Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Bridge Conversion - Public Meeting

Event Details

Time: February 16, 2011 from 7pm to 9pm
Location: Phillis Wheatley Community Library
Street: 33 Dr. Smuel McCree Way
City/Town: Rochester
Website or Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?h…
Phone: 428-6384 or barretth@cityofrochester.gov
Event Type: meeting, open-house
Organized By: Holly Barrett
Latest Activity: Mar 3, 2011

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Event Description

The Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Bridge spans the Genesee River connecting the Genesee Riverway Trail and the Plymouth/Exchange neighborhood on the west bank to the Genesee River Trail, Bausch & Lomb Park, and the University of Rochester River Campus on the east bank.

The meeting is open-house format at the Philis Wheatley Community Library (Picture). Attendees are encouraged to come at the time of their choosing between 7 and 8 PM Wednesday Feb. 16, 2011. The project design team will be available to explain the project, answer your questions and record your feedback.

Agenda items include:

Project Overview for re-opening the existing railroad bridge as a Pedestrian and Bicyclist crossing
Adjacent Trail Alignment and ADA access
Conceptual safety and landscaping improvements
Project Schedule
Questions/Discussions/Feedback

Update on Erie-Lackawanna RR Bridge to be Refurbished from PLEX to UR

For those living in in the heart of the PLEX neighborhood the converted Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Bridge over the Genesee River will cut in half the river crossing distance to the U of R campus, and will open up great recreational and commuting opportunities for all walkers, runners, cyclists and wheelchair users. (See the attached .pdf)

If you require special arrangements for the meeting (translators, handicap accessibility, etc.), or need further information about the meeting, contact Holly Barrett with The City of Rochester at 428-6384 or via e-mail at:  barretth@cityofrochester.gov

The Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Bridge begins in PLEX where the west side Genesee River Trail follows the former railway's route to the river through what I have seen on a County map described as "Exchange Street Park"- PLEX's City-owned riverside park land with a great view of downtown Rochester and the forested hills of Mt. Hope Cemetery. The land has lots of history, having almost certainly been part of the Underground Railroad's route for escaping slaves along the former Genesee Valley Canal, serving as the site of the Civil War encampment known as Camp Fitz-John Porter, and later housing the Vacuum Oil refinery, one of the first refineries in the nation and a site of many advances in lubrication and fuel technologies.

The bridge crosses the river into the City-owned Bausch and Lomb Riverside Park and the University of Rochester's campus, and will include ties to the east side Genesee River Trail. From this point, proposed future trail extensions can ultimately link downtown Rochester (and PLEX) with a direct trail route to RIT and points as far south as Pennsylvania, if the old railroad bed is completely converted in the years ahead. The attached map and rendition were originally generated for the City of Rochester, with detailed labeling added later by PLEX Historian John Curran.
ErieLackawannaRRBridgeProj pdf (DR).pdf

City of Rochester

Department of Environmental Services

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Comment by MacClurg Vivian on January 29, 2011 at 5:16pm: Thanks for all the clarifications, I will put correct dates/times for both events in mycalendar! With appreciation.

Macclurg

(too many meetings, I get confused!)

Comment by John Boutet on January 29, 2011 at 4:25pm: McClurg, I should post the next PCIP meeting on Location19. I did not double check the my calendar before responding to you the first time. PCIC is on the second Wednesday of the month which is February 9th unless CPO Carl Dikerson changed the date. The 16th is the third Wednesday. There is a PAC-TAC walk that evening 7-9 PM but participation has been low lately so there should not be much conflict. Also note that the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Bridge meeting is from 7 to 9 PM not 7 to 8 PM.

Comment by MacClurg Vivian on January 29, 2011 at 1:36pm: John, thanks for your thoughts, I would not want to come late to PCIC; the other meeting is from 7-8 and a half hour more would only be 8:30pm; our meeting may go til then; however if they could start at 6pm til 9pm I (and perhaps others) would stop by. Warm regards

MacClurg

Comment by John Boutet on January 29, 2011 at 1:03pm: Good point McClurg. A lot of the people who would like to attend this meeting are also regular PCIC attendees. I just added links to the map and for a picture of the Ford St / Dr Samuel McCree Way intersection where the library is located. If you look on the map it should be a quick drive up S. Plymouth and Ford Street to get to the library from PCIC at the Staybridge Suites. Judging by the Library hours that are listed they are keeping the library open past normal hours anyways. Extending the meeting a half hour to 9:30 might be a good option also since it would still leave time for people putting on the program to have supper. What do you think?

Comment by MacClurg Vivian on January 29, 2011 at 10:20am: I will attend PCIC that night, Feb 16 from 7-8:30; could they extend the hours to 6pm so folks could drop in before PCIC? And were is the meeting? The pedistrian bridge sounds like a good idea to me. As a 10 year old I lived on Exchange near Flint with my family and my brother and his buddies used to dive off that bridge (thank god they survived, with that undersurface debris!).

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