Focus for a More Sustainable Long-Range Transportation Plan

The following post will be cross-posted to the Reconnect Rochester blog at a later date.

We are often asked at Reconnect Rochester questions regarding who is responsible for prioritizing transportation projects in our region and the process through which that is accomplished.  The answer leads back to the 1962 National Highway Act which required all urbanized areas of greater than 50,000 population to form a Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO, for the channeling of federal funding to both individual projects and transportation programs.

One of the most important duties of an MPO is to develop and periodically maintain a Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) at a minimum 20 year planning horizon.  This document sets the agenda for the region's transportation investments while adhering to fiscal realities.  In Rochester, as you read this, work is being performed on the 2040 edition of the Genesee Transportation Council's LRTP.  GTC has been a strong partner of Reconnect Rochester and has made us a part of their community input process for this document.

It is also important to understand that transportation planning is evolving.  No longer a one-dimensional endeavor, transportation planning must address the needs of all citizens.  Sustainable transportation planning and sustainable transportation plans are frameworks for action which consider environmental, economic, and social issues to create a healthier and more prosperous region for all.

We at Reconnect would like to see our regional LRTP become influenced to the greatest extent possible by the principles of sustainable transportation planning.  As such, we've prepared a list of plan elements that we feel should not only be included in any regional transportation plan, but also refined and made into points of emphasis.

• In quantifying the regional mode share, treatment of the peak period which includes trip pattern elements such as 'suburbs to core' and 'rural to suburbs' should be included.  Data following on this which assumes the status quo and is forecasted out to 2040 would be instructive with the ultimate intention of establishing mode share targets for pedestrianism, bicycling, transit, carpooling, and single occupancy vehicles.  These targets would inform all initiatives to follow and can be as incremental or aggressive as desired.

• A supportive built environment for sustainable transportation planning should be a significant plank in the regional planning platform.  Planning for a 9-county area carries significant challenges in this regard, but there is high value in ensuring that all long-range initiatives and proposed projects are compatible with local comprehensive plans.  This would signal an intention to have a system of checks on development with respect to facility provision, parking supply, and density, ensuring that any new development works with the overarching goals, instead of in opposition.

• The treatment roads in a transportation plan focused on sustainability is not a simple task.  It is important to continue to promote safety, enable efficient good movement, and address maintenance responsibilities on automobile facilities, though the wording and scope of this commitment cannot run counter to other identified needs such as adding new or increasing the frequency of public transportation.

• The roadway safety discussion should be reframed.  Rather than engineering for driver error at high speed, the emphasis should be on traffic calming wherever possible via complete streets measures.  This would have the side benefit of enabling and/or reinforcing the use of multimodal level-of-service measures to assess roadway design, putting the focus on moving people and goods, not vehicle counts.  On the freight side, it is important to define a diffuse trucking network which avoids over concentration and over burden on non-characteristic facilities.

• On the topic of transforming transit, a rapid transit and transit priority (RTTP) network in the region should be defined.  Going beyond public transportation priority and signalization efforts, enhancement of existing transit should be expedited by the identification of current frequent peak period corridors followed by assignment and prioritization of new transit projects.

• To further development and density goals, the RTTP previously described must be integrated into the community.  Transit should not be promoted in isolation, but together with walking and cycling opportunities on the identified transit corridors.  It is necessary to signal a commitment to maintenance of bicycle and pedestrian networks, especially winter maintenance.  Beyond ridership, congestion mitigation, or operating costs, the opportunity for land use intensification is a new indicator of success for transit implementation.  The provision of all three active transportation elements creates a strong foundation for true transit oriented development, and not just transit adjacent development where the inhabitants maintain their old habits.

• Finally, in order to promote sustainable mobility choices, promotion and education must be part of the package.  Transportation demand management strategies should have many tools/incentives at their disposal to impact mode share and trip reduction.  Monetary and non-monetary incentives, cyclist awareness campaigns for motorists, student educational initiatives, special events, employer partnerships, provision of parking for sustainable modes of travel, and municipal or regional motor vehicle parking pricing strategies are just some of the possible ways to encourage a constituency behavioral change.

To summarize, these measures are mainly about steering policy priorities back toward a balanced transportation system that has been missing in American culture since the end of the second World War.  In the current regional arrangement, more sustainable behavior which was once a matter of course has become difficult if not impossible.  By looking at the regional transportation network as one system, and creating a sustainable transportation framework, we can add momentum to initiatives in other domains, all working toward more vibrant communities and a more sustainable future.

It is not too late to make your voice heard on Rochester's 2040 LRTP.  The GTC has launched a 2nd round of surveying meant to gain a better understanding of preferred transportation alternatives.  This is a strong opportunity for the public to help shape future regional transportation policy.

Urban Freeway Removal: Lessons from Rochester

This article was originally published to LinkedIn on October 13, 2014.

As detours are set to be installed at the end of the month, the eastern portion of Rochester's Inner Loop expressway will soon be sealed off to traffic. This marks a monumental victory by city staff and urbanism advocates; the first physical step in erasing a figurative noose which has strangled neighborhood connectivity and walkability for multiple generations.

Sheridan Expressway - The Bronx
Photo Credit - Congress for the New Urbanism

Urban freeway removal is currently at the forefront of the national movement toward alternative transportation modes and improved connectivity. At the recent 2014 CNU Transportation Summit, Urban Highways and Social Justice were high on the agenda. Professor Eric Dumbaugh of Florida Atlantic University gave a stellar presentation on negotiating freeway removal for the greater good. His approach was very direct with respect to proving the case of necessity to a misinformed public and leadership, proving that existing traffic counts could be handled easily by the replacement surface boulevard in tandem with the diffusing effect of a reconnected street network. Some basic supporting statistics given during the talk posit that freeway removal results in overall traffic reduction of 11% (median) to 26% (mean).

