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9.0 Public Input

9.4 Focus Group Sessions

Four focus group sessions were held with special interest groups in the Village of Pittsford. These included a group with transportation interests, local development/industrial development interests in the Village Pittsford, local officials with Village interests and a group with Historic Preservation interests. The following summarizes the results of each focus group session.

Focus Group:	Transportation
Date:	June 29, 2001
Attendees:	Larry Sherman, NYS DOT Kristen Bennett, Genesee Transportation Council Scott Leathersich, Monroe County DOT Scott Spencer, Village Highway Superintendent

What do you think are the biggest transportation issues facing the Village? What techniques should be used to address these issues?

• Parking on Sundays is sometimes a problem in residential areas because of Church attendance.

• Parking is a concern near school as the parents are dropping and picking up students.

• Near Schoen Place, parking is a problem because a lot of spaces are taken for Canal users that are not patronizing businesses -- this negatively affects the businesses in the Canal area.

• There is a lot of demand placed on the roadways.

• The volume is high with many types of vehicle use (trucks, cars, bikes, etc.). There has been an effort by DOT and the Village to coordinate lights to reduce speed and congestion.

• Cut through traffic is an issue - people look for an easier route and this causes spillover onto other roadways.

• There is an effort to be more sensitive to the pedestrian - vehicular lanes have been reduced from four to three lanes. The response thus far has been positive.

• Gateways, i.e. pavers have been suggested. The issue of cost and maintenance is an issue. The NYSDOT is willing to work in partnership with other transportation entities.

• Street printing, asphalt and etching are options the Village would benefit from - need to look outside the Village to understand what is going on - Regional issues. All vested parties need to step forward to bring their ideas to the table.

• Congestion and signal timers are hot issues. Balancing vehicular and pedestrian traffic is an important issue.

• DOT has recently installed pedestrian count-downs to ease perception that pedestrians do not have enough time to cross the Four Corners area - this seems to help.

• Right turn only lane was an issue - especially the one that turned west to Pittsford Plaza. Residents were not happy about its placement.

• Speeding is not always an issue because of volume. However, speeding is a problem on Schoen Place and Main Street.

• There are concerns regarding interaction with cars when people are riding bikes, or walking on Schoen Place.

• Mid-block crossing is problem especially on Sundays because people park their cars in the cross walks.

• The area around the High School is an issue near Jefferson in terms of walk ability. Kids should be able to walk to and from school safely.

• No matter what you do you need enforcement to back it up, i.e. if there are pedestrian crossing laws, there needs to be follow through. There are studies on stop sights that have cameras to monitor people on foot and in cars.

• A high accident location is Route 31 just past the Four Corners. Two lanes may be part of the issue and courtesy turns are problems. Perhaps bringing it down to one-lane or having time monitored turn regulations could address the problems.

• Crossing guards could be better located and there could be better communication with the parents about their children walking to school. It has been noticed that fewer children walk to school.

• Students park in the recreation center due to a shortage of parking near the school. This disturbs neighbors.

What role can you, specifically, play in working cooperatively with the Village to address their traffic concerns?

• The NYSDOT continues to try different techniques to work within the Village. There are accommodations made to all types of traffic (walking, bikes and automobiles.)

• Traffic calming sounds good but solid answers are hard. If you reduce flows in one area, you will affect other routes.

• The main intersection in the Village is a safe one from a transportation design perspective. The real issue is it is not user friendly (to cars and pedestrians.)

• Genesee Transportation Council does not build or maintain byways but they encourage alternative routes to the high volume roads. Realignment of the Canal trail has been submitted by the Town of Pittsford with the Canal Corporation for GTC consideration for safety considerations.

• All Regional and local agencies must work together.

What is unique about doing business in the Village of Pittsford? What specific location should be promoted for future business development? What specific areas should be protected from specific types of development?

GOOD

• Historic charm

• Independent retailers

• Owners are in the shop

• Customer service

• Selection you can't find anywhere else

• Businesses encourage leisurely shopping

• Destination shopping

• Village board has become much more shop friendly. Changes have been made on the Architectural Board.

BAD

• Services that have left the Village

• Village needs services

• Less foot traffic

• Village restricts services

• Needs to be a more friendly place to be for businesses

• Parking restrictions

• Sign restrictions

• Need code book as to how to open a business in the Village

• Politics in the Village & Town are not conducive to businesses (no written codes, Village does not update the landlords, lack of consistency)

• Parking for residents & non-residents

• Village needs to put in meters

• Business is down

• May need a chain store i.e. Pottery Barn

• Demographics (need to go through Pittsford to get anywhere else, two State roads go through the Village, high traffic volumes good for business).

• Businesses should be allowed to redevelop existing space that is empty along the Canal (Schoen Pl.) and in the CBD. A pedestrian bridge can link Schoen and CBD.

What role can you play in improving the business climate in the Village?

• Monroe County IDA can assist in economic development in the form of low interest loans, tax abatements for light industry.

• The Chamber of Commerce could provide a list of vacant properties. This list can be used to promote the use of space for future businesses.

