Trail News Summary:  Bicycle Master Plan, Cobbs Lane Relocation, Auburn Trail Extension, Highland Park / Canalway, Shared Use in County Parks 

Rochester Bicycle Master Plan.  City planners are developing a master plan to make the city more bicycle friendly.  As part of that effort, consultants have studied the city's main streets, looking at things like pavement width and condition, traffic speeds, etc. and given sections of the streets grades from A to F.  Most of the city's main streets are currently rated as relatively unfriendly for cycling.  For example, most sections of Lave Avenue and St. Paul Street got E and F grades.  The friendliest main street appears to be East Avenue. 

The project web site, including a link to the Bicycle Level of Service Map discussed above, can be found at www.cityofrochester.gov/bikeplan/.  As stated on the project web site, the purpose of the project is to produce a Bicycle Master Plan that will:

• identify best practices for bicycling infrastructure and services

• assess their feasibility for local application
• identify appropriate locations for bicycle facilities
• recommend bicycle-supportive policies

Further, while the plan will provide conceptual designs and inventory work with respect to on-street bike lanes, it will also consider shared lane markings, bicycle boulevards, bicycle parking, commuter facitities (e.g., showers, lockers), bicycling sharing, and more.  The project schedule shows a Final Report being available for public comment in November. 
 

Why Should Runners Care About Bicycle Master Plans? Aside from the fact that many of us ride bikes for either recreation or cross-training, most of the changes to roads and streets to make them more "bicycle friendly" also make them more "runner friendly."  The Town of Penfield recently completed its Bicycle Master Plan and posted the project documents at:  www.penfield.org/index.php?pr=Bicycle_Facilities_Master_Plan.  A quick look at the "On-Road Bicycle Facilities Recommendations" will show that the most common recommendation in the plan is for paved 4-foot or 6-foot shoulders along the major roads... an improvement that will make Penfield's roads friendlier for runners and cyclists alike.

Cobbs Lane Relocation and Bridge to Bikeway-Hikeway – Summer 2011.  In 2009 approximately a half mile of Cobbs Lane in Fairport was relocated, separating vehicular traffic from a newly repaved canal way trail. The completed work left only about an eighth-mile gap near the Turk Hill Road Bridge east of Fairport Village where trail users are forced onto Cobbs Lane.  Work to complete the project has been postponed to 2011 due to delays in acquiring necessary land from the New York Canal Corporation.That gap is now scheduled to be closed in the summer of 2011 when Cobbs Lane will be relocated to make room for the bridge connecting the canal way trail to the Perinton Hikeway Bikeway.  Work on the bridge connecting the two trails is planned to start in November 2011 after the canal is drained.

Auburn Trail Extension – Summer 2011.  The Town of Victor appears to be ready to proceed with final design approval and construction of the Auburn Trail Extension between Fishers Road and Railroad Mills Road.  The project had been on hold for most of 2009-10 awaiting completion of the Final Design Report and Environmental Assessment.  That report and appendices with the public comments was officially posted on August 2^nd on the project website at:  www.auburntrail.com/extension/report.htm.  The project schedule calls for trail construction by town forces to begin this fall and be completed in summer 2011.

The long delay in the project has been due to issues surrounding the proposed trail section from Railroad Mills Road to the Collapsed Culver over Irondequoit Creek.  That 3,500-foot section, on an elevated railway bed, goes through a wetland of the Irondequoit Creek Valley that has long been known as a prime locale for bird and butterfly watchers.  The initial environmental assessment appeared to be superficial and the planners appeared to be unaware of the concerns of the large number of users of an existing footpath though the section.  Several local environmental and nature groups, a neighborhood association and the Oven Door Runners opposed construction of a conventional 10-foot wide, stone dust multi-use trail in favor of a 3-foot wide trail in the environmentally sensitive section.  The Town of Victor and the project engineers maintained than anything less than a 10-foot wide multi-use trail would not be safe and would not meet handicapped access requirements.

The draft report was subject of a lengthy public hearing on April 29, 2010 and an extensive public comment process.  Public comments were then included and reportedly addressed in the Final Design Report and Environmental Assessment.  The recommended design for the elevated railway bed section is for an 8-foot wide, stone dust trail with 1-foot wide grass shoulders.

Highland Park / Canalway Trail – Summer 2011.  This trail project is a joint venture between the Town of Brighton and the City of Rochester.  The proposed trail will be a mix of new multi-use trail and marked bike lanes on existing streets connecting Brighton Park and the Erie Canalway Trail with Highland and continuing on to connect Highland Park with the Genesee Riverway Trail.

Several public meetings were held over the summer to review the project and modifications were made to the route.  Design approval is scheduled for November 2010 with trail construction in summer 2011. 

Shared-Use Trails in County Parks – Fall 2010.  After years of discussion and arguments, the pilot program to officially allow mountain bikes on selected trails in Tryon Park and Irondequoit Bay West Park is underway.  Trail construction work by Monroe County and authorized groups of trail users started on September 3^rd.

Project plans (www.monroecounty.gov/File/2010-08-26-TryonMeeting.pdf) for both parks were reviewed on August 26^th.  There will be six initial projects in Tryon Park:

• A new trail will be constructed from the new parking lot trailhead. 
• Two existing trails that are prone to erosion will be replaced. 
• Junk dumped in the south end of the Park will be cleaned up. 
• Connections to trails on private property will be decommissioned. 
• A new trail loop for foot traffic only will be created.

At Irondequoit Bay West Park, five miles of new shared-use trails are proposed.  The 3.5 miles of existing footpaths will be enhanced and signed for foot traffic only.  The primary trailhead will be the large gravel parking area west of the fish and game club.

Shared use at each park is an 18-month pilot program with evaluations to be conducted by the County every three months.  The areas to be evaluated are:  erosion, drainage, trail widening, trail system integrity, impact to vegetation and user conflicts.   Monitoring is to start in fall 2010 and end spring 2012.

Submitted by Tom Perry, GRTC Trail Advocate