Additionally, a large contingent of the congress was taken to the Bronx on the final day of the conference to tour the area surrounding the Sheridan Expressway. This one mile long connector between the Cross-Bronx Expressway and the Bruckner Expressway has long been the target of removal efforts by neighborhood organizations, community leaders, and statewide coalitions in order to implement community needs for affordable housing and economic development. One sees many parallels between this stretch of highway and Rochester's Inner Loop in terms of scale, traffic count, and neighborhood effects.

Once the case has successfully been made to local leadership for removal of a facility of this kind, external funding mechanisms must be put in place. In the case of Rochester and other similar mid-size cities, this generally requires a federal grant administered by the FHWA or the USDOT via their TIGER Grant Program. Further convincing of state-level officials is also necessary not only to improve the standing of the coalition requesting the grant (TIGER requires a minimum 20% local funding match), but also because the facility will likely need to be transferred from state DOT ownership. This last point can be daunting, but it can also represent a great advantage for the project due to nationwide fiscal constraints on state highway maintenance budgets.

Rochester Inner Loop
Photo Credit - City of Rochester

If there is one truism about this type of urban expressway built from 1950 to 1970, it is that they are either at or nearing the end of their intended design life. The brilliant approach pursued by City Engineer Jim McIntosh and his staff was one of convincing the New York DOT that both their short and long-term maintenance liabilities would be greatly eased through removal, rather than a piecemeal upkeep strategy. In Rochester's sunken expressway case, structurally deficient overpass bridges provide a key plank in this strategy. Two require replacement, with significant upkeep required for the third, by 2020 at a cost of more than $7 million. Pavement rehabilitation on the expressway proper would be expected to cost $4.8 million in that same time frame. Frontage roads have not been reconstructed in 50 years and are due for $11.9 million in improvements, involving 16,000 square feet of retaining walls. The bottom line is that more than $23 million would be required to address the deteriorating infrastructure. The total price tag for the project? $20,995,036 with the state contributing just $3,800,000 to rid themselves of that future unaffordable responsibility.

The strategy was ultimately successful, and on August 30, 2013 the $16.8M grant was awarded, ensuring that Rochester could take the first step in re-knitting its urban fabric which was ripped apart by legacy planning mistakes of an earlier era. Hopefully other agencies and stakeholders have taken note of Rochester's triumph and are able to find some strategic element applicable to their situation. The city maintains a significant archive of planning documentation at http://www.cityofrochester.gov/InnerLoopEast/, including the original TIGER grant application. This and other documents stored there represent a fine resource for folks from the Bronx or elsewhere engaged in the effort to reshape our cities with people, rather than vehicle traffic, in mind.

Route 52 - RTS' New Crosstown Connection

Immediately after Labor Day, RGRTA CEO Bill Carpenter was on hand for the inaugural voyage of the newest addition to RTS' stable of bus routes.  A route planned with the University of Rochester Medical Center's parking situation in mind, Route 52 crosses through the heart of the vibrant Monroe and Park Avenue communities before terminating at the brand new East Avenue Wegman's store.  This new alignment, which follows a rigid 30 minute departure schedule from 6-10AM and 2:30-7PM (with a single midday trip), has had us at Reconnect excited for some time.  We've finally crunched the numbers to bring the public an idea of just how much this development is enhancing service.

As can be seen on the map (click to enlarge), bus 52 overlaps significant sections of the 1 - Park Avenue and 11 - Goodman Street routes.  It also provides alternative crosstown service to the original weekday crosstown route, the 18/19 loop via 12 Corners, Brighton.  We'll start with the implications for crosstown service as we identify 5 attributes that make Route 52 a highly attractive and noteworthy option in our region's alternative transportation network.

• When Route 52 is in service, its addition to the 18/19 crosstown route reduces average wait time for travel between Strong and Wegmans from 33 to 16 minutes.

Commuters living on either the south or east sides who work at the opposite end of each of these routes have more options, many departing from the same stops they are used to.

• Route 52 extends evening options.  Last 19 to Wegmans from Strong: 6:20, Last 52: 7:05.  Last 18 to Strong from Wegmans: 5:51, Last 52 6:35.

No more rushing to make that last bus to avoid the time-consuming downtown transfer, Route 52 actually adds two departures after the final 18/19 at each terminus.

• Addition of Route 52 reduces average wait time for travel along Route 11G between Swillburg and the Rochester Psych Center. during periods of overlapping service from 45 to 18 minutes.
  
• Addition of Route 52 reduces average wait time for travel along Route 1 between Wegmans and Park/Goodman during peak periods from an already respectable 23 minutes to a quite excellent 13 minutes.

These overlaps are significant for riders not intending to ride the entire route length.  Now they can simply hop on the first bus they see to save wait time.  The effect is particularly pronounced in the apartment-heavy Park Avenue Corridor where the 13 minute average headway approaches a high level of service seen in locales which truly emphasize transit as a primary mode.

Last, but certainly not least:

• Route 52 utilizes the same schedule 7 days a week.

This further facilitates an understanding of the schedule for users and shows a commitment to serving the needs of the irregular work schedules of hospital employees.

As we've seen, this route can be quite useful for many people for commuting, shopping, and weekend trips among other uses.  Anecdotally, our riders have not seen big crowds despite promotion throughout the system and by URMC.  We encourage our bus riding friends on the south and east sides to make good use of the service to send a signal to RTS that not just this route in particular, but additional crosstown service is highly valued by the Rochester community.  We are also committed to helping our friends not currently utilizing the system to take the leap so that they might too realize the convenience and efficiency of collective transportation.  If you'd like more information on how to take advantage of this route, other routes, fare information, or any other questions, please send an E-mail to Reconnect Rochester, your favorite transit ombusman, at info@reconnectrochester.org or like us on Facebook and join the movement!

