City of Rochester
News Release
Intermodal Transportation Center Scoping Study Begins
(Friday, July 29, 2011) – At their July meeting, Rochester City Council authorized the City to contract with Bergmann Associates to perform a federally funded scoping study for a new downtown intermodal transportation center. The study is intended to lay the groundwork for a landmark transportation center that is a gateway to Rochester and downtown.
“This is the first step in finding out what is practical, how much it will cost and who would operate and fund such a transportation center,” said Mayor Thomas S. Richards. “Such an endeavor requires the cooperation of many groups, including the City, Monroe County, Amtrak, the federal and state governments; and we need to consider the needs of the traveling public as well as how a transportation center impacts downtown overall.”
The study will investigate potential locations and the design of an intermodal transportation center that will accommodate train travel along with efficient and safe linked access to multiple other transportation modes including pedestrian ways, bicycle facilities, cars and buses. The study will be conducted in cooperation with the Federal Railroad Administration and the New York State Department of Transportation.
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-28), New York’s high-speed rail champion, was instrumental in securing funding for the Rochester station from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “This couldn’t come soon enough and the study is an important first step in what will be a beautiful new station,” said Slaughter. “In order to make high-speed rail accessible to tourists and business commuters, we must not let their journey stop at the train station. Intermodal stations are our community's gateway to public transportation services--both inter-city and intra-city and they are the key to linking rail to economic development. Visitors don’t just need to get here, we need to help them get around and an intermodal station helps them do just that.”
James Durfee, Architect and Design Principal with the Bergmann Associates, is the consultant project manager. “We are very pleased to have been selected; with this project we have an opportunity to create a new Transportation Center that will be an exciting gateway to our city.”
The study will run for the next twelve months and is anticipated to be completed in mid-2012.
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News Media: For more information, contact City Engineer Jim McIntosh at 428-6828.