The head of the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation reiterated her strong support for Renaissance Square today, saying it will help, not hinder, the increased interest in new development in Rochester's central business district.
On WXXI radio's 1370 Connection, Heidi Zimmer-Meyer said Ren Square "will allow us to change the whole dynamic of Main Street." When the city decided in the late 1980's to dedicate two of the four lanes of Main Street to bus lanes, she said, it dramatically changed the appearance and the feeling of the street. As a result, she said, the environment of downtown has gotten "out of balance."
"What Renaissance Square will do is restore that balance," she said.
Zimmer-Meyer also emphasized the importance of having federal funds pay to demolish the buildings at the corner of Main and Clinton - proposed as the site of the Ren Square theater - and clear the land. Whether a theater is built there or not, she said, downtown will benefit. The buildings are in bad shape, said Zimmer-Meyer, and the cost of new development would be prohibitive unless the land is cleared.
Zimmer-Meyer compared the Main and Clinton site to that of Midtown Plaza, now slated for clearing with government financial help. "We have known for a long time what stopped development of the Midtown site," she said. There had been plenty of interest by private developers, she said, but "what stopped every development in its tracks was the cost of clearing the site."
Zimmer-Meyer, who appeared on the WXXI program with transit authority head Mark Aesch, also questioned the potential for high-speed rail for Rochester, saying, "There are lots of unanswered questions."
The proposal is for trains that will reach only 90 miles an hour, she said, and that may not be fast enough to make it attractive for many people. To build true high-speed rail "will cost a lot of money," she said, since the current bridges and right-of-way won't support it.
What makes the idea of high-speed rail "compelling," she added, is the possibility of creating connections to metropolitan areas in Canada. That, she said, would have important economic development potential.
Comments for "REN SQUARE: Downtown Development leader presses for the project" (2)
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rochester99 said on Jul. 23, 2009 at 12:46am
I just finished listening to the replay of WXXI 1370 connection�hosted by Bob Smith with Mark Aesch and Heidi Zimmer-Myer. First I was appalled by the obvious planted calls that dominated the hour show. It was so apparent that RenSquare officials orchestrated 9 of the 10 calls that called in to support RenSquare. And the show was dominated by misinformation, exaggerations and distortions about RenSquare. There is no doubt a major campaign to sell RenSquare to a community that has shown absouletly no interest in this massive public works project of Maggie Brooks. It appears more money has been spent on Marketing /PR than actual planning!
But the point that shocked me was Heidi Zimmer-Myerss/City of Rochester plans for Main Street. To completely eliminate all bus stops along downtown�s number one transportation corridor�to reduce the size of the existing sidewalks and allow parallel parking along both sides of Main Street. This doesn�t make any sense. The problem of Main Street has been the use of it as a major �bus transfer point� for people wanting to transfer out of downtown. And the elimination of this component should be a priority. But to eliminate ALL bus use on Main Street is just crazy. Downtown workers and visitors will always need the free bus service within the downtown district �to travel from one point to another. This is downtown Rochester �.a region of over one million people. What is being planned is a village center with convenient curbside parking! And why would you spend major capital dollars to �narrow� the existing sidewalks along Main Street. How many more bad decisions can a region withstand?
Harry Davis said on Jul. 23, 2009 at 11:22am
That does not surprise me in the least. I did not even bother to listen to the show when I saw the guest list. Totally predictable.
Harry
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