Greater Rochester Active Transportation System

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River Meadow Crossing

Allen Kerkeslager helped me find an even better link to connect the RITtweenway with the Genesee Valley Greenway, and Jay Jackson pointed out that a bike ferry could be a way cool and relatively easy way to get the job done.   

 Here is the site we are talking about in google maps.  On the east side of the crossing, the land is reportedly owned by developers planning to create a pond and preserve in the big open areas, and on the west side some unused NYState owned property seems to be waiting for our new lease on life.

The crossing would connect  the "River Meadow Preserve" to an asphalted former water testing facility reportedly owned by New York State.  The landing would offer  near-perfect access to to the Genessee Valley Greenway either via Scottsville Rd and Brook Rd, or southwest by way of the road that exteds from right across the landing.

.  Here is the eastward looking view back to River Meadow Dr.

As for how the crossing would be implemented, one could imagine a bicycle/pedestrian bridge or even a small cable ferry (which could be designed and built by RIT faculty and students!)  

·      River Meadow Crossing 

• would create new recreational options for local residents,  
• would create a short and safe bike-commute to and from RIT and RIT's new Global Village
• would create a scenic and efficient 10 mile bike ride to downtown Rochester via RIT, Park Point and the Rochester Greenway.
• would make us essential links in the emerging Rochester-Williamsport Greenway
• would establish Henrietta, RIT, and Rochester as leaders in the  transition to more ecological, economical, and healthy  life styles. 
• would enrich the community. 

The "Rochester Bicycle Ecology" is  a flagship project of RIT's Center for Student Innovation (which I now direct.) 

●     We have been promoting the under-appreciated "Rochester Greenway" that connects Henrietta with Downtown Rochester by way of RIT and the Lehigh Valley North Trail.

●     We organized last October's Rochester Cycling Summit , helped found the Rochester Cycling Alliance  and  helped put theRochester-Williamsport Greenway on the agenda for NY and PA planners. 

●     In less than a year, we've had significant impact, and this  summer we are working with the Rochester Cycling Alliance to stimulate and coordinate a  "Greater Rochester Active Transportation System".
 

Greater Rochester Active Transportation System

Work in progress....

U.S. Bicycle Route System - FAQs - Adventure Cycling Association

U.S. Bicycle Route System - FAQs - Adventure Cycling Association: "USBRS - Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the U.S. Bicycle Route System?
2. What are the advantages of having a U.S. Bicycle Route?
3. Is there demand?
4. Who is funding this initiative?
5. Are there any existing routes?
6. How are routes decided upon?
7. Who oversees/maintains the U.S. Bicycle Route System?
8. What does designation mean?
9. What stipulations are there for developing U.S. Bicycle Routes?
10. What if the best route or an important connection is not on a road managed by the State Department of Transportation?
11. What is AASHTO?
12. What is the Adventure Cycling Association?

1. What is the U.S. Bicy"

Rails-To-Trails Conservancy features Urban Trails

Urban Pathways News and Updates

• Portland, Ore. - Community Cycling Center Director Alison Gravespresented the Understanding Barriers to Bicycling project at a seminar at Portland State University. As part of the project, the center conducted workshops and focus groups with various communities of color, providing insight on how best to tailor programming.

• Minneapolis, Minn. - Streetfilms produced a video highlighting the city's bike-friendly improvements, including trail network construction and trail programming such as the Midtown Greenway Trail Watch.

• Greenville, S.C. - In a newspaper article about safety on the Greenville Hospital System Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail, trail planners Ty Houck and Brian Graham point to various anti-crime design techniques they discussed at our gathering in New Orleans.

• Washington, D.C. - On the occasion of the ribbon cutting for the newest section of the Metropolitan Branch Trail (pictured), we look back at trail planner Heather Deutsch's presentation on construction challenges.

In addition to news from around the nation, there are new resources and opportunities available to your trail:

Apply for RTCA Assistance by August 1
The National Park Service (NPS) Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program is asking outdoor conservation projects to apply for technical assistance from NPS staff. Many urban pathways have received assistance from RTCA, and your project could be next! Visit the RTCA website to fill out an application or contact an RTCA staff member near you.

