Route A: Fall Creeker
Go with your family to catch a lakefront sunset at Stewart Park, or just admire the orange glow as you bike home from work or school along the leafy streets of Fall Creek.
Cayuga Street from Buffalo Street with two-way protected bike lane along Dewitt Park. Rendering courtesy of Whitham Planning & Design, PLLC.
Route A, the Fall Creeker, is a north-south route that connects the neighborhoods of Downtown and Fall Creek and reaches two important destinations: Ithaca High School and Boynton Middle School. The community-wide appeal of the schools plus other beloved places like Stewart Park, Gimme! Coffee, and Northstar Pub, means that this route is important to many residents in Ithaca, not just Fall Creek residents.
The importance of the Fall Creeker is reflected in the high usage of bikeshare along this route as well as on-street bike infrastructure that has been built: the Cayuga Street Bike Lanes between Cascadilla St and IHS, and the Tioga Street Bike Boulevard which parallels it. The Better Bike Network builds on the successes of the existing infrastructure along the route by proposing improvements that will extend and upgrade them to be safe and comfortable for everyone today and after new developments, such as Library Place and the new Tompkins County office building, are in place.
Proposed Projects
Key Projects (Phase 0.5)
Phase 1 Projects
Phase 2 Projects
Route B: Waterfront Connector
Grab your tote bags and take your friends who are here visiting out to the Ithaca Farmers’ Market the stress-free way, or just go to the new Greenstar for local produce any day of the week.
People bicycling on protected bike lanes on Cascadilla St. Conceptual rendering by Whitham Planning & Design, PLLC.
The Waterfront Connector brings Downtown and Northside closer to each other, to the growing Waterfront district and the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. It also connects various food and dining locations in Ithaca: the Ithaca Farmers’ Market, the new Greenstar Co-op Market, Gimme! Coffee, and Purity Ice Cream. The Waterfront Connector opens key destinations to Ithaca’s residents and visitors, and better connects current Northside and future Waterfront residents to employment, services, and transit available in the Downtown core.
Bicycle usage along this route is based on bikeshare usage data, which shows particularly high traffic to Greenstar and the Ithaca Farmers’ Market. Bicycle infrastructure is currently non-existent along this corridor, but there are several low-traffic neighborhood streets which could be used to connect these destinations . Connector streets in the Northside neighborhood experience strong vehicular peak demand during weekdays and market days since they connect directly to NY Route 13. Unless traffic calming measures are implemented, infrastructure that is shared with vehicles will not be safe enough for residents and visitors to bike along this route.
Proposed Projects
Key Projects (Phase 0.5)
Phase 1 Projects
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Route C: Northside-Southside
Take your little ones to school by bike or let them get to their afterschool program at Southside or GIAC by themselves along quiet neighborhood streets.
People safely crossing Seneca St along the Plain Street Bike Boulevard. Conceptual rendering by Whitham Planning & Design, PLLC.
Route C connects the residential neighborhoods of Fall Creek, Northside, and Southside along pleasant neighborhood streets, avoiding heavy vehicular traffic around the Downtown core. It serves education and community destinations in Ithaca: Fall Creek and Beverly J. Martin Elementary Schools and the Greater Ithaca Activities Center and Southside Community Center. Upon reaching Southside, people can connect to routes that take them to grocery and other stores along Meadow Street and Elmira Road.
This route builds upon the success of Ithaca’s existing bicycle boulevard network by addressing shortcomings: at the intersection of Plain Street with Seneca and Green Streets as well as pavement conditions along most of the route. Addressing these problems, will make this route even more popular among families with children and anyone interested in using a bike to go shopping.
Proposed Projects
Key Projects (Phase 0.5)
Phase 1 Projects
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Route D: Hill-to-Hill
What seemed like Ithaca’s longest mile is now no more as your trip from West Hill to Downtown now takes less than 10 minutes along the most convenient bike lanes in Ithaca.
People ride along parking-protected bike lanes on West MLK St. Conceptual rendering by Whitham Planning & Design, PLLC.
