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See Ya Later Inner Loop. Hello, Inner Horseshoe?

December 11th, 2014

Google Maps updated their view of Rochester this week. Notice anything different? Let’s zoom in on that visual a bit…

That’s right. The east side of the Inner Loop has been replaced with Union Street!

For 50 years that visual of the Inner Loop encircling downtown Rochester has been etched into our minds. Now, like someone flipped a switch, the noose has been broken.

Someone asked me last week what we should call it now that it’s no longer a loop. It’s sort of become an awkward protrusion of I-490. Like a little lost strand of spaghetti, unsure of what to do with itself.

How about the Inner Horseshoe? I know, it doesn’t have quite the same RING to it. Heh heh.

Tags: downtown Rochester, Google, Google Maps, I-490, Inner Horseshoe, Inner Loop, Inner Loop East Reconstruction Project, maps, Rochester, Rochester NY

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2014 at 7:45 am and is filed under Opinion, Rochester Images, 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.

22 Responses to “See Ya Later Inner Loop. Hello, Inner Horseshoe?”

Jim Mayer says:

December 11, 2014 at 8:10 am

How about the “C” of Rochester?
Elliot says:

December 11, 2014 at 8:20 am

That was me! I contributed the edits that eventually got approved on Google Map Maker. I had to be persistent, the reviewers didn’t take my link to the project website as sufficient evidence at first.

You too can correct Google Maps using Google Map Maker.
Richard DeSarra says:

December 11, 2014 at 8:54 am

Here is a stab at the renaming; UNLOOP or UNLOOPED

I was a frequent user of the Loop when I worked downtown.

I am glad it is gone and look forward to the new Union St. becoming part of the downtown landscape.
Jim says:

December 11, 2014 at 8:57 am

How about the wishbone.
Eric K says:

December 11, 2014 at 9:12 am

The ‘Inner Spur’?
daggar says:

December 11, 2014 at 9:20 am

The Inner Noose is now the Inner Clamp. Somewhat less constricting.
deaconbluue says:

December 11, 2014 at 10:09 am

I agree it looks like a wishbone
Andrew says:

December 11, 2014 at 10:30 am

It looks like a U if you tilt your head to the right, the “new U of R?”
Ben says:

December 11, 2014 at 10:33 am

Sounds like this is technically a “spur route” now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spur_route

490 Spur? North Spur? THE SPUR?
Ben says:

December 11, 2014 at 10:35 am

Actually I think I got it. The Lovely Spur.
Roadsguy says:

December 11, 2014 at 10:40 am

I like “Inner Spur.” 490 was part of the loop, but now that the eastern half of the loop is gone, it’s now pretty much I-490 and a spur from it.
sally says:

December 11, 2014 at 11:15 am

I like Jim’s idea – the Wishbone!
Adrian Martin says:

December 11, 2014 at 11:25 am

Looks like a wagging finger pointing at the east side
Irene says:

December 11, 2014 at 12:10 pm

I don’t like any name that implies the remaining roads are a single thing, no matter how clever the name. What we have now is two distinct roads
– 490, a typical highway cutting through the city, and which does serve some useful purposes
– That little spur road on the North side. There were reasons why that section wasn’t tackled as part of the current loop removal project but, long term, that section could possibly go away too. In the meantime, it needs its own name. Northern Spur?
Elliot says:

December 11, 2014 at 12:14 pm

I think it should continue to be called the Inner Loop highway and that Union and Howell should be signed as part of the Inner Loop. There’s nothing that says the entire route has to be one type of roadway to have a single designation.
Jim Mayer says:

December 11, 2014 at 12:24 pm

I, too, would like to see the rest of the loop safely buried. Towards that end, I wish to throw my support to Ben’s suggestion of “The Lovely Spur”. That would give all the people who oppose anything associated with the Mayor something constructive to do with their Facebook time.
J.P. says:

December 11, 2014 at 12:26 pm

How about 490A?
Jim Mayer says:

December 11, 2014 at 12:28 pm

Really, though, I think Irene’s argument for the “Northern Spur” makes a lot of sense. It’s no longer a single coherent road.
Bill says:

December 14, 2014 at 10:06 pm

I didn’t see any pictures of the closed, snow covered inner loop yet and decided to take some today: http://billfinan.smugmug.com/Exploring/Out-Of-The-Loop-121414/i-3pzrCLs

And as far as what to call the new road? All our other highways are just called by their numbers, 390, 490, 590, 531, 104. How about assigning it Route 490A, or even 431 (to label it as an alternate to 31 on Monroe/W Main/W Broad), and letting that route include both the remaining freeway and the newly created street?
Kevin Yost says:

December 27, 2014 at 12:51 pm

There should be no boulevard on the current Inner Loop, just land on the tax rolls to be developed and the traffic on Union, Pitkin, and Howell streets. The Inner Loop should become a boulevard or parkway north of Main Street, however, taking in Delevan, Cumberland, and Allen streets and intersecting with Grape, Maple, and Wilder streets and Jefferson Avenue at a new roundabout. NY Route 31 should be on Union and Pitkin between Monroe and Main streets and down this parkway to Grape Street back to Lyell Avenue. The current route, including the Broad Street bridge and tunnel should become “Business Route 31.”
aaron says:

December 31, 2014 at 9:18 am

The appendix
Jefff says:

October 28, 2024 at 3:02 pm

I call it the “Inner Stub” now. I think that’s catchy.

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See Ya Later Inner Loop. Hello, Inner Horseshoe?

22 Responses to “See Ya Later Inner Loop. Hello, Inner Horseshoe?”

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