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In case you haven’t heard, plans for a transit center at University of Rochester’s College Town have been scrapped. The project is set to receive $20 Million in public loans but the D&C reported that plans for an enclosed transit center—which would have had 10 to 12 bus bays—no longer fits the developers’ needs.

This is a sad and unfortunate decision.

I asked RGRTA if they are still committed to improving transit service to the UofR Medical Center. They are indeed. RGRTA says while there will not be an enclosed facility, alternative solutions might include new routes, premium shelters and curb cuts within the Mt Hope / Crittenden / Kendrick / Elmwood block with stops at both sides of the main entrance.

But the greater issue may be that Joel Seligman and leaders at Rochester’s most influential educational institution do not appear to understand how important it is for they themselves to show leadership in prioritizing transit options over automobile use.

College Town’s 1,525 space, five-story parking garage seems to grow larger every time plans are updated . This is not 21st century thinking. Building a new highway interchange to ease automobile congestion is not 21st century thinking.
Shutting out public transit and transportation alternatives is not 21st century thinking.

These regressive decisions by the University set a poor example for students and for future community developments. In the long run they are damaging to Rochester’s environment, our health, and our economy.

Elementary school children understand these concepts. Are those in charge of Rochester’s prestigious educational institution still in the dark? Maybe we should all contact Mr. Seligman and tell him why we think public transit options need to be given greater priority at UofR…

Joel Seligman
Office of the President
University of Rochester
240 Wallis Hall
Rochester, NY 14627
Phone: (585) 275-8356
[email protected]

Related Links:

Rachel Barnhart calls College Town “a travesty”
$20 million federal loan for College Town

Tags: College Town, Joel Seligman, Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA), satellite transit center, University of Rochester, UofR

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 30th, 2012 at 9:50 pm and is filed under Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.