New Resource: Trail Maintenance Funding
Discover a new section of RTC's Trail-Building Toolbox dedicated to funding mechanisms for trail maintenance. It highlights four urban trails - in Michigan, New York, Ohio and Texas - that have taken different approaches to funding upkeep. The new resource includes documents that can help your trail.
Stay on top of the latest resources by visiting the Urban Pathways Initiative and using our RSS feed . Is there something we're missing or a question you have for the larger group? Let us know in the forums.

State of the City

State of the City - 2010 **Trevor Flynn Lecture at MAG: June 17, 7pm: Re-Envisioning PARK(ing) Day: Idea Generation Workshop at RoCo: Saturday June 26 @ 1pm Exhibition Runs: August 6 - Sep 19, 2010 Opening Reception: August 6, 6-10pm Artists' Talk: August 8, 1pm
State of the City is a group exhibition featuring Trevor Flynn, Amy Casey and Spectres of Liberty. State of the City 2010 engages artists, creative professionals and the public in considering and envisioning the history and PARK(ing) Day - September 17th @ RoCo Originally created by Rebar, San Francisco art and design collective, PARK(ing) Day is an annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists, and citizens independently but simultaneously temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks. PARK(ing) Day will serve as a departure point for Trevor Flynn's "Re-Envisioning PARK(ing) Day: Idea Generation Workshop" at RoCo (Saturday June 26th @ 1pm). Rochester Contemporary Art Center will again organize several "Parks" in front of our main gallery on September 17th, including the debut of an all new project by in.site Architecture. PARK(ing) Day website

RochesterGreenway now on Google Maps

I discovered today that the RochesterGreenway (aka Lehigh Valley North Trail) is now showing up on the Google maps bike layer.  

I also scoped out a nice bicycle boulevard route inspired by Richard deSarra's Monroe Bicycle Boulevard Ride.  It goes from Cobbs Creek to Hinsdale to Pinnacle to Crossman to Field to Westerloe to Lac de Ville.    At which point you can jog to Clinton (traffic alert!) to get to the Canal.  I dub this route the Pinnacle -Lac deVille route.

It comes tantalizingly close to Brighton Park, however. and so I've marked an area for future exploration.

Feel free to add to this map!

One more bridge to cross, on foot or bike | 520 - An Environmental Blog | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

One more bridge to cross, on foot or bike | 520 - An Environmental Blog | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Erie Lackawanna railroad bridge!

POSTED BY SORR • APRIL 29, 2010 • 11:14 AM

• Read Comments(1)
• Recommend(1)

The city of Rochester is now soliciting proposals for design of a new walking-biking trail on a bridge over the Genesee River near the University of Rochester.

The 1,600-foot-long stretch of trail would use the old Erie-Lackawanna Railroad bridge that crosses the river from the Plymouth-Exchange neighborhood to the university’s River Campus. It would connect with the excellent trails, much used by runners, walkers and riders, already in place on each side of the Genesee.

If I have the count right, the Erie-Lackawanna span would be the city’s seventh bridge over the river reserved for pedestrians and bikers – a most impressive number, in my view, for a city this size.

Footbridge near Brooks Avenue

How many have you sampled? There’s a spectacular high bridge (built atop a sewer pipe actually) at Seneca Park, a walkway atop a dam at the little-known Middle Falls, the Pont du Rennes at High Falls, the Sister Cities span downtown, the existing footbridge at the UR near Brooks Avenue, and a lovely little crossing at Genesee Valley Park south of Elmwood Avenue

Most if not all are connected by trails, I believe. A bike-rider could cross them all in what? An hour? Somebody try it and let me know. Send me pics.

Back to Footbridge 7 at the UR. If all goes well, the city will hold public meetings this fall, design will be done over the winter, construction will start next spring and the repurposed bridge will open in October 2011. The project will cost about $1.2 million, with the city and New York state splitting the tab.

According to this detailed feasibility study done by Environmental Design and Research for the city and the Genesee Transportation Council two years ago, the bridge was built in the early 1900s, though earlier spans stood in that spot back to the 1850s. The rail line carried passenger and freight traffic between Rochester and Avon, Livingston County, with connections to points south. Erie-Lackawanna discontinued use of the line in 1971, a year before the rail company entered bankruptcy. The bridge has been unused since, except by occasional trespassers, and is now owned by the city.

The bridge as it is now (EDR feasibility study image)

When work is done, the bedraggled span will be transformed. It will have a new deck, be partly repainted, made ADA compliant and will sport ”amenities such as railing, lighting, benches, bike racks, and landscaping,” as the request for proposals put it.

