Over the next few months, the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council will analyze area industries and select an industry cluster to prioritize. The work will be part of the yearly economic development plan that the council prepares to try to get state money for key projects and initiatives across the nine-county area. The council […]
planning
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Chili looks at the big picture
Each year on the Fourth of July, Chili residents are treated to a taste of a truly walkable community. That’s when the town closes off a section of Chili Avenue for its annual summer festival, the Chil-E Fest, which pulls residents from the surrounding neighborhoods into the center of town. Many residents arrive at the […]
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Rochester’s bike boulevard experiment
Some roads in the City of Rochester, due to their design or the amount of traffic they get, are just not accommodating to cyclists. Cyclists tend to avoid them, even though the routes often connect important destinations, such as neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and parks. To get around that problem, city planners have turned to bicycle […]
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Taming East Rochester’s main drag
In East Rochester, the stretch of West Commercial Street that runs past the Piano Works mall can feel more like a runway than a village street. Years ago, the state built an off-ramp from Interstate 490 that dumps vehicles right onto West Commercial; the ramp opens up into a wide, four-lane road. Many drivers don’t […]
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Irondequoit releases draft comprehensive plan
Irondequoit officials will take public comments on a draft comprehensive plan for the town during a public forum at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 7. A public hearing will take place at 7:35 p.m. on Thursday, August 21. Both meetings will be held at Town Hall, 1280 Titus Avenue. The town government hasn’t adopted a […]
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Webster plans upgrades to critical corridor
The decision to open a second location of her bridal shop, Heart to Heart Bridal, in the Village of Webster a few years ago was based in part on demographic factors, says owner Janice Burkhart. That includes area incomes, she says, and the number of people nearby who might get married. And she found an […]
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Council hears recommendations for Frontier upgrades, other projects
Soon, the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council will have to figure out which of 200 or so projects to recommend to the state for funding. That’s approximately the number of applications the council received. And this afternoon, council members heard presentations from sector-specific work groups about the projects they say should get priority. There […]
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Rethinking Irondequoit
Irondequoit is the town with the Medley Centre problem. And for the past few years, the community has grown deeply frustrated with the owner, who’s made no visible progress on redeveloping the idle mall. But the Depot Plaza, located a few long blocks to the west on East Ridge Road, sits in stark contrast. The […]
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Can bike sharing work in Rochester?
Students, faculty, and staff at Nazareth College and Rochester Institute of Technology can borrow a bicycle from a shared pool to get around on and off campus. The schools have bike-sharing programs, just like countless other campuses and cities across the world. Public bike-sharing services, similar to those at Naz and RIT, could soon emerge […]
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Design redo
Morgan Management has submitted a revised plan for a proposed apartment development at 933 University Avenue. | The proposal has faced opposition from some neighborhood groups over its size and density. Eastman House officials oppose the project, too, as they had hoped to acquire the land. | Morgan Management has revised its plans several times […]
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This Week: Brockport elections, Mounted Patrol vote, Supremes rulings, chat with Vargas
Brockport residents will hold elections to choose a mayor and two trustees. Mayor Maria Castañeda is seeking a second term, running against Margaret Blackman, a current village trustee and retired professor of anthropology at SUNY Brockport. Blackman is joined by newcomer Valerie Ciciotti, and incumbent trustee Carol Hannan on the Revitalize Brockport party. Castañeda’s running […]
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Conquering a hodgepodge: remaking Irondequoit
If you question the value of design in urban planning, take a spin through Irondequoit. That northeastern MonroeCounty suburb offers some of the area’s best examples of what happens in the absence of a master plan. The result, say urban planners, is mass development without cohesion. It’s the absence of that synergy that best characterizes […]
