Route F: Southwest Shopper

May 1

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.

Subway line-style diagram of Southwest Shopper route with the following stops and connections, from bottom: Buttermilk Falls, Spencer Rd, Walmert (connection to future Meadow St bike lanes), Titus Towers, and Southside (connection to Six Mile Creek …

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)

Key Projects

F4b: Establish Buttermilk Falls Shared-Use Entryway

Widen and pave existing footpath from Spencer Rd to Buttermilk Falls State Park parking lot, complete with signage

F1: Repave Plain and Wood St. Bike Boulevards

Repave bike boulevards to provide a safe riding surface

F2a: Fairgrounds Memorial Protected Bike Lane

Build two-way cycle track from Walmart to Meadow St. using one lane.

F3: Build Elmira Rd Protected Bike Lane to Spencer Rd

Upgrade bike lanes on Elmira Road to protected bike lanes or two-way cycle track from Plain St. to S Meadow St. Continue protected lanes across crosswalk at Meadow St., onto existing parklet by gas station, and to Meadow St.

Phase 1 Projects

Additional Projects

F5: Build Access Paths Between Rt 13 and Spencer Rd

Create shared-use paths connecting Spencer Rd to Rt 13 every 800 feet (two city blocks); use vacant lots next to Honda and U-Haul property

F4a: Create Spencer Road Living Street

Repave Spencer Rd from S Meadow St to Salvation Army exit and enhance family-friendly feel of neighborhood by traffic calming road to 10 mph using chicanes, paving elements, and vegetation

F2b: Establish Titus Towers Creek Shared-Use Path

Create safe passageway from Meadow St to Plain St along Titus Towers property and NYSEG utility corridor