The bridge as it may be (EDR feasibility study image)

Pretty nifty, eh? It should be a nice addition to the ever-growing network of trails in our region.

Oh, and if you’re not clear where these bridges are, here’s a home-made Google map, with the trails near the planned bridge marked as well. You’ll have to find the rest of the paths yourself. Enjoy!

View Rochester’s Genesee River footbridges in a larger map

Here is the project schedule from the Request for Proposals:

Project Schedule  

 Start Work      June 2010
 Site Reconnaissance & Survey   June 2010 – July 2010
 Draft  Alternatives Prepared    July 2010 – August 2010
 Host Citizen Advisory Meetings   August 2010 – October 2010
 Finalize Alternatives     September 2010 – October 2010
 Host Public Meeting(s)    August 2010 – October 2010
 Preliminary Design of Selected Alternative  October 2010 - November 2010
 Final Design & Construction Documents  December 2010 – January 2011
 Bid Process/Issuance of Construction Contracts February 2011 – April 2011
 Construction Phase     May 2011
 Open Bridge      October 2011 

Lynch Woods Park in Brighton

The Lehigh Valley North Trail connects RIT, UofR, and Brighton.  Lynch Woods Park in Brighton spans the area East of the trail from Crittenden Road (to the North) and Brighton-Henrietta Town Line Road (to to the South).  

The Town of Brighton is currently planning a variety of trails and boardwalks to increase usability and access.   

More info at http://www.townofbrighton.org/index.aspx?NID=457

Recent News on the PA side of the Rochester-Williamsport Greenway and the Headwaters of the Genesee River

Allen Kerkeslager reports...

The  North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, has  drafted plans for integrating Potter County into a state-wide program for developing greenways in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania.  Included in their ranking is about 40 miles of rail-trails to connect the famous Pine Creek Trail to trail systems along the Genesee River south to the NY/PA state line.  This will bring a fresh infusion of PA state, regional, and local resources to the completion of the Rochester-Williamsport Greenway. 

Most notably, regional planning commission officials have identified the number one priority for trail development in Potter County as the completion a new westward extension of the famous Pine Creek Trail to the sources of Pine Creek (west of Galeton, PA).  At its western terminus, this new Pine Creek Trail extension will connect with another new rail-trail ("the North Border Trail") that will extend southward from the NY/PA border near Genesee, PA, to the source of the east branch of the Genesee River between Ulysses and Gold, PA.  

These two trails will connect near a special site marking the triple divide that embraces the sources of the Genesee River, the Allegheny River, and the Susquehanna River (West Branch and Pine Creek).  Together these two trails will link the current trailhead of the Pine Creek Trail at Ansonia, PA, with a rail-trail in NY that follows the Genesee River south from Wellsville, NY, to the NY/PA state line (the WAG Trail, which was recently acquired by NYSDEC).

The North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission will hold a public meeting to collect final comments on its draft of the trail systems in Potter County, PA, in the Gunsberger Building in Coudersport, PA, at 1:00 pm on April 15.  

For additional details about developments in the Rochester-Williamsport greenway on the PA side and updates on the Genesee River Wilds Project (www.geneseeriverwilds.org), contact Allen Kerkeslager, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, at akerkesl@sju.edu or (610) 660-1121.

Sustainability Mobility Fair - May 8th Free expo

“Sustainability Mobility Fair - Future Transportation Choices for Short Trips"
Admission is free and open to the public.

When: Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 10:AM - 2 PM
Where: The Center for Student Innovation at RIT, 1 Lomb Memorial Dr Rochester, NY 14623-5698

Attendees will be exposed to what is new and now available on the market and able to experience the latest choices in Electric, Hydrogen, Biodiesel, Natural Gas, Propane, Hybrid, Plug-In, Ethanol, Walking School Buses, and cycling transportation technologies.

All alternative fuel options will be on display. As more commuters become aware of travel choices, we expect to see more of them regularly choosing transportation alternatives because of the benefits. Sponsored by Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the Center for Environmental Information (CEI).

