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City Planners and Residents Discuss Parking Solutions Downtown

Kevin Kelley speaks at the city's parking summit
Veronica Volk
/
WXXI
Kevin Kelley speaks at the city's parking summit

City planners are thinking outside the box when it comes to Downtown Rochester's parking issues. The city held a public meeting to discuss urban planning strategies for transportation infrastructure. Officials presented their ideas, and members of the community were invited to give their suggestions.

Kevin Kelley is the Senior Community Housing Planner. He says though Rochester has plenty of parking spaces available, they may not be convenient or appealing to residents. He's looking at progressive ways to address transportation issues.

"Parking does not exist in a bubble. Transportation does not exist in a bubble. It's connected to land use, it's connected to urban design. They influence one another, so we need to make decisions related to parking that are cognizant of those relationships."

One of the ways Kelley and others are trying to improve the transportation infrastructure is to make pedestrian walkways more appealing, in order to inspire more people to walk. Kelley says this is a holistic approach to thinking about the city's parking.

Erik Frisch is the Transportation Specialist for the City of Rochester. He says bike shares might encourage people to avoid using their cars altogether when they travel Downtown for work or leisure. Frisch also says car shares might even cause more Rochester residents to lead a car-free lifestyle, like in some bigger cities.

"It's all about providing options, right? We can't focus on one mode or another, but we've got to have a whole suite of solutions."

Kate Washington is the Deputy Commissioner of Neighborhood and City Development. Washington says this is an important issue for the city, in order to facilitate more travel to the downtown area.

"We've actually done studies already and we're taking that information, as well as the input that we get from the community, and we're looking at what's being done in other cities of our size and how we can make the best connections between our neighborhoods and the city to create jobs, create opportunities for engaging in cultural activities and other amenities that the city has to offer."

Some of the suggestions by residents included more frequent busses, incentives for taking alternative transportation, and an app that has a map of the city's parking lots.

Veronica Volk is a senior editor and producer for WXXI News.