Schumer Pushes to Make Rochester Safer for Bikes, Pedestrians

Standing at a notoriously dangerous roadway for cyclists, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer announced a push for up to $23 million in federal funding to make Rochester’s streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. Schumer is seeking this funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, following a series of increasingly dangerous accidents in the city.

Schumer highlighted that Rochester had one of the highest fatality rates per crash among midsize cities in New York State from 2017 to 2021, with a record 15 deaths in 2023. Last year, he secured $3.2 million in federal funds to develop a road safety plan aimed at reducing traffic fatalities. Now, he’s pushing for the final piece of the puzzle—federal cash to implement the plan.

The funding would allow the city to reconstruct its most dangerous intersections and roadways, with improvements like pedestrian bump-outs, raised crosswalks, upgraded lighting, and the creation of a dedicated bicycle “spine network” to connect existing bike lanes. Schumer emphasized that these changes are crucial to giving pedestrians and cyclists the safety they deserve.

Schumer explained Rochester sees an alarmingly high number of injuries and fatalities related to traffic accidents. From 2013 to 2023, 3,200 pedestrians and bicyclists were killed or injured by cars and trucks traveling Rochester’s streets – nearly 300 per year. In 2023, Rochester saw a record-high 15 deaths of pedestrians and bicyclists, and an average of 12 people die each year in Monroe County while walking or biking. There is an average of 1.35 injuries or deaths involving vehicles and cyclists a day in Rochester. Just last week, a bicyclist was seriously injured on Child Street and Lyell Avenue in a hit-and-run. Schumer highlighted some recent tragic pedestrian fatalities – including a young boy and resident killed on Park Ave while walking his dog. Even just this week, the senator said one of the interns in his Rochester office was hit by a car while biking to work, but thankfully she had no serious injuries.

The $23 million federal Safe Streets For All grant would:

• Improve traffic safety by adding new buffered or protected bike lanes, curb bump-outs, pedestrian refuge islands, rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs), raised crosswalks or intersections, improved lighting, traffic signal improvements, and more.
• Increase accessibility so it is easier and safer for people to get around Rochester without driving and improve conditions for residents with mobility aids like wheelchairs.
• Expand transportation options by creating a bicycle “spine network” that would better connect bicycle corridors across Rochester, specifically focusing on major east-west and north-south routes to create a high-comfort, safer, and seamless bike transportation network.

“Families in Rochester should be able to walk their dogs, bike to work, or play in their neighborhoods without having to worry about traffic accidents around every corner. Rochester has seen more pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths due to crashes than nearly any other midsize city in New York, but the resources exist to help us curb this trend,” said Senator Schumer. “I created historic funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law for building safer streets, and last year I delivered millions in planning funding to imagine a better future for Rochester’s roadways. Now I am pushing for up to $23 million in federal funding to turn that vision into a reality. Thanks to Mayor Evans and the City Council’s hard work we have a great blueprint to reduce the alarming number of traffic-related injuries and fatalities with a network of dedicated barriered bike lanes, new sidewalks, crosswalks and more.”