Rochester-Williamsport Greenway in the Williamsport Sun Gazette

NY-PA trail blends recreation, conservation
By PATRICK DONLIN - pdonlin@sungazette.com

POSTED: February 21, 2010

Save | Print | Email

When they decided they had a common interest of creating recreational trails, two professors determined it was time to band together with one another and others to blaze a 230-mile path connecting Williamsport and Rochester, N.Y.

Jon Schull, Rochester Institute of Technology associate professor of innovation and invention, said he and Allen Kerkeslager met a couple months ago in Philadelphia, where Kerkeslager is a professor at St. Joseph's University.

"We talked about the synergy between his (Kerkeslager's) work in the Genesee Wilds Association and my work which I call the 'Rochester Greenway,' " Schull said. "We realized the two sections we had been focusing on were the two end points of this project."

Schull, one of the founders of the Rochester Cycling Alliance, is excited about the recreation possibilities.

Kerkeslager described different reasons he wants to get involved. He grew up in rural New York, near the proposed trail project, and continues to go home to see family there, driving through Williamsport on the way.

The trail project also is a chance for Kerkeslager, a religions of the ancient world professor, to delve into something he admits isn't as obscure.


'A breather ... for humanity'

"Much of this (trail project) is a breather to do stuff for humanity," he said.

It comes with a price.

Kerkeslager said the cost for the 230-mile connection could be $100 million, but he offered an explanation.

To offer it completely with trails, he expects a $50 million expense.

There would be another cost of $50 million for the water conservation measures he recommends.

It'll take time, too, as Kerkeslager said, "Twenty years, I think that's a fair estimate to be completely off-road."

Kerkeslager, who rides a bicycle 10 miles round trip on his daily work commute, said he's a proponent of the proposed cycling recreation.


Environmental improvements

But, he's also an advocate for environmental improvements possible through the trail plan.

The project spans the Susquehanna, Genesee and the headwaters of the Allegheny River, all watersheds Kerkeslager intends to protect.

Kerkeslager believes building a riparian buffer along the trail is a cost-saving conservation alternative to building expensive rock wall dams.

Greenway planning preserves forests and conserves nature, according to Rick Biery, regional planning program manager for Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission.

Biery embraces plan development and the possible trail if it's conducted responsibly.

"From a concept standpoint, these things are great," Biery said. "It brings an opportunity to tap into a resource hikers and bikers may not get to go through unless we look at the possibilities."

Through connectivity, the recreational system experience improves, according to Kerkeslager.

He said it will connect the nationally renowned Pine Creek Gorge bicycle trail to the Genesee River's gorgeous waterfalls.

Jobs will be created, Kerkeslager added, especially in the sectors of tourism, hospitality, recreation and tour guiding.

He intends to bring the plan to the forefront at meetings of the Northcentral Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission in Ridgway.


Facing up to the challenge

Some consider the most challenging interstate link to be completed as a 40-mile proposed trail running northwest from Wellsboro to the New York border.

A connection just west of Wellsboro is in the conceptual stage, according to Biery.

"We're working with a consultant to develop a greenways open space outdoors recreation plan. It's an overall concept plan," he said.

Matt Marusiak, project coordinator for the Northcentral Pennsylvania Greenways and Open Space Plan, said land deals still need to be made there to acquire trail property, much of which lack old railroad beds ideal for making recreation trails.

In areas where land can't be bought, Kerkeslager said the trail may have to go along Route 6.


Railroad beds ideal

A recreational trail using a road area isn't uncommon, as Kerkeslager said portions of the Appalachian Trail he's explored are the same way.

Railroad beds like what are used in the local Pine Creek Trail are ideal, but alternatives can be used if necessary.

Kerkeslager said there's often a section here and there where planners have to route a trail along roads where landowners want to keep their property or where an area is undevelopable.

Since July, Biery's been involved in what he described as an outreach process including public meetings, contact with stakeholders, and thousands of resident surveys in the counties of Tioga, Sullivan, Wyoming and Susquehanna.

Biery hopes to reach the next goal by early June, which includes a direct recommendations document he said is drafted for review by the planning partners.

"That's where projects will come from," Biery said of further details to be unveiled.


Project offerings

Bicycle recreation is important but so is waterways enjoyment, organizers say.

Like the canoe and kayak launches already offered along the Genesee and Pine Creek rail trails, Kerkeslager plans on offering more boat launches where possible.

He hopes his entire New York to Pennsylvania circuit can be as beautiful as the Pine Creek trail residents enjoy here, but he realizes some adjustments may be necessary.

