Season 5: Cycle Paths
A Biking History of Rochester
Unbeknownst to many, Rochester, New York is one of the first cities with infrastructure centered around the bicycle. We begin our journey in the late 19th century with the growing popularity of the safety bicycle among women, leading us toward the Sidepath Movement. In the aftermath of the 1911 City Plan
cars take the streets by storm, increasing danger and hampering mobility. As the city moves away from its roots, cycling reemerges with the rise of environmentalism in the 1970s. Bikes have played an important role throughout Rochester's storied history, and continues to change the lives of those residing and commuting here today. Join us as we cycle Flower City.
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Episode 1: Free Wheeling Women
The evolving relationship between women and cycling is one that tells of a changing landscape in every avenue. From fashion and liberation, to an entirely new way to exist within the public sphere, both equally and independently of men.
This podcast tells the stories of the wheeling women of Rochester including May Brandon, Francis E. Willard and our most well-known suffragette, Susan B. Anthony.
Grace Stensland
Sound Engineer
Sarah Knight
Producer
Grace Timerman
Lead Researcher
Episode 2: The Past & Presents of Sidepaths
Rochester was once the capital of the side path movement, a movement to pave dedicated bike paths paid for by all cyclists. By 1901, Monroe County boasted over 200 miles of bicycle side path. Where did the side paths go and how were they created?
Travel back to 1898 to learn about the side path movements origins and legacy in Rochester today with Hear UR.
Kwame Edu-Ansah
Sound Engineer
Logan Hood
Producer
Shayna Cliff
Lead Researcher
Quinn Yu
Lead Researcher
Episode 3: Rochester's 1911 Bike Plan: A Path Not Taken
At the turn of the 20th century, Rochester was booming like never before. The expanding city needed a cohesive plan for parks, transportation, libraries, and more. In 1911, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and Arnold W. Brunner published a plan for Rochester which would unify its park system and envisioned bold changes embracing the City Beautiful movement.
In Rochester’s 1911 Bike Plan: A Path Not Taken, we explore the plan’s context, what happened to the plan, and how it continues to shape our future.
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Anoutsa Latsapanya
Sound Engineer
Penny Sergei
Producer
Brad Beckwith
Lead Researcher
Episode 4: The Tyranny of Wheels
Cities in the United States are known globally as being built for the automobile, but this wasn’t always the case.
Before World War Two, Rochester like most American cities, had a dense well connected street grid which allowed for close knit and strong communities. Trolley and bus lines transported the masses around and made traveling to downtown relatively easy. Downtown was the center of commerce and the place to go for shopping and work. Following the war, governmental policy carried many Rochesterians out of the city to newly created suburbs and these suburbanites would commute to downtown in their newly purchased automobiles.
Why did American cities like Rochester give up their streets to the automobile at the detriment to pedestrians and cyclists alike? Why did Rochester’s trolley system vanish? Why were bicyclists blamed for their own deaths? In The Tyranny of Wheels, we explore Rochester’s transformation and bulldozing to make way for the automobile.
Alyssa Koh
Sound Engineer
Henry Litsky
Producer
Episode 5: The Rise of Everyday Environmentalism
The Donora Pennsylvania Smog, the Cuyahoga River lit ablaze, the Santa Barbara oil spill, and the 1970’s oil crisis, culminated in the environmental decade which saw the passage of a whole host of environmental legislation. It was time for action, Americans across the nation embraced the bicycle to not only save money but also do their part to protect the environment and advocate for change.
In The Rise of Everyday Environmentalism, Hear UR explores the environmental movement in Rochester and how the bike brought people together.
Sam Cadwell
Producer, Writer & Sound Engineer
Henry S.
Producer & Writer
Maryah Albahhar
Producer
Episode 6: Biking Down the Road
Rochester is known nationwide for being a major successful case study through the Inner Loop East freeway removal project which reconnected downtown with the city. Over the past twenty years Rochester has expanded bike lanes, parks, and other crucial non-auto infrastructure amenities. Is it enough? Will Rochester not only be the model for freeway infill, but also biking infrastructure?
In Biking Down the Road, Hear UR investigates Rochester’s biking future through discussions with Rochester City Planner Scott Thompson, and Reconnect Rochester’s Jesse Peers.
Woody Omega
Sound Engineer
Mekhai Morrison-Gaskon
Producer
Mark Berrera
Producer