Quite simply, we're gearing up to provide rail-based transportation for recreational purposes (as opposed to primarily commuter) for a number of target markets, including leisure travelers, tourists, families, college students and seniors. Our system will include both trolley cars operating on separate rights-of-way from highways and roadways, as well streetcar lines in certain key districts. Our expectation is to coordinate with and support existing transportation infrastructure, including regional bus service operated by the RGRTA, excursion rail trips run by regional railroads, and downtown visitors' shuttles.

photo from Vintage Views of Rochester

Our phases include:

Phase I: PaeTec Park to the University of Rochester, via the historic Rochester Subway Tunnel
Phase II: Downtown Circulator
Phase III: Charlotte to Downtown/ Charlotte to Seabreeze
Phase IV: Airport & Colleges to Downtown
Phase V: Suburbs to Downtown
Phase VI: Rochester to Finger Lakes and outlying towns

The first phase of this approach has necessitated that we work to halt the City of Rochester's planned dirt fill of the historic Rochester Subway Tunnel. As of 2006, this effort has been generally acknowledged as successful, thanks largely to the efforts of the Subway Erie Canal Revitalization group (SECR).

We have invested much time in trying to work with the US Coast Guard and CSX Transportation to acquire the Hojack Swing Bridge in the Genesee River near the Port of Rochester. This provides the essential link to the latent rail rights-of-way that lead to Seabreeze and ultimately downtown. From there, we've had conversations with the Town of Irondequoit and the regional trails organizations to develop a shared-use approach to the existing rights-of-way (former Rochester Running Branch), combining a recreational trail with a trolley line.

This shared approach accomplishes a quality-of-life objective while bringing economic development and job creation in key corridors. The beauty of the economic development is that it will take so many forms: construction of stations for the trolleys, which can include retail storefronts; construction of housing and entertainment districts on and along trolley lines, and so much more! And every tourist, family or student that we bring to points of interest in our community supports our economy and contributes to sales-tax revenues for our municipalities-- everyone wins!

The follow-on phases include the local colleges and institutions of higher learning, helping to bring students downtown to experience our city's cultural offerings. We've all heard of the "brain drain" of ambitious, talented students leaving Rochester-- most do so because they have never experienced our cultural assets, simply because it was impractical for them to reach those destinations as students.