City Kicks Off Master Planning During "Bike Week"

By Rachel Ward

Rochester, NY – The city of Rochester is proclaiming this week "Bike Week" on Tuesday, and to celebrate, it's kicking off a study to see how to make Rochester more friendly to cyclists.

Erik Frisch is a transportation specialist for the city of Rochester.

"The goal of the bike master plan is to guide the city of Rochester's investment in bicycle related infrastructure and services, for the foreseeable future, probably the next ten plus years."

Frisch says a lack of bike lines, and no clear north-south route through the city to bypass the Inner Loop, make it difficult for cyclists to navigate the city. There's also a lack of knowledge among drivers about how to share the road - Frisch says many don't realize that bikes have the right of way.

Planners will be kicking off the study with an informal presentation to the public Tuesday night, about the bike master plan. That starts at 5:30 at the art gallery at the Center at High Falls, and it's followed by a guided bike tour at 6 p.m.

The work gets underway between the city's consultant and an advisory committee on Wednesday. The advisory committee is made up of city employees, citizen cyclists, and regional transportation experts.

Funding for the bike plan will come from the Genesee Transportation Council, the state, and the city. But planners acknowledge that there will be funding gaps that might require private dollars.

Sprinkle Consulting will be paid $80,000 by the city to consult on the plan, which is set to take 8 months to develop. The firm is based in Florida, and has done work on bike planning in Portland, Oregon.