Latest Urban Freeway Removal Plan a Winner

Hello all.  The following is destined for the Blog at ReconnectRochester.org, but I thought I'd work out the editorial kinks over here.  While unlikely to be read, a personal update is in order.  I've completed the first year of the online Masters of Sustainable Transportation Planning at the University of Washington and earned a certificate in Sustainable Transportation: Planning and Livable Communities.  I currently await news regarding acceptance into the matriculated program to complete the degree by June 2015.

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After tasting some success during the last round of the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant program, the city has jumped back into the aptly named moat with an application that we at Reconnect Rochester are extremely excited about.

There is a very conscious effort afoot on the part of city staff to rid us once and for all of a sizable portion of the Inner Loop, that underutilized sunken ring road and choker of downtown connectivity.  And while the Intermodal Station took precedence in the 2012 fight for funds, this most recent expressway removal proposal document is the best we've seen yet.  A financial winner just on its face in terms of reducing future maintenance burden, the latest from city hall is very serious about reconnection and reintegration.  No longer a boulevard, per se, but rather a reimagining of Union Street as a complete street offers more bang for the buck in a myriad of areas, not just development potential, but also in the mobility realm.

Inspiring aspects of the new design are seen right away in the width of the proposed new Union Street.  With the appropriate number of two travel lanes, parking lanes, and pedestrian protection, immediately more development potential is realized.  This treatment has also been extended to long-forlorn Howell Street as well, which can only serve to better connect the new Union Street district to the eclectic Monroe Avenue.  The general straightness and adherence to the grid is vastly improved compared to previous proposal revisions, but what this really lends itself to, and what has us most enthusiastic here at Reconnect, is the possibly of implementation on Montréal-style two-way cycle tracks as seen in the description and rendering on pages 6 and 7.

The potential to create enticing developable and taxable land is a well known aspect of the proposal, but in terms of eliminating future infrastructure liability, this project pays for itself.  According to the application document, the money needed to maintain four expressway lane miles, three multi-span (and structurally deficient) bridges, 16,000 square feet of retaining walls, and other accessories such as guard rails, traffic signals, etc. will no longer be the responsibility of the State of New York and can be utilized to address more pressing needs.  Lifecycle costs to maintain a state of good repair of the existing 1960's-era infrastructure are estimated between $19.1 and $26 million.

That said, and those highly attractive points made, we wouldn't be Reconnect Rochester if we weren't advocating for greatness and going the extra mile.

In order to do that, removal of the Inner Loop clear to East Main Street is necessary. Rather than terminate ramps into the Charlotte Street roundabout (more on that later), a true restoration of Union Street would render the consolidated East Main entrance/exit as the terminus.  A secondary side benefit to this strategy would be the reconstitution of Anderson Park to its original configuration where the city once gathered to light its communal Christmas pine.   A more noteworthy aspect of this revision from Albany's point of view would be the ability to add another bridge, a seven-laner at that, to the list of removable unnecessary infrastructure for future fiscal consideration.

Finally, it is possible that we may have a case of roundabout fever. While the Howell/Union roundabout seems like a reasonable response to the complexity of the intersection and an opportunity for a district gateway, the Charlotte Street roundabout may have the opposite of intended effects.  This installation, as shown in the preliminary design drawing, does a number of deleterious things.  First, the Union Street dynamic is undermined by steering the lanes and sidewalk away from the existing frontage.  Second, the roundabout is seriously land-intensive, cutting into a solid connection both West and North.  Third, and perhaps most importantly is an inability to extend the cycle track from end to end of this new priority corridor.

So while we are absolutely firmly behind the grant proposal (as an undersignee) and the city's efforts to date, there are just a couple of tweaks we'd like to see that we feel would allow the project to reach its fullest potential.

Rules for Sustainable Traditional Neighborhood Development

Greetings to anyone who may still check in here from time to time.  While I've been diverted from my endeavor in this space, things on the urbanism front are quite active and going well.  Reconnect Rochester recently held our first ever Critical Mass Transit day in an effort to encourage use of our transportation system utilizing the premise that every dollar spent on gasoline vanishes from the local economy.  Restorative work on houses in the Clifford-Conkey area is approaching fruition as two properties are getting close to rental availability.  I'm now a track car operator at the New York Museum of Transportation and this year's carrot harvest from the South Wedge Victory Garden exceeded all expectations.

The following piece is something I prepared in July for the express use of Reconnect Rochester.  Now that Inner Loop reconfiguration is a hot topic, I'd like to at least publish it somewhere before the timeliness is lost.  That said, we may see it cross-posted over there.

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Imagine a Rochester without an noose-like expressway dividing downtown-adjacent neighborhoods on the north and east sides. An obstacle to true connectivity for over 50 years, imagine the loop and its ramps filled in to grade instantaneously at the snap of your fingers. Naturally the next question arrives in our minds immediately, 'How will we utilize this reclaimed real estate?' If the goals are to reconnect severed neighborhood conduits, promote commerce, reduce car dependence, ensure ease of navigation, and foster a dynamic and vibrant streetscape, the answer lies not in a grandiose vision of the future, but more likely in our historic roots.

Consider the example of Alexandria, Virginia. Originally platted in 1749 on land donated by Philip and John Alexander, six fundamental tenets of Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) differentiate this inviting river city from generic drivable suburbanism.

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Rule 1: The Center

Each neighborhood should have a clear center. The focus of this central meeting point should be on commercial, cultural, and governmental activity.

Rule 2: The Five Minute Walk

Residents of Alexandria are rarely more than a five minute walk from their daily needs, including retail and occupational sites, some of which are located at the same site.

Rule 3: The Street Network

Alexandria’s streets form a grid of small blocks which allow for numerous routes connecting one point to another. Traffic is more easily diffused by presenting the individual with added navigation options. As the streets travel parallel and perpendicular paths, ease of orientation is enhanced.