A hurdle in New York is not to have a trail, but to have it off-road.

A 20-mile section from Belfast, N.Y., to Wellsville, N.Y., can be offered as soon as this summer if it's presented on an existing country road.

"In the long run, we'd like to get these trails off the roads entirely," Kerkeslager said.

Using a combination of existing roads and trails, he said a route from Williamsport to New York could be offered later this year.

Organizers would merely have to offer maps, a Web site and post some trail sections with markers honoring the trail.

"It could say future home of (the NYPA Greenways)," Kerkeslager said, reminding it's only a working name.

"To open for usage with provisional usage on roads, we can do that as soon as it gets warm," he said.

People already bicycle from Rochester to Williamsport, according to Schull.

"They ride on trails and ride on roads when the trail peters out," he said.

It can be done now, but Lycoming County Visitors Bureau Executive Director Jason Fink doesn't suggest competing with traffic along the Route 14-15 corridors.


'A safer way'

"This would be a safer way to enjoy it," said Fink, himself an avid local bicycle rider. "To ride up to Rochester would be a very exciting thing for a bicyclist."

Because the existing Pine Creek Trail is extensively used, he believes a new trail would be popular around here.

It would be quite an experience to explore a different terrain in the Great Lakes region up north, according to Fink.

The trail is more than just about recreation to Schull, who said, "it becomes a plan for real development and transportation development."

He said bicycling is especially popular among the five cycling clubs in his city.

Schull said there are great places to ride around the Erie Canal, Genesee Riverway Trail, Lake Ontario and Finger Lakes. He said his region already had wonderful trails but they can be improved.

"There are stretches where there's roads that we ride that could be more bikeable," Schull said. "And there's stretches that could be more scenic or more direct."


Extending their outreach

Attracting expanded stakeholders interested in conservation is critical to success, according to Kerkeslager.

"With more interest in the trail, we'll expand the profile," he said. "Get people using it and once they're using it, it promotes more stakeholders to build up funding."

"If there's enough support out there, the right people should be able to find those funds out there," Fink said of needed grants.

Separate but similar projects are happening elsewhere, as Schull said a national network of trails is developing.

"There's an emerging view of greenways all over the country," he said.

The East Coast Greenway project from Cape Cod to Key West, Fla., is being developed along a proposed 3,000-mile trail, which runs down the eastern seaboard, incorporating the Philadelphia area.

In addition to his planning involvement with the Pennsylvania Wilds, Jerry Walls also is a board member of the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership, which he said may benefit from the NYPA plan.

From the headwaters of the West Branch in Cambria County to Williamsport to Sunbury to the Chesapeake Bay, Susquehanna Greenway partners including Walls are planning a 500-mile recreational route that he said could tie into Kerkeslager's plan.

The missing link, aka the "Tweenway Spur"

We have identified an RGE gas pipeline that runs from a hill on the West Side of RIT's campus (just South of the Red Barn) across East River Rd, across the river, across Scottsville Rd, and through cleared woods to the GVGreenway Trail.

This path has just the trajectory we might want in developing the RIT Tweenway, and the trees are already cleared.  (The path is not surfaced.)


View tweenway Spur in a larger map

Here are some panoramas
The view from the hill to the West: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2721/4309845639_f1e422dcce_o.jpg



The view from Scottsville Rd East to RIT: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4309844619_70c0ddf04f_o.jpg



The view at the GVGreenway-Pipeline intersection (380 degrees) : http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2798/4338153998_0616943c66_o.jpg:



Let's call the path that might be made from the pipeline the "Tweenway Spur" (assuming the cross-RIT bike trail is to be called the RIT Tweenway.)

The ideal  long-range vision is for a cycle/pedestrian bridge from the hill on the RIT campus to the Tweenway Spur, without their having to touch down on the East River Rd, Scottsville Rd, or the River.

However, even without the Tweenway Bridge, this spur would provide a more intuitive, scenic and safer alternative route to the Ballantyne Bridge (and thence to  RIT or Jefferson Road and the Lehigh Valley North Trail).

