Transit Supportive Corridors Study

As part of its Comprehensive Plan, Rochester 2034, the City studied which major streets have the best potential for "transit supportive development" in Rochester. Transit supportive development encourages a mix of complementary activities and destinations (e.g., housing, work, shopping, services, and entertainment) along major streets and centers. Transit supportive development helps create compact, vibrant communities where it’s easier for people to walk, bike, and use public transit to get around.
Final Report for the Transit Supportive Corridors Study is available here.
An Executive Summary of the project is available here.

About the project    

The purpose of this project was to identify land use, development, and zoning strategies that can inform the City’s Comprehensive Plan, Rochester  2034. Recommended strategies were designed to promote a future land use pattern and regulatory framework that encourages sustainable,  transit-supportive development; denser, more pedestrian-scaled neighborhoods; improved access to jobs, parks and open space; and increased  mobility options and transportation choices for residents and visitors.

The project will emphasize the following three activities:

• Identify potential transit-supportive, mixed-use corridors within the city; 

• Analyze the underlying land use, development policies, and zoning regulations around those corridors, as well as other factors that influence their ability to support multimodal transportation options; and 

• Develop recommendations for how the city can make these areas more transit-supportive and multimodal through updates to zoning and other land use and development policies, programs, or regulations. 

This study was being coordinated with Reimagine RTS. RTS makes transit service decisions and the City guides land use and development decisions. Our goal is to work with RTS and development partners to help make Rochester more transit-friendly.

Project funding and support

The City of Rochester received a $50,000 federally funded grant from the Genesee Transportation Council (GTC) as part of the Unified Planning Works Program (UPWP). The City of Rochester contributed a $20,000 cash match and $30,000 of in-kind staff support to the project for a total budget of $100,000 for the study. The City hired WSP / Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global consulting firm that specializes in innovative transportation policies and technologies, as the project consultant for the study.

Project advisory committee

A Project Advisory Committee consisting of City staff from key departments, as well as representatives from Regional Transit Service (RTS), Monroe County and the New York State Department of Transportation, Reconnect Rochester, and the Community Design Center of Rochester (CDCR) was  formed to  provide input, review consultant work, and share local knowledge throughout the study.  

Public engagement

Outreach was conducted at the Rochester Public Market on February 10, 2018 from 8am to noon to gather feedback on data, corridors, and policy tools to analyze the project.

A survey was available online from January 31-April 16, 2018, and generated 436 responses. You can review a summary of survey input here.

A public input open house was held on July 26 from 5-7pm in City Council Chamber to gather feedback on draft corridors analysis and recommendations.

Tentative project schedule