Rule 4: Narrow Versatile Streets

The narrower streets found in our older cities have a calming effect on traffic. This makes the sidewalk pleasant and safe to walk along. Further enhancements are made to a pedestrian-friendly environment by widening sidewalks, the presence of shade trees, and the outdoor room effect creating by buildings close to the street.

Rule 5: Mixed Use

Multiple uses for a building help to ensure a constant rotation of users of the street space as well as constant monitoring by occupants. Buildings should be arranged by their physical type, not by their use. Use-based segregation is the case in common restrictive zoning laws which would render a place like Alexandria illegal to replicate today.

Rule 6: Special Sites for Special Buildings

Traditional neighborhoods locate important structures such as schools, places of worship, and other civic buildings at prominent sites within the street grid. These larger structures, generally of higher architectural quality, serve to terminate vistas, in a pleasing as well as orienting manner, as residents and visitors travel along the corridors. Alexandria’s City Hall sits back from the streets on a plaza, one of few buildings in town to do so. This plaza takes on added importance on Sundays as it hosts an area farmer’s market.

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A fine example of TND carried out on a blank canvas is Memphis’ Harbor Town. Envisioned as a pre-war, pre-automobile style neighborhood by Henry Turley, ground was broken in 1989 at a site just northwest of downtown Memphis on what was previously a sandbar in the Mississippi known as Mud Island. A design review process for each new house ensured a neighborhood fit and enhanced the building process. Commercial tenants in Harbor Town include a small grocery store, a gift/garden shop, a bilingual daycare, and a hotel.

A significant infill project in the TND idiom was undertaken in Safety Harbor, Florida only a few years ago. The anchor, known as Harbor Pointe offers up 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail (Ice Cream, Wine, Cell Phone, and Coffee shops) with a 5,000 square foot restaurant tenant at the corner of Main Street and Bayshore Boulevard. Rule 5: Mixed use was certainly ascribed to as this development boasts 25,000 square feet of office space on the 2nd and 3rd floors and is the first stage of a development area that would add residential in the form of condominums.

With an eye toward sustainability, reuse and restoration are an important part of neighborhood development. In 2003, Ken Marquis of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania bought the Casey Laundry building in nearby Scranton. Constructed in the 1920’s, the building originally served as an ancillary services annex for the since demolished Hotel Casey complex. The refurbishment created three large apartments, one on each of the upper floors of the building. The 1st and 2nd floors host a loft-style art and frame store as well as a small coffeehouse.

Traditional Neighborhood Design has shown itself to be up to the challenge of some of the most seemingly intractable neighborhood improvement issues. Let us return to our Inner Loop example. Imagine we are told that the expressway will never be removed. This was the scenario presented to the residents of Columbus, Ohio’s Short North neighborhood. The routing of Interstate 670 isolated this neighborhood from the rest of the city, leading to the type of crime and abandonment issues seen across the country in neighborhoods destroyed by freeway construction. The solution to the lack of connectivity was the I-670 ‘Cap.’ The cap actually consists of two additional bridges erected on either side of the overpass. Each bridge is host to buildings that front on High Street, in much the same way that Rochester’s Main Street Bridge used to function. As a result of this pioneering design, pedestrians and diners at sidewalk cafes don’t even realize they are on a bridge over an interstate. Now connected to the convention center district at the north end of downtown, the Short North has seen spillover development in the form of 160 new housing units on a 3.2 acre site called Victorian Gate.

In closing, obstacles to the common sense approach that is TND still exist in the form of single use zoning, financial policy, traffic engineers, perceptions of open space, income segregation, the development industry, taxation schemes, permitting processes, and the diminished role of architects. What we as citizens can do is play the role of the generalist, one whose focus is not narrowly limited to issue such as traffic, housing, schools, crime, or the environment. These issues are largely interrelated and can be successfully addressed if taken together in the context of the neighborhood. The generalist’s role in advancing this approach is to champion change in local governmental policy by demanding that:

• Community Design be put back on the agenda.
  In order to be effective, policy that impacts the physical environment must be preceded and justified by a specific physical vision.
• Regulations be rewritten.
  Do not try to fix old zoning codes, the best way to upgrade a development code is to start from scratch to avoid creating an even more confusing code.
• Government be proactive.
  The local planning department must be empowered and encouraged to propose development patterns ahead of the private sector.
• Planning be regional in nature.
  Local municipalities must act with the understanding that the most meaningful planning occurs at the regional scale.
• Public participation is encouraged and ideas implemented.
  Citizen participation in the planning process has proved to be the most effective way to avoid mistakes.
• Future government buildings follow these guidelines.
  Location and design of municipal buildings sets an important example.
  

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For more on Traditional Neighborhood Design, see the following reference material:

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream

Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck
New York : North Point Press, 2000
Central Library: 307.7609 D812s

Home from Nowhere: Remaking our Everyday World for the Twenty-first Century

James Howard Kunstler
New York : Simon & Schuster, 1996
Central Library: 307.12 K96h

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Jane Jacobs
New York : Random House, 1961
Central Library: 711 J17d

Urban News Vol. 69

I felt the need to comment on this news piece as I'd just had a conversation with some colleagues about fallacies in the design thought process of 60's and 70's housing projects.

City Mulls $20 Million Housing Project

by Brian Sharp, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Some credit is due here to the much-maligned Bret Garwood of 72 Conkey Avenue fame, officially the city's director of business and housing development.  It seems that the minds of some members of council are firmly planted in the superblock approach to housing development, the dangers of which can be seen below.

The consequences of wholesale neighborhood clearance in order to impose the suburban ideal include:

Complete loss of the small-scale commercial spine on Clinton, Joseph, and Hudson Avenues

Pedestrian connectivity between neighborhoods north of Upper Falls Blvd (a contrived car-mover itself) and downtown is effectively obliterated by this single-use zoning bonanza.

Concentration of Poverty

While the design is despotic, it is repeated all over the Town of Brighton to less deleterious effect.  The stigma attached to the city versions of housing projects is class driven and the crime associated with it a result of more desperate circumstances.

