March 19, 2026
As freezing rain pelted the streets outside, the warmth of community filled the Genesee Park Fieldhouse to prepare for a Complete Streets Makeover. Hosted by Reconnect Rochester with support from Healthi Kids, the two-hour workshop was a snapshot of neighborhood power: young families and long-time residents coming together to shape improvements for a busy—and often dangerous—intersection.
“We want to hear from you,” said Lourdes Sharp, the project lead. “You all know what it’s like to walk, to bike, and to roll on the streets every single day. So, as we work to transform this intersection to make it safer and more beautiful, we want to capture your ideas and graft you into the centerfold of how we approach this project.”
This process isn’t new to the 19th ward—community members partnered for a makeover at the intersection of Arnett and Warwick in 2023. This will be the 6th transformation led by Complete Streets in the city of Rochester. The focus this year is where Genesee Park Boulevard and Pioneer Street intersect, an area identified by neighbors and advocates where cut through traffic and speed have raised safety concerns. This intersection stood out among the pool of community-reported trouble spots with 28 crashes occurring here within the past five years–29 if counting the crash that occurred there just hours before the workshop.
Pedestrian fatalities have risen by 75% since 2010 across the United States, a statistic that hits home. Monroe County has seen more than 5,000 crashes involving people walking or biking in the last decade, with an average of 12 deaths every year. And speed is a life-or-death factor: being hit at 20 mph carries just a 5% risk of death. That risk rises to 45% when hit at 30 mph and 85% at 40 mph—a clear case for slowing drivers down.
From the playful to the practical, community ideas flowed. One child proposed a dinosaur themed mural “because dinosaurs are big and they move slow,” a friendly nudge for drivers to ease up. Another child envisioned a big star with the word community at the center. And of course, there was a mention of Genny, the traffic calming turkey known in the 19th Ward. Adults echoed safety upgrades including curb extensions and flexible bollards to improve sightlines and keep parking back from corners; speed feedback signs and better lighting; crosswalks and bike connections to the riverway; plus, benches, trash cans, and a bright bus stop shelter to make the space welcoming.
The team will weave these ideas into a draft that will go to the engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting firm Stantec to reshape the streetscape. The community team—made up of members/reps of the 19th Ward Community Association, Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest and Cub Scout Pack 1965—will continue to meet and use ideas shared at the workshop to determine the street mural design and other creative ideas to bring vibrancy to the intersection. Everyone will come back together in May to bring the shared vision to life
Know an intersection that needs a makeover? Reconnect Rochester maintains an open submission process and needs your help identifying Monroe County intersections and trouble spots that could be redesigned to make them safer for everyone.
As an initiative that believes that every child needs a connected community of caring adults to support them, and safe and supportive environments that will give them the healthiest start in life, Healthi Kids is proud to have partnered with Reconnect Rochester for their Complete Street Makeovers since its first project at the intersection of Greeley and Parsells in 2018.
Together, we are creating safer streets while building community with kids and families at the table and strengthening neighborhoods—one intersection at a time.