Towpath Trail idea really floats

http://picasaweb.google.com/JohnPucher/PortlandOregonSeptOct2007#5117211901939512034Towpath Trail idea really floats

The newest segment of the Towpath Trail in South Akron includes a floating section that runs nearly a third of a mile along Summit Lake's southern shoreline and passes under the Kenmore Boulevard bridge.

http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/ohio_travel/56239382.html

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And then there's these:

 

Alta Planning & Design - Bicycle, Pedestrian, Greenway & Trail Projects - Project Links & Resources - Research & Study Documents

Alta Planning & Design - Bicycle, Pedestrian, Greenway & Trail Projects - Project Links & Resources - Research & Study Documents

Featured Projects

Research & Studies

Barriers to Bicycling >

Cycle Tracks >

Bike Sharing >

Bike Blvd Guidebook >

Project Websites

Presentations

Research & Study Documents

Alta is at the forefront of nationally significant bicycle and pedestrian research to advance the fields of transportation, land-use, planning, and design. You can learn more about Alta's research capabilities on ourResearch service page . Below you'll find a number of our published studies for download. Documents unavailable on our website may be available upon request .

Documents for Download

Bicycling Related Documents & Studies

• Understanding Barriers to Bicycling (2009, underway)
• Bike Sharing/Public Bikes: A Summary of Programs, Vendors and Technologies (01/09)
• 2008 Oregon Bike Related Business & Economic Study (09/08)
• Bicycle Industry Growth in Portland (6/06)
• Bridging the Gaps: How the Quality and Quantity of a Connected Bikeway Network Correlates with Increasing Bicycle Use (6/05)
• San Francisco Bicycle Program Supplemental Design Guidelines (9/03)

Facilities and Infrastructure Related Documents & Studies

• Report on Bicycle Interaction with Streetcars (10/08)
• Cycle Tracks: Lessons Learned (11/08)
• From Cycletracks to Singlespeeds: A Comparison of Bicycle Facilities and Cycling Culture between North America and Europe (12/08)
• Integration of Bicycles and Transit (11/05)
• San Francisco Shared-Lane Marking Study (2/04)

Trail Related Documents & Studies

• Rails-With-Trails: Lessons Learned Federal study
• Trails in Limited Access Highway Corridors Final Report
  This study documented existing conditions and developed methodologies and best practices for the design, implementation and management of Shared Use Paths in Limited Access Highway Corridors. Visit the project website
• Trails and Golf Courses: Best Practices on Design and Management (7/05)

Programs and Education Related Documents & Studies

• Portland Safe Routes to School 1 Year Report (8/06)

Hale and Harmful: Are the Healthful Effects of Riding a Bike on City Streets Ruined by Inhaled Pollutants?: Scientific American

Hale and Harmful: Are the Healthful Effects of Riding a Bike on City Streets Ruined by Inhaled Pollutants?: Scientific American:

Interesting article, and another reason why the Rochester Greenway could be a pace-setter!

"Ironically, many cities that offer dedicated bike lanes often lay them out right next to busy bus lanes, unintentionally ensuring that bicyclists breathe in as much diesel exhaust as possible. “I ride along one of these high-traffic bus routes,” Housen says, “and…there was between two and five or six times more magnetic fine particulate matter along the bus route than [on less-busy streets].” Housen would like to expand his research so it could be used by urban planners to better design bike and pedestrian routes so as not to intermingle so much diesel transit and pedestrian/bicycle traffic."

Funding Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects

APBP Webinar: Funding Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects

Posted by: "Stephen Miller" stephen@railstotrails.org   stephenmrtc

Thu Jan 14, 2010 7:10 am (PST)

Many of you may be interested in this. It uses the example of a trail
project in Greenville, SC:

Webinar: Funding Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects
<http://www.apbp.org/event/jan-10_webinar##>

1/20/2010

When:

Wednesday, January 20
3:00 to 4:00 p.m. EST

Contact:

Debra Goeks (info@apbp.org info@apbp.org> )

Registration Information

Online registration is available until: 1/20/2010

* Register for this event >
<http://www.apbp.org/events/event_login.asp?id=89076>

Funding Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects

January's webinar takes a comprehensive look at funding sources, both
familiar and nontraditional. First, we examine how Greenville County,
S.C., leveraged the power of one grant to obtain trail funding from many
different nontraditional sources. Learn how the powerful ripple effect
of a partnership between the county and the Greenville Hospital System
led to building widespread community, business, and political support
for the Swamp Rabbit Trail project, which is the flagship greenway of a
county-wide Greenways Master Plan that is currently being developed.