Car Ownership Mandate

It was established in my first point that even residents of the neighborhood may now live so far from the segregated commercial agglomeration that car ownership is seen as necessary.  My second point established that these are the people who can least afford it.  This is a recipe for continued financial struggle, disenfranchisement from society of the elderly, and a wasteful squandering of additional energy resources.

In conclusion, the Voters Block project (a 3-story, a renovation, some singles, some doubles) is EXACTLY the pattern of development that the West Side should be employing.  There is already a car centric barrier to activity across the street on the old State Hospital site.  Those days are over!
 

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I wanted to comment on another story weeks ago and since I can't guarantee any sort of posting timeframe anymore, I'll just tack this on.

City Townhouse Plan Taking Shape

by Brian Sharp, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

All I want to say here is that these would be an extremely excellent addition...if they were on Washington Street, the next block to the West.  I fear they lack the scale for a major downtown street such as Plymouth as well as the attendant commercial vitality that makes streets like Toronto's Bloor Street West popular.

Urban News Vol. 68b

An addendum and a retraction.

To further my answer to City Engineer Jim McIntosh's open question regarding which connections to the neighborhood should be made, I decided to develop a series of drawings illustrating my Union Street plan.

To begin, the talk has been of removing the inner loop as far north as Charlotte Street. As shown in the previous post, I am inclined to agree with the idea in the 2007 RRCDC Downtown Charrette Report of using the existing earthen ramps where they converge at East Main. This will have the added DOT benefit of taking one more bridge, and a wide one at that, off the maintenance rolls.

The image below shows my partial vision for the Union Street advanced corridor. This drawing reflects buildings that are currently extant (even an empty suburban throw-away Kentucky Fried Chicken).

It is pretty apparent where the Inner Loop runs and how much developable land it swallows up. One of the big connectivity features is an emphasis on making sure each alley runs to Union, even it it means breaking up the tree-lined median. I'm not sure Rochester has ever fully appreciated the role of alleys in good urbanism. They allow for more orderly street life by placing utilities, garbage collection, deliveries, and car storage in the rear of buildings, out of the way of the public realm. Just today while riding a bus on Park Avenue, a restaurant's delivery truck was double parked, causing great congestion and noise on the corridor. This is an originally well programmed part of town and should retain that quality.

For comparison to a place that REALLY loves their alleys, this is a neighborhood on the south side of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Streets run northwest to southeast. Avenues southwest to northeast. Courts and Places are alleys. All of this alley grandeur was accomplished despite the land generally sloping upward to the southeast at a fairly significant grade. Alleys are connecting other alleys here so that those who live on 'streets' instead of avenues also get alley access for garages, outbuldings, whatever.

My new Union Street has two 11 foot wide travel lanes, two 10 foot wide parking lanes, and an 8 foot wide tree planted median. Some effort was made to illustrate turning lanes in instances where new major intersections have been created. My next task will be to update the drawing with potential development forms and I will post it when complete.

Finally, I'd like to post something I've read which would cause me to soften my stance on the Winfield Grill's parking plans. I'd be very interesting in seeing those original plans. From RichTyson.com:

As (Chris DiMascio) stated he is not typically in favor of removing houses in the city, as is typically the guy renovating properties, but his first option was not going to be allowed by the city. His primary plan included parking to the rear of the library, Winfield, across Mayfield and over to E Main. Seeing the plans, they were fantastic. Not only parking but a bike and walking friendly path to make for a village environment. For reasons that he chose not to share there was push back on the plans.

Urban News Vol. 68

An anonymous commenter linked me to a news piece seen on YNN/RNews Friday evening. To me it highlights individual businesses acting according to their own selfish interests. Their actions regarding convenient at all costs parking will ultimately undermine what has made theirs a quality neighborhood up to this point and will likely ultimately be looked upon as wasteful folly as vehicle miles traveled continue to drop in an age of renewed localism.

The big story in Saturday's Democrat and Chronicle encapsulated the notion that an Inner Loop fill operation, which has been the desire of the urbanist community for some time, would be the MORE finanically prudent path in the long term.

Inner Loop Plan May Save Dollars, Beautify
by Brian Sharp, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Article Key Points:

• Newly completed study by Stantec says filling the loop makes financial sense ($1.8M over 30 years)
• Initial investment estimated at ~$22 million
• Would open 460,000-920,000 square feet for other uses
• Could generate $3.43M to $6.86M annually in property tax
• Roundabouts at Monroe Avenue and Charlotte Street bound the focus area
• Inner Loop bridge/wall/pavement maintenance estimated at $23.7M over the next 30 years
• Bridges scheduled for repair or replacement in 2014

I'm glad Joni Monroe stood up for the north side neighborhoods still impacted by this Futurama-inspired disgrace, as they (especially, oh I don't know, the REGIONAL TRAIN STATION!?) are the ones who could use the connection moreso than Park Avenue, but that isn't the topic on the table.

I was prepared to raise big questions on this course of events based on what I saw in last year's TIGER grant application. I had previously questioned the meandering route taken by the proposed boulevard. Questionable was how it did not properly treat existing buildings along the east side of Union Street and the inherent inefficiencies in reclaiming land for development around an extraneously curved route.

While I don't have access to this new Stantec study (does anyone out there?), the wording of a specific paragraph in the article is cause for optimism:

The preferred alignment of the new boulevard would follow the Union Street corridor, with roundabouts at Monroe Avenue and Charlotte Street. Traffic would be reduced to one or, at times, two through lanes with left turn lanes as needed. Pitkin Street would be retained from East Main Street to East Avenue. Charlotte Street would be reconnected.

I will explain why I consider this a decent, albeit incomplete plan, and answer Jim McIntosh's lengthy line of questioning contained in the article. First, I'd like to take it back to '35 for a little visual history lesson.