The Hill-to-Hill Route brings Ithaca’s West Hill neighborhood closer to the rest of the City, traversing through the growing West End to the Downtown core where people can connect to routes that take them to all other neighborhoods in the flats of Ithaca. The route continues up East Hill, bringing downtown and the Cornell campus together (see Route J). The destinations reached by the Hill-to-Hill Route in the core of Ithaca depend mainly on which streets it will travel on. State/MLK Jr. Street has the highest concentration of destinations and is the most direct route between the neighborhoods. Because of the number of places and people it connects, the Hill-to-Hill Route is expected to be a major east-west corridor for people on bikes in Ithaca.
Currently, limited bike infrastructure that exists on this corridor is painted bicycle lanes on the W MLK Jr/State St Bridge from Floral Ave to Brindley St. Bikeshare usage was very high between Downtown and the West End, given the popular eateries, entertainment options, shops and services. Even greater bicycle usage, particularly by people who are currently uncomfortable sharing the road with vehicles, is likely if protected bike lanes are built on State St to realize this corridor.
Proposed Projects
Key Projects (Phase 0.5)
Phase 1 Projects
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Route E: Six Mile Creek Trail
Stop to birdwatch on your way to the grocery store as you ride along the creek—or change your mind and save the shopping for later; your kid wants to see Gaia now!
People enjoying the Six Mile Creek Bridge Plaza. Conceptual rendering by Whitham Planning & Design, PLLC
The Six Mile Creek Trail links Downtown, Southside, and West Hill by building connections along quieter neighborhood streets. Along the way, the trail connects directly to Wegmans, a popular everyday destination which is currently poorly served by transportation alternatives to private vehicles. Because of this connection and the fact that this route will be directly linked with all other proposed routes, the Six Mile Creek Trail is expected to be a major east-west corridor. This trail is recommended within the most recent Southside Neighborhood Plan by the City of Ithaca and is one of the top priority projects of the Better Bike Network.
The extension of the Black Diamond Trail from Floral Avenue to Cherry Street via a new bridge is an exciting kickstart to the Six Mile Creek Trail route, providing West Hill residents a more direct, protected path to shopping destinations while avoiding the congested roads on Inlet Island. The trail is currently composed of informal footpaths along the creek on North and South Titus Streets. The Six Mile Creek Trail route could be upgraded to a shared-use path throughout, or a combination of wide sidewalks and on-street bike infrastructure appropriate for all ages and abilities.
Proposed Projects
Key Projects (Phase 0.5)
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Route F: Southwest Shopper
You’ll want a bigger basket as the Walmart plaza and every shop along Elmira Rd is now a hop-and-a-skip away by bike, or just have lunch by Buttermilk Falls—now 10 minutes from downtown.
Conceptual rendering at the intersection of the Meadow Street Shared-Use Path (project F7a) and Fairgrounds Memorial Parkway protected bike lane (project F2a). Conceptual rendering by Whitham Planning & Design, PLLC.
The Southwest Shopper Trail provides car free access to destinations along Elmira Road all the way to Buttermilk Falls for shoppers, workers, and students, whether they have access to a car or not. It also connects Southside to Titus Flats and Spencer Road neighborhoods and to the rest of Ithaca. Because of the number of destinations it connects, the Southwest Shopper Trail is likely to become a major north-south bicycle route.
A shared-use trail will make this corridor friendlier to people walking and biking, and make Buttermilk Falls State Park more accessible to residents and visitors without a car. Most of this corridor must be built along two parallel roads—Elmira Road or Spencer Road—both of which currently have no bicycle infrastructure in place. Elmira Road has many destinations but is also a busy multiple-lane highway that is. A shared-use path is the only intervention that can make this corridor comfortable enough for all. Spencer Road is a quiet residential road which people on bikes could comfortably share with vehicles after some targeted infrastructure investments. Additional links between Spencer Road and Elmira Road are necessary to make it useful to more people.
Proposed Projects
Key Projects (Phase 0.5)
Phase 1 Projects
Phase 2 Projects
All proposed projects for Route F: Southwest Shopper. Click to expand.