Rochester

Getting around Rochester is easy once you get the hang of street names! Streets run east to west while Avenues run north to south. Drives and Roads are usually long and curvy. Lanes, Courts, Places and Circles are no-through ways such as cul-de-sacs, dead-ends or half-circles.

Rochester is divided into quadrants as well: NW, SW, NE, SE. The quadrant makes a huge difference in the address so don't forget about it! Center Street divides north from south and runs through the middle of downtown. Broadway/Highway 63 roughly divides east from west,

We have a good bus system, easy to navigate. There are park and ride locations to help residents make use of the public transit and car pooling. Rochester is also adding more and more bike lanes, especially downtown and you can get your bike on the buses.

In addition to bike lanes we have a fantastic and extensive hiking/biking trail system. This system allows you get around much of Rochester without going on the main streets. The trails are usually blacktop and provide a beautiful ride or jog through the parks, trees and along the river.

Downtown Rochester has a great skyway/subway system. If you've never been in the subway system I encourage you to visit. It is a city within a city. There is plenty of shopping and dining available within the subway. Visit during the week as some subway routes and shops are closed on weekends.

If you are staying in a Rochester hotel it may be connected to the skyway system or provide a shuttle to get you to downtown and shopping areas.

Rochester does have a few street names that will confuse a visitor. We have a West Circle Drive and East Circle Drive, neither ones are circles. West Circle Drive is a four lane half circle around the city from Apache Mall on the south side of Rochester to 55th St NW on the north side of Rochester. East Circle Drive is a quarter of loop around part of the NE quadrant to Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) on the SE side of town. Future plans will have West Circle Drive and East Circle Drive meeting together some day but not yet.

As Rochester continues to develop into the a major medical center destination we expect easy transit to be a priority. There are talks of bike systems so you can take a community bike from location to location as well as trolley transit. Whatever the future holds it is sure to include a variety of transportation options with an emphases an wise use of space and resources.