Shown above is the southern transistion from downtown to what is now commly referred to as the South Wedge. The old canal bed, easily discerned in this image, says Rapid Transit and Industrial Railway. This was our subway 75 years ago (sigh). Notable things to take away from this map:

• Union, the last significant diagonal in the upper right, terminates at Pearl, not Broadway
• Pearl travels between Alexander and Union (obvious to the observer walking southwest on Alexander even today, was co-opted for Sears parking)
• Monroe pushed through to Washington Square, an appropriate terminating vista
• Wadsworth Square was the practical center of a real neighborhood
• South STREET, now St. Mary's, further defined the blocks south of the armory to Griffith

And now, here is roughly the same view of what we actually have to work with. A fellow writer that I know refers to this mess as 'the interchange that destroyed Rochester.' The violations to the urban fabric are pretty obvious. Unfortunately, even in a near-perfect world, I don't see a removal of the Interstate occuring. What I would lobby for is a removal of the redundant 490 East ramp rising above the real South Avenue that was meant to be access to a 'complete' 390 which would have eviscerated Swillburg. The south side of Broadway near Meigs, Averill, and Alexander faced the wrath regardless. A bonus would be removal of the two land-hogging cloverleaf re-route-abouts from the Inner Loop to South Clinton and 490 East respectively.

The near east side.

• Pitkin historically did not travel south of East Avenue
• Court Street (no such thing as Broad yet) created an important node at East and Union (would be termed undesirable by traffic engineers of the last 60)
• Vine Street still exists, hence 2 Vine Restaurant

With all of this in mind my personal incomplete yet modest proposal would see the Inner Loop originate and terminate at Main where University has bisected old Anderson Park (which would be made whole again, see diagram from RRCDC 2007 Center City Charrette Report). In addition to Charlotte, Haags Alley, Richmond Street, Parker Alley, and University Avenue would all be restored. Due to the current ramp configuration at that interchange, the Main Street Bridge would no longer be necessary either.

Union Street needs to be the basis for the 'new' boulevard. It cannot be treated as a frontage road for a surface version of the loop. Simply raising the expressway to the surface, even if speed limits are lowered, does nothing in terms of reducing the pedestrian impediment. For examples look at Martin Luther King Blvd, President Street, portions of South Howard Street, and portions of Light Street in Baltimore.

A restoration of two-way traffic to Union Street, even if it involves widening to 3 total lanes for turning would be acceptable. Nothing more is necessary. I'll give points to what I read in the article regarding discontinuance of Pitkin Street as there is no historic basis for its existence below East Avenue. I would not add any additional punch through between Union and Alexander, but Gardiner Park would be expected to take on added importance in the neighborhood. I would be in favor of allowing 2-way traffic on Howell, but a close to 90 degree angle with Union should be retained to link the revamp to Monroe while not promoting increased speeds.

Infill along Union would closely resemble the lower half of the illustration at left. The mix, of course, would be apartments/condos above retail businesses approximately 3-4 stories in height. As best as could be possibly could possibly be achieved, a restoration of some elements of Savannah Street should be attempted during this infill development. Could a restored George Street line up with the only redeeming Manhattan Square Park programming and miss the tennis bubble while not compromising Strong Museum's precious parking?

To cap off the post, there is nothing earth shattering about my proposal. It is firmly rooted in the tradition of a rich urban fabric. What I will say is that no matter how it finally goes down, we had better get serious about fixing these types of urban vivisection while we still have the wealth and the artificial motive power to do it.

A side note: Howard Decker has done a tremendous job illustrating the efforts of those doing home restoration for the good of the community on the near north side. If anyone would like to volunteer to help expedite the arduous process, I'll be organizing a crew on July 31st. More details to come. Please contact me if interested.

Breaking with Tradition a Third Time

I don't have anything today that could be described as 'news,' but I would like to comment on a very interesting D&C piece as well as herald some of the community activism calendar for the remainder of July.

On the story in today's paper, I absolutely love painted brick advertisements from the past. Contemporary ones are great as well, don't get me wrong, but I deeply wish that more building owners would follow the Michaels-Stern lead and renew these works of art through a simple repainting. I wonder what it would take to create a city-wide art project along these lines. Any ideas?

'Ghost Signs' Clinging to Their Old Rochester Haunts

by David Andreatta, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

On the Calendar:

Reconnect Rochester will be holding their second meeting of the month next Tuesday at the Design Center in order to continue to identify key short and medium-term objectives. A good amount was accomplished on this front on Monday. If you'd like to get involved, please send me ideas for objectives our transit group in the areas of Education/Outreach and Active Advocacy and I will put them before the braintrust.

RTS will be holding a Customer Town Meeting next Thursday the 22nd at the Gates Town Hall, Annex Meeting Room, 1605 Buffalo Rd from 6pm-8pm. Buses that service this location: 3B Lyell/Westmar & 9 Jay/Maple.

July Critical Mass will take place Friday the 30th. Meet at the Liberty Pole at 6PM.

Finally, a pair of fragments. RGRTA has released their 2010-2011 Comprehensive Plan. And kudos to Harris RF Communications Division who, in honor of their 50th anniversary, will be sponsoring a Habitat for Humanity house to be built at 56 Grape Street in old Dutchtown. Ground will be broken next week!

Discarded and Forgotten: RIT's Downtown Campus Vol. 4

The era of acquistion and razing had been in full swing for over four years by the time Armistice Day, 1958 rolled around. On this day, the moniker 'Concrete Campus' would be passionately reinforced and symbolically stamped on the forehead of The Institute at the dedication of Veteran's Memorial 'Park.' This sterile conrete patio, where the Clark Union once stood, and focused inward at nothing in particular, became the largest, though not the first, 'missing tooth' in RIT's urban tapestry.