This outstanding example will demonstrate
* techniques to identify and approach funding sources.
* how to parlay one grant into multiple partnerships.
* the impact of creating a business plan and following through.

The Federal Highway Administration's Transportation Enhancement (TE)
Activities and Recreational Trails Program (RTP) provide funds to
develop transportation and recreation infrastructure. Gabe Rousseau and
Christopher Douwes of the FHWA will explain these and other federal
programs and offer suggestions on how to apply for funds. The
presentation will also provide information about the authorization of
the Federal Surface Transportation Program expected in 2010.TE
activities increase transportation choices and access for pedestrians
and bicyclists and enhance the built and natural environment through
scenic and historic highway programs, landscaping, historic
preservation, and environmental mitigation. The RTP provides funds to
states to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related
facilities.

Webinar presenters are Ty Houck, Director of Greenways, Natural and
Historic Resources, Greenville County Recreation District; Dr. Gabe
Rousseau, U.S. Department of Transportation and FHWA Bicycle and
Pedestrian Program Manager; and Christopher Douwes, FHWA Trails and
Enhancements Program Manager. APBP board member Tom Dodds, South
Carolina's Bicycle and Pedestrian Engineer, will moderate the webinar
and add his insights on how state coordinators can assist local
jurisdictions in identifying and applying for funding.

APBP has applied for one CM credit from the AICP for this webinar. A
certificate of attendance for those wanting to claim Professional
Development Hours will be available.

Invite colleagues and clients to attend at your location for one very
reasonable price. Cost is $50 per site for APBP members, $75 per site
for non-APBP members. Each site license includes one phone connection
(toll charges apply, or use VoIP), one internet connection, one set of
handouts for unlimited attendees in the same location, and access to the
recording. APBP accepts Visa, MasterCard or AMEX; payment should be made
by noon on January 19. For more information, contact Debra Goeks
(262-228-7025 or deb@apbp.org deb@apbp.org> ).

An on-campus Greenway for RIT

RIT is already leading a potential bicycle renaissance in Rochester, with significant environmental and economic impacts on the city and the region.

By building an on-campus Greenway--a year round walkway/bikeway across campus-- RIT could improve its campus, improve student life, promote innovation, promote sustainability, and integrate RIT’s industrial-sustainability types with our ecological-sustainability types.

The overall vision is grand.  The first step could be simple.  Prototype a covered, bikeable/walkable path over, or parallel to, the QuarterMile.   (RIT students are already spec’ing out structural and paving options, including heatable floors for ice control).

RIT as interchange for Genesee Valley Greenway, Lehigh Valley North Trail, and, of course, RochesterGreenway

RIT should build a bike bridge across the river and be a bike bridge joining the Genesee Valley Greenway and the Lehigh Valley North Trail.

As previously noted, Mitch Rosen and I have come to realize that RIT could connect the Genessee Valley Greenway (just south of Jefferson Rd) and the Lehigh Valley North Trail (LVNT) up to UR and the City.

This might be a strategic linkage.

• with regard to RIT, see this post (an on campus Greenway would connect RIT's two new extremities Global Village and Park Point)
• with regard to the RochesterGreenway (=Lehigh Valley North Trail here) , this would join it to the GVGreenway.
• with regard to the potential NYPA Greenways (the 230 mile superset to Williamsport), this would be a big advance
• with regard to the Genessee Valley Greenway, our impression is that it peters out just to the north of this point.  This would ncrease the Genessee Valley Greenway's utility and value.

Details:

Some googling lead me to believe there is a connecting trail.

So this afternoon, I went cross country skiing to look for the connecting trail.  

At around the right place (A), I did find an embankment going West-East across the trail.

There was a stone bridge over the creek on the West side of the trail, but fallen trees  (under the snow, at least) no obvious trail to the East.

When I circled back and drove back to Scottsville Rd just south of Greyson Rd, I found what might be the West end of that same cross-trail:

a break in a wooden fence, a marked telephone pole "RGE 111, 228" and a sign pointing to Clearview Farms apartment.  (B)

And when I hiked West from the Road, there was a clear view to (what I believe was) the GV Trail.

RIT should build a bike bridge across the river and be a bike bridge joining the Genesee Valley Greenway and the Lehigh Valley North Trail.