The Erie-Lackawanna bike-pedestrian bridge should open in June, connecting
the University of Rochester
campus with both sides of the GeneseeRiver.
The bridge will provide a convenient way to cross the river, but it’s
significant in another way, too: it’s another step toward creating a cohesive
bikeway between some of Rochester’s
higher-ed institutions.
For several years, Jon Schull has pushed for a
system of cycling and pedestrian corridors that he calls the Rochester
Multiversity active transportation network. Schull is
a founding member of the Rochester Cycling Alliance advocacy group, and
director of the Center for Student Innovation at the Rochester Institute of
Technology.
“I believe that something like this will happen if we ask for it repeatedly
and in large numbers,” Schull says.
The network is a relatively simple concept. Downtown, the University
of Rochester, MonroeCommunity College, and RIT are
already located along or near major bicycle-friendly trails and greenways.
Downtown and UR are connected via
the Genesee Riverway Trail, UR
and MCC are both on the Erie Canal, and UR and RIT
are linked by the Lehigh Valley North trail.
Brighton is developing a townwide
bicycle and pedestrian master plan, and the plan has served as a platform for
discussing the intercampus network, says Tom Robinson of EDR, a consultant on Brighton’s
plan. Brighton’s effort is a natural fit for a Multiversity
discussion because MCC and UR have
campuses in the town and RIT is located just over its border. All three schools
have liaisons involved with the planning work. “A lot of the pieces are already
in place,” Robinson says.
But there are shortcomings to address. While the schools may be near the
trails, they aren’t always connected to them. TakeMonroeCommunity College
and the Erie Canal trail. To access the MCC campus,
cyclists have to get off the canal path at South
Clinton Avenue and bike to Brighton-Henrietta
Town Line Road.
But MCC’s campus backs-up close to the canal, and
it could be directly connected to the canal path through a multi-use trail; a
rough footpath already exists. That would shave more than a half-mile off of
cyclists’ trips and allow cyclists to avoid traffic on busy roads.
A similar approach could directly connect the canal at East
Henrietta Road to the MCC campus. Schull and other members of the Rochester Cycling Alliance
have lobbied for the connection as part of the Access390 project, which calls
for redesigned I-390 interchanges between East
Henrietta Road and Kendrick
Road.
The Lehigh Valley North trail between UR
and RIT has issues of its own. Specifically, there are rough spots that need to
be smoothed out, though some improvement work has been done, Schull says.
All three major trails need signs to guide people – including signs
directing them to important destinations.
Take Your Bike – Rochester
A bikeable network between the area’s campuses has
real benefits. For students, it provides a low-cost, car-free way to get to other
campuses. It also helps connect them with local communities, where they can
live, shop, and eat. For example, the Riverway Trail
between UR and downtown passes
along Brooks Landing and Corn Hill.
The different legs of the Multiversity trail are already used by the public
for recreation and commuting. A complete network could benefit those users, as
well as employees at the colleges. And community members often attend events
and programs on the schools’ campuses.
This article appears in May 2-2, 2012.