Beginning with the acquisition of the Graflex, Inc. Clarissa Street plant (and its precious 138 car parking lot) in October of 1955, RIT would eventually own almost everything between Troup, Broad, Plymouth, and Clarissa. Their zeal was justified by overwhelming enrollment numbers, resulting in overcrowded accomodations and facilities. As early as the beginning of the 1956-57 school year, a large number of freshman were forced off-campus due to lack of space. Rumored Middle States Association accreditation, which would finally arrive in May of 1958, only served to swell the ranks that much more.

Despite rejecting roughly half of all applicants, the 56-57 school year would see an anticipated enrollment of between 1800 to 1900 students. Of that number, about 800 would be freshmen. At approximately the midway point of that campaign, President Mark Ellingson issued the following address:

"It is agreed thoroughly that a men's dormitory and student union building are two of the most necessary structures in our expanding transitional period. Our Board of Trustees has set up a committee and has made preliminary plans with respect to size and possible location. It is our expectation that a men's dorm would house from 500-600 students and the student union building could accommodate the Medical Department, Counseling Center and all of the food services of The Institute along with student facilities."

Only 48 days later, on April 4, 1957, a 25-year loan transaction valued at over $1 million was completed by RIT and the Housing and Home Finance Agency to finance the purchase of the Hotel Rochester from the Manger Hotel Corporation. This arrangement would place The Institute in debt for the first time in 40 years, but was deemed necessary to satisfy a desperate need for men's student housing.

The acquisition of the hotel would increase the total housing accommodations by 225 beds as inadequate barracks buildings would be razed and use of Clark Union (102 Spring St.) as dormitory space on upper floors would be disontinued. Floors 3 through 10 would be utilized as dormitory space for 450 male students. Banquet rooms would be retained as meeting rooms and additional classroom space. According to Ellingson, major considerations in negotiations for an existing structure versus building new were the cost per occupant ($2,475 vs. $4,500-$4,600) and the timeframe involved in bringing a new building into operation.

More property acquisition was not far behind as just one month later a house containing five apartments at 170 Spring Street was purchased solely to be razed in order to provide more parking behind the gymnasium. 143 Spring Street, the property of RIT alumnus Paul Wilde, was also acquired with the intention of razing, but with no further information on future use of the grounds.

Upon returning to campus for the 1957-58 school year, students found a familiar landmark, The Clark Union, nearly completely demolished. Having served as men's residence hall and student union for over a decade, the building orignally known as 'The Jenkinson' was built on the site the first mayor of Rochester, Jonathan Child, built his first home in 1829. The Jenkinson was said to have contained the first hydraulically operated elevator in the city. The 'Barracks' residence halls, rumored to have been sold to RIT for the cost of shipping from an Army base in South Carolina, met their demise shortly thereafter.

As a result of the demise of Clark Union, the Student Association was forced to look elsewhere for student union facilities. They found a home at 90 Troup Street, a home owned by the institute that had not been used in the past year. In a very different era, association leaders decided that refinishing of the interior could be accomplished by student groups in order to keep the cost under the $3,000 budget set by the institute administration.

The biggest story on campus come fall 1958 was proposed increase in the price of student parking permits from $5 to $10 per year. Contentious student council votes and negotiations with the administration failed to pacify the 360 motor owners who officially protested through petition. Despite an increasing expense report related to lot improvements, in classic automobile operator fashion, it was expected that someone else would bear the cost for daily storage.

Despite the exhibited angst, acquisitions for expanded parking facilities continued through the purchases of three properties on Clarissa and Spring Streets. The former Hathaway Bakery on Clarissa Street was the target in this instance, an inconvenience precluding 53,000 square feet of ground from being used for its intended purpose, Institute student parking.

More to come...

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As a pair of asides, this February 14, 1958 piece encapsulates the feeling of the time regarding the Monroe County Civic Center, our disgraceful Courthouse/Jail complex and its accompanying plaza, barricaded from actual civic participation by a chainlink fence perched atop an artificial bunker-like embankment used to park cars. Note the other differences between what was envisioned and what was ultimately built.

In the picture to the left, note the Campbell-Whittlesey House as the original incarnation of the inner loop bends to travel over the river.

Work is now underway on Rochester's 43 million dollar Civic Center which is to be located on Plymouth Ave. near the traffic "loop." Within view of RIT, this project will cover 26 acres of city-owned land in the heart of town.

Dr. Leo Smith, dean of instruction at RIT, feels that the Civic Center will indirectly increase the value of RIT property, since we are located so near the building site. Property value in the area will raise considerably, as the Civic Center will improve the entire RIT neighborhood, states Dr. Smith. "If nothing else," he comments, "it will provide us with a nearby group of new buildings and a plot of green grass to look at."

Construction will begin with the public safety building, which is expected to be completed by the summer of 1959. Consisting of four buildings, a large plaza, and an underground parking area the center has been one of Rochester's most controversial subjects for quite a few years. The newly constructed War Memorial Building and the Rundell Library are considered a part of the entire Civic Center and the new buildings will be similarly constructed. The buildings will be of steel construction, sheathed in off-white limestone, matching the War Memorial in color.

Important to solve parking problems, the underground parking area will have approximately 1300 car spaces and will be made available for evening parking for those who are attending War Memorial events. Past parking problems show that additional parking spaces are a definite necessity at the War Memorial. Excavation for the two-level underground parking area will start this summer.

With the plazas the central point of the center, one of the buildings, the city-county office headquarters will be approximately twenty stories high and will house office workers in both departments. In addition to the four buildings near RIT, two additional buildings will be constructed across the river adjacent to the Rundell Library.

Crowded space in the court house and city hall make new construction a necessity for both city and county governments.

Urban News Vol. 67

There are a lot of goings on in the downtown core to report on in addition to two important events sandwiched around the weekend.

