Alley revitalization effort underway in Rochester

Last month, Bohrer Alley, in the Inner Loop North, hosted “Liven Up the Alley,” an event meant to draw attention to efforts at revitalizing Rochester’s alleys.

Organized by Hinge Neighbors, the event showcased some of the findings of an ongoing study conducted by City Hall. At the helm is David Riley, Rochester’s principal transportation specialist.

At Liven Up the Alley, attendees saw Rochester’s side streets at their full potential. Artists completed spray-paint pieces, children rode their bikes, and parents had the opportunity to speak to Riley about making the alleys safer and more convenient walking areas. 

“I certainly came in aware of some issues on alleys, but talking with folks who live with them, (I) learned a little bit more about some of the problems that they see or are looking for the city to address,” says Riley, who cited illegal dumping and traffic as primary concerns. “I’ve certainly seen litter on alleys, but (residents say) they really seem to sometimes be a magnet (for) illegal dumping because they’re kind of out of sight, out of mind.”

Hinge Neighbors, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering community involvement in major projects in the Inner Loop, helped to kickstart the study in Bohrer Alley. The alley, located north of the Inner Loop between Scio and North streets, was overgrown and being used as an illegal dumping ground. 

“We thought, ‘well, if we could walk down this alley and clean it up, it would be great.’ So, we talked to the police, and we talked to the Neighborhood Service Center and the inspector, and the police said, ‘Don’t go walking down there by yourself, please,’” says Suzanne Mayer, who, along with Shawn Dunwoody, is a cofounder of Hinge Neighbors. 

“We got the (illegal trash) dumping cleaned up,” she says. “We had neighborhoods involved, parents from Lewis Street YMCA were involved, and we got it looking better. And once people realized we keep trying to keep it clean, dumping didn’t happen.”

The study began officially in August 2025, expanding on Hinge’s efforts to develop cost-effective, practical ways to revitalize alleys citywide.

“I would partly credit Hinge with adopting an alley and putting it on our radar. They had requested or made a number of suggestions or requests for different kinds of improvements to Bohrer alley,” says Riley. “That got us thinking, hey, this is only one alley among many, it’s great that there’s a group that’s kind of taking charge of this one, but let’s take a more comprehensive look citywide at what we could be doing with alleys and try to develop a kind of consistent approach across all the neighborhoods so that we’re not treating one a lot differently than another.”

Key concerns examined by the study are making alleys more pedestrian-friendly, safe, and clean. If successful, the initiative will improve bike and pedestrian connections and green infrastructure, and reduce “unwanted activities” associated with alleys while maintaining necessary functions like pedestrian access and deliveries.

Project managers for the study worked with community members to identify infrastructure and safety issues such as lack of lighting, speeding drivers, and illegal trash dumping. The city also spoke with Rochester’s police and fire departments to ensure that emergency services wouldn’t be compromised by the project’s improvements, as well as with business owners with alley-adjacent properties. 

“There’s a balance to be found there between traffic calming, which has a safety benefit, but also making sure that we’re maintaining emergency response. So, if it is on a busier corridor, we might have a different kind of approach to the design,” says Riley about conversations with RPD and RFD. 

After completion, expected by the end of this summer, the study will be used by the city to apply for grants to fund revitalization efforts. With no specific funding goal in mind, Riley hopes that the study will also be able to identify priority areas for improving alleyways depending on the amount received for the initiative.

“I think what this study will give us is kind of some thoughts on how to prioritize maintenance and improvements to alleys,” he says. “So, recognizing there are 60-plus alleys across the city, how do we prioritize which ones have the most immediate need to work on? And that’ll include a lot of different factors. It’ll include the condition of pavement and infrastructure, and are there drainage issues and things like that. 

“But I think we would also look at what’s going on in the community. Is there kind of a placemaking effort underway that a project could help support? Is there potential for that kind of thing that we want to try to foster in a neighborhood?”

In addition to infrastructure improvements managed by the city, Hinge is working to include local artists and community members in the project. It views alley revitalization as part of broader placemaking and affordability goals. In fact, Hinge’s early work cleaning Bohrer Alley stemmed from efforts to encourage property owners along the alley to build auxiliary dwelling units for more affordable housing. 

“From listening to people who wanted affordable homes, we were trying to figure out how to do that along the alleyway,” says Dunwoody. “Once again, community social justice, homeownership, and connecting to neighbors because the alleyways used to function for people. 

“I used to hang out in (Bohrer) alley and barbecue and work on cars and everybody would talk and hang out,” he adds. “But since the demise of neighborhoods and removal of garages, and auxiliary dwelling units in that area, the alley became a shady area.”

Dunwoody compares his vision for Rochester’s alleys to “mews,’ traditional alley-side auxiliary dwellings in parts of Europe, featuring lower-level garages (or stable houses) with living space above.

Project organizers also turned for inspiration to other cities like Detroit, where urban revitalization projects, including alley revitalization projects like the one taking place in Rochester, are helping reverse the city’s reputation for high crime and decay. 

Similar urban revitalization efforts around the country, propelled by a desire among younger residents for community-oriented development, have emphasized walkability, placemaking, mixed-use development, affordability, and an “eyes on the street” approach to public safety. Rochester 2034, the city’s blueprint for future development, is keeping with national trends in urban revitalization, stressing the importance of public transit accessibility, placemaking, and social and economic justice. 

The alley revitalization project, though not officially a part of Rochester 2034, fits with the plan’s larger goals, Riley says. He singles out alleys’ potential for expanding walkability and public transit access.

“(Rochester 2034) definitely puts an emphasis on trying to improve our bike network and make this a more walkable city,” he says. “I think that (alleys) certainly can help with making connections between streets and bike facilities or getting from a trail to a street or from cycle track to a bike lane. So, yeah, I think they’re part of that bigger picture. I think making these more walkable places is part of that big picture too.”

David Wazana is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and a member of the Oasis Project’s second cohort. 

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