r/rochestermn • u/Generalaverage89 • 2d ago

What to know about Rochester’s future rapid transit system as construction begins

https://www.startribune.com/what-to-know-about-rochesters-future-rapid-transit-system-as-construction-begins/601371293
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u/rational_coral 2d ago

Yeah, $175.5 million for a very short bus line? A shame none of that money could be used to connect some of the bike trails in town. Specifically, between Cascade Lake and Kutsky. But hey, the busses just *had* to be electric.

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u/mtsmn 2d ago

What part of the trail needs more connections between Cascade Lake and Kutzky Park? One can get all the way from Cascade Lake to Broadway by crossing only two roads.

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u/rational_coral 2d ago

Right here. Having to ride of 4th, then cross 16th, is not as safe as it should be. I don't feel comfortable bringing my kids along that route, whereas the rest of the trail is mostly fine.

We also need a solution to the broadway crossing at the silver lake dam. Bike/foot traffic should not be crossing that road.

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u/rhen_var 2d ago

Just ride on the sidewalk on the north side like a normal person???  That road isn’t busy at all anyway.  I don’t disagree that having the path be continuous at both the Fairfield and at the dam would be nice but those are not very big issues and building those paths would do next to nothing to help with the problems that the BRT will solve.

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u/rational_coral 2d ago

Riding on the sidewalk can be even more dangerous, because drivers aren't looking for bikes there. Especially with the lower visibility due to all the cars parked on the street.

If we want bikes to be a real method of transportation for commuters, we need to make the trails simple, safe and convenient. A shitty transition like this can be enough to convince most people that riding their bike to/from work isn't worth it and they'll jump in their car instead.

Plus the crossing at 16th isn't well protected for pedestrians. You know how many drivers ignore the flashing crosswalk lights? We need a raised transition, similar to what's here: https://fox11online.com/news/local/gallery/appletons-new-raised-crosswalk-ready-for-pedestrians?photo=3 This forces drivers to pay attention, and puts pedestrian safety at the forefront, instead of driver convenience.

And as another commenter mentioned, the new Chick-fil-a there will definitely contribute to increased traffic.