Reconnecting Rochester One Sign At A Time

Last Thursday, a group of people in Rochester took to the streets and started posting signs on street corners everywhere.

They are brightly colored and give directions to different Rochester locations like Geva Theater, the Eastman House, or Monroe Avenue.

Each sign has a directional arrow and details walking and biking time to each location.

Jennifer Indovina is one of the people who started the initiative.

She said Rochester was built to be a walkable city but thinks many people have gotten away from that.

"There are places in the city where you don't necessarily need to get in your car and go to a parking lot you can bike or walk pretty efficiently," said Jennifer Indovina, co-organizer of RocCity 2.0.

Indovina is part of the group RocCity 2.0.

It's made up of a group of young people who call Rochester home and are looking to help others reconnect with the community.

"We want to feel like we are part of the community and designing our own city of the future," said Indovina.

The directional signs are just the first step she said.

Indovina said more projects are in the works for over the summer.

For now, the goal is to get people talking and walking.

"The idea behind them is to get people to hang out in the city," said Indovina who said people could see a movie at The Little or the Eastman House and then take a 10 minute walk for coffee in another neighborhood.

Pedestrians and bikers are noticing the new signs.

There are people like Daniel Hoch.

He rides his bike 8 miles to and from work everyday.

"I usually use Google maps but the signs are nice," said Daniel Hoch, a bicyclist.

Hoch's one suggestion was that they should be a bit larger to read.

Mark Wipman was strolling along East Avenue and he said he first saw the signs in the Park Avenue neighborhood.

"I was surprised to see them up but I think they are a great idea," said Mark Wipman, a walker.

Even people from out-of-town thought the extra signage was helpful to navigate an unfamiliar city.

"It's kind of nice. I don't have a car here so I know it takes me 12 minutes to get to Monroe, so I find it pretty helpful," said Deithra Rtarchie, who was visiting from Portland.

The signs not only tell people direction but there are QR codes which will let smartphone users jump to a useful website for more information about the neighborhood they are in.

"If you take a snap of the QR code on the sign...it will link you with the RocWiki page associated with the point of interest, so in this case, the Neighborhood of the Arts," said Indonvina

Indovina said they are hoping to get more people involved and invite others to join their organization which is not politically affiliated.

They have set up a website which you can check out here and a Facebook page.

You can also head over to RocWiki site which has more information about RocCity 2.0.