• Build a parking garage. Shop owners can park away from their businesses to leave spaces for customers. Central parking lot for business owners and employees would help reduce parking issues.

• Rents are high for business owners. Chamber and Village Business Association (VBA) should cooperate to build a website that will list vacancies as a marketing tool.

• Chamber and VBA needs a business plan to present to the Village. Chamber and VBA needs to write a grant to hire a consultant that can write a vision plan for the businesses community.

What do you think is the most important role you can play in the future of the Village of Pittsford as an elected official? What issues do you think are the most important to address as you serve the Village?

• School Board - Consider Village interests and concerns when making decisions, i.e. location. The school board should have a presence in activities that the Village puts on. Schools are overcrowded and need space. 5,800 students are currently attending and 6,000 students are anticipated in the next five years.

• Planning Board - Maintain the historic character of the Village, some limited growth, communication between factions needs to be improved, pedestrian interests, maintain a viable and varied CBD. There is a need to educate landlords and residents on the restrictions and limitations on new businesses, make the Village appealing to businesses that want to move in (create a positive image). A further issue is cars do not stop in the crosswalks, need some type of identification for the crosswalks i.e. stamped pavement.

• Senator Alesi's Office - The Sen. Office does not have a close working relationship with the Village; his office can provide assistance with transportation issues, State funding (small cities fund), etc.

• The Village does not come to Assemblymen Joe Errigo on a regular basis.

• APRB is perceived as holding back progress.

• Parking is an important issue.

• The CBD is not the only area with businesses; other areas of the Village must be considered. Three pockets of business areas are Schoen Place, CBD, and Common.

How do you think the Town, Village, County and other Regional agencies of Pittsford can begin to work together to plan for the future? What are some of the existing cooperative strengths that can be built upon?

• There should be greater interaction between the Village trustees and boards to discuss issues important to Village.

• The role of each of the trustees needs to be clearly identified.

• The Village should work with the Senator's office.

• There is a lack of communication between the Town and Village; the high school issue has brought this to the forefront. There was, at one time, a liaison person to sit in at meetings, this is no longer happening. There should be some type of formal process as to how information gets distributed between boards.

• There needs to be a Town and Village representative to attend Board of Education meetings and vice-versa. No one knows who sits on what board. There needs to be an awareness of the goals and issues with all interested parties.

• There is a need for more athletic facilities in the Village.

• Enlargement of the library is a critical issue. There should be efforts to keep the library in the Village. Facilities such as the library help maintain the Village identity and character.

Why is historic preservation important to the Village? What are the most significant assets and why? What role can they play in the future of the Village?

• There is a bottom line that historic preservation provides an incentive to the residents of the community to become better informed and to improve property values.

• In order to know where we are going, we need to know where we have come from.

• The Canal is our heritage - it takes us back in time.

• Architecture, tree lined streets, wonderful history, all make the Village important.

• Canoe, rowing, boating tours, white water rafting, walking, fishing are all activities that residents and tourists utilize. This is a way to bring the past forward.

• Preservation and protection improves the quality of life.

• Attractive settings provide jobs and bring people into the Village.

• A location is more than just a 'place' -- it has a historical context.

• The Village is unique so it must be sold as a destination.

• The parking problem is a perception - so it becomes real.

• The Dairy Farm in the middle of the Village is an asset.

• Educational institutions (Nazareth and St. John Fisher Colleges), restaurants, specialty shops, etc. enhance the history of the Village.

• The smaller government works much more efficiently than the structure in the Town. Small government = small problems.

• Historic preservation can simply be enhanced with continued work.

• There is a challenge when working with businesses vs. residents, i.e. businesses feel there are too many physical restrictions, and they want to knock down buildings for more parking. Residents want upkeep of properties.

• People want to live in the Village, shop in the Village, own businesses in the Villages, recreate in the Village if Pittsford's history is preserved. BALANCE IS IMPORANT!

• Problems arise with businesses that are obsolete try to find a way to make their structures meet economic development desires and historic preservation goals.

• We need to recognize that we can preserve but we also need to adapt to present needs, i.e. handicap accessibility.

What is currently done in the Village to support historic preservation? (programs, regulations, etc.) How can you support historic preservation in the Village's future?

• Architectural review Board implements a Village ordinance (historic).

• Historic Pittsford is a non-profit. They do surveys and inventories, they publish books, they conduct walking tours and they work with an architect (gratis) addressing exterior changes.

• There are several review/planning boards that have input and that make the process uphold historic integrity. The perception of 'jumping through hoops' may be intimidating. Preservation through education and persuasion is a key to historic preservation.

• The Village Board has hired a full time code enforcer.

• Village residents are not a cohesive group in the same way that commercial, political, ecumenical and other groups may ban together.

• State funding is hard to come by because dollars are devoted to other projects (parks, water, etc.) first and then the scarce resources will go to other municipalities/projects. This budget will not provide much financial support.

• Funding can come on a site-by-site basis.

• The NYS Canal Society can offer expertise, interpretation, provide traveling exhibits and education.

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