PAETEC Building Deal with City Nearly Done
by Jim Stinson, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Article Key Points:

• Framework of an agreement with the city is in place
• Renderings show a 3 1/2 story, 225,000 square foot building meant to invoke grand train station ambience
• PAETEC employment base has grown by 143 in Rochester region from 2007 to present
• New headquarters would cost $55 million to build and reuse the 1972 Seneca Building
• Midtown Tower renovation on site (Christa/Morgan) would add 186 apartments and 24 condominiums to the immediate area

While the building looks very attractive, I have concerns about scale and programming. Ideally this would be 5 stories tall to match the retail portion of the Sibley building. There also will need to be mltiple entrances along Clinton Avenue to avoid the result that Blue Cross hath wrought on South Avenue. I realize this is not standard for corporate buildings, but it needs to happen.

Upsetting is the loss of the B. Forman building, really the only decently designed retail building on Clinton Avenue for the last 30 years. The rooftop garden is intriguing and a welcome site. I wonder what, if any, effect it would have on energy consumption.

Midtown Demolition Will Be More Evident
by Brian Sharp, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Article Key Points:

• B. Forman department store will be first to go down, then proceed toward Main Street
• Skywalks to be removed on weekends
• PAETEC and Midtown sites sites should be ready by April 2011. First tenants would move in by early 2013
• State has comitted $55 million for asbestos abatement and demolition
• Additional site prep funds need to be acquired
• Midtown's former owners are litigating against the city for a bigger purchase payment
• MCC will announce a downtown campus site by year's end
• Work has begun on the flagship building of the Alexander Park project on Monroe Avenue

Good riddance to the skyways, I only hope the buildings that 'lose' those connections can patch up the wounds. Much of those site prep funds refer to the re-layout of infrastructure such as new streets. The combination of projects I've seen for the Midtown site give me some confidence that the area will be reasonably vibrant and certainly designed with street life in mind. Fortunately, any developer attracted to this site already has their precious underground parking garage and will not swallow up any additional land. Whether that capacity proves to be necessary is a moot point I suppose, the decision to build it occured when I was -20 years old.

Nothnagle Prepares to Move West
by Jim Stinson, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Article Key Points:

• Nothnagle Realtors progressing on $4M renovation of 217 W. Main for use as new headquarters
• 26,000 sq. ft. building will be refurbished with an emphasis on recycling, for instance bricks removed to be re-used in interior
• New investments for the west side of downtown could include 480 residential units, 58,000 square feet of office space, 130,000 square feet of retail space, and 210 new hotel rooms
• Proposals soon to be accepted by the city for 242 W. Main Street

The west side of the river, and especially the Cascade District is rife with surface parking that could be converted to more productive use. Unfortunately the big obstacle for West Side reintegration is I-490 which is unlikely to go anywhere even if the Inner Loop is obliterated. Cheers to Nothnagle for their eye toward preservation and reuse in the process.

Commercial, Residential Projects Percolate Near Midtown
by Sheila Livadas, Rochester Business Journal

Article Key Points:

• $500K-$700K being invested in a renovation of 488 E. Main
• RDDC office tracking $734M worth of projects downtown
• Stalled housing conversion at 67 Chestnut for sale
• H.H. Warner project pushing ahead with 48 luxury apts
• Cox Building on St. Paul St. has seen investment of $7.1M to develop 70 apartments and retail space
• SUNY Brockport refurbishing 161 Chestnut for use as Education Opportunity Center

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On to the events.

This Friday is another installment of Critical Mass where cyclists reassert their right to the road as legally defined. We will meet at the Liberty Pole at 6PM. This June ride is being billed as a 'No Drill-No Spill' by some (though the rides are not officially, and rarely in practice, political) as, now more than ever, we hope to make more Americans cognizant of alternatives to oil consumption.

On Monday, the Rochester Regional Community Design Center, in partnership with Empire State Future, Reconnect Rochester, the George Eastman House, the Rochester Rail Transit Committee, and the Samloff Family Fund, is hosting a free screening of PBS' 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?

This event comes to you absolutely free thanks to our sponsorships. There is only one showing, at the Dryden Theatre on the Eastman House grounds, at 7PM. A panel discussion will follow. Hope to see you there.

Urban News Vol. 66

An awful going on today in the local transit/development world. Unfortunately I do not have the time required to expound in great detail on all of the topics.

Midtown Demolition to Start in July

by Matthew Daneman, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Hopefully there are no plans to reinstitute any 'skyways' that get taken down. The state budget impasse unfortunately takes on additional importance to downtown developers.

City Sour on Developer's Housing Plan

by Brian Sharp, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Mark IV's last public attempt to sway city council before tonight's vote (if interested in attending and speaking, this portion of the meeting begins at 8PM). Next efforts are likely litigation. I am not in favor of a Corn Hill Landing copy in that location (certainly no large automobile zone for frontage!), nor a Stone Street punch-through for what its worth. Ultimately, I'm not sure how serious this really is, and to bring it up now is way too late.

Planning Commission Recommends City Council Reject Mortimer St. Proposal

by Brian Sharp, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Unlike the Fastrac debacle at Union and Main, Planning refuses to rubber stamp something variant from master plan mandated code.

Forum Addresses Upstate Hopes for High-Speed Rail

Jon Campbell, Gannett Albany Bureau

An agreement was recently reached allowing the state to build passenger tracks within 30 feet of existing CSX trackage in certain practical instances, exceptions to an odd exclusion zone agreed upon earlier. Here's an idea, give CSX a tax break that allows them to be more competitive with trucking and airlines, or credits for adding capacity, and they're likely to build two passenger-only tracks in a fraction of the time and for a fraction of the cost.

Midtown New Site for RBTL Theater

by David Andreatta, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

This was the only real logical choice. Hopefully no additional parking facility will have to be built due to the underground Midtown structure. I like the look so far, especially along the restored Cortland Street running along the west side of the new theater. Do I think the auditorium is in dire need of replacing? No. However, if they are going to do this, it should be done properly.