my spine. WHOO WEE!

And this circulator will be important for whole n’other reason… If it succeeds, the study identifies a fixed-guideway system (i.e. STREETCAR/TROLLEY) as a possibility for future implementation:

…The long term aspiration is to provide a more extensive system that would connect directly to residential neighborhoods or other key demand generators. There are two aspects of such a system which have been discussed … First, there is interest in the possibility of a fixed-guideway system. This is generally envisioned as a downtown streetcar or light rail line that would stretch beyond the Inner Loop, with potential future connections to suburban locations. Rather than circulate through the downtown, it would likely bisect it linearly along Main Street, State Street or Clinton Avenue.

I swear on my favorite dead pet’s grave, I will ride this circulator everyday, twice a day, if that’s what it takes to make it a success. Let’s make sure this idea doesn’t go the way of the EZ Rider. Come to the public meeting this Thursday ask questions, offer suggestions, and show your support.

Tags: Center City Circulator Study, circulator, City of Rochester, commuter survey, Erik Frisch, public input, public meeting, Rochester, Rochester NY, RTS, shuttle bus, streetcar, transit, transportation, Washington D.C.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 20th, 2011 at 12:36 am and is filed under Events, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “New Circulator Would Connect the Dots for Downtown Rochester”

Jim says:

March 20, 2011 at 11:08 am

Mike, help me understand this information. Can you rate the proposed configurations against all the planning criteria combined? Each approach seems to optimize one or two requirements. I’m wondering which approaches, in your opinion, provide the best tradeoffs between (for example) connectivity, integration with other (possibly future) modes of transit, expansion from a small starter system, and the likelihood of being funded? Which have the greatest potential for stimulating development? What suggestions might you have for improving the options put forth in the study?

Also, could you offer your thoughts on why EZ Rider failed? Okay, it was an easy target when things got tight. Just wondering why it was an easy target. How can we do it better?
RochesterSubway.com says:

March 20, 2011 at 3:45 pm

Hi Jim! I’m not sure if I can personally rank all the options myself (yet). But I’ll see if I can boil it down for us…

Firstly, from what I understand the EZ-Rider shuttle failed because the City decided not to reapply for the grant money to keep it operating after a relatively short trial period due to “low ridership”. It offered 2 routes geared towards visitors and tourists. Personally I think the problem with EZ-Rider may have been that it was not ambitious ENOUGH. We don’t need a bar bus. We need a transit tool that is “EZ” to use, but also extensive in its coverage (route- and schedule-wise).

This study largely focuses on linking parking facilities at the perimeter of the Center City with destinations inside the loop. The benefits would be several:

1. Promote economic development by easing parking concerns among future developers, tenants, and visitors to downtown
2. Support the City’s environmental sustainability by reducing car trips within downtown – reducing traffic and emissions and generally making our streets more pleasant for pedestrians
3. Promote tourism and improve the attractiveness of the Downtown for conventions and the like

If money is no object Option 1 is a pretty obvious choice. It hits all the targets: east, west, north, south, perimeter parking, (future) RTS and Amtrak stations, etc. Of course, if money were no object I’d also choose modern electric streetcars instead of diesel hybrid buses…

But money obviously IS a factor and that’s why I think Option 5 is included. If we are ranking these by how well they connect perimeter parking facilities, and we certainly are, then this option fails. It doesn’t come close enough to put me within a comfortable walking distance from lots on the west and south sides of the loop. I also don’t like that it does not serve the Amtrak/Greyhound facility. I would not make the assumption that people will be as willing to jump on an RTS bus as they might be willing to use the circulator, and so I don’t think we should rely on RTS routes as much as this option does.

Here’s a quick look at dollars and cents:

Option 1 Annual Cost: $2,296,700
Option 5 Annual Cost: $731,850

There are also capital costs associated with each option. For example, each bus could cost up to $500,000…

Option 1, 5 buses = $2,000,000
Option 5, 1 bus = $500,000

Options 2-4 fall somewhere in the middle and the study stops just short of actually recommending Option 2.

As far as which route lends itself better to a future streetcar conversion, I think it’s almost a mute point because we’re talking about bus routes in the first place, but I like the general pattern of Option 3 with it’s strong east-west spine and the branches off Clinton Avenue and State Street.

So there it is in a nutshell as best as I understand it. But there are many questions I need to ask on Thursday. For instance, why in Option 1, is route 1a (blue) shown as TWO separate loops, one on the east side and one on the west side of the river? Why wouldn’t that be 1 continuous loop traversing the river as in Option 3?

This is why it is SO important for us all to actually GO to the public meeting and ask questions. I can’t stress this enough!! (You can’t see me but I’m jumping up and down on my sofa)
Mike says:

May 5, 2011 at 9:41 am

I’m late to the party with this, having just discovered this site. But I am eager to hear how the circulator meeting went. Doesn’t seem that this story is being covered in the local print media.
RochesterSubway.com says:

May 5, 2011 at 10:14 pm

@Mike, the meeting went very well and the circulator plan was well received by those who attended. The City is focusing on options #2 and #3. But no route has been chosen yet.

Next step is to get local decision-makers on board and explore funding options.

We can all help by contacting our City Councilpersons, County Legislators, Mayor, and County Executive to ask their support for this regionally-significant service.

Secondly, if you happen to be a downtown worker, getting buy-in from your corporate leadership will also be key. Please let your employer know about the circulator plan and let them know you support it.

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New Circulator Would Connect the Dots for Downtown Rochester

4 Responses to “New Circulator Would Connect the Dots for Downtown Rochester”

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