County Dems Call for Rail in Ren Square ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) - The leader of the Monroe County Legislature's Democrats is calling for high speed rail to be considered for inclusion in Renaissance Square. But County Executive Maggie Brooks and other members of Main-Clinton LLC say it's too late to be talking about changes to the project, and it will move ahead as designed.

Democrat Harry Bronson says he wants to start a dialog about rail being added to the downtown project that already includes a local and regional bus hub, a community college campus, and a theater - since high speed rail funding is included in the federal stimulus package.

"We can still have a bus station on Main Street, which would be beneficial. But if we could combine a bus terminal with the fast rail that's anticipated, it would be very beneficial both [for] creating jobs as well as our long-term economic development here."

Bronson says he wants to see the inter-city bus providers - Greyhound and Trailways - connected to the forthcoming high speed rail system. That could take the form of inter-city bus and rail at the same site, or running shuttle service between two separate terminals.

Where the high speed rail terminal would be in relation to Renaissance Square, how much it would cost, and what percentage of that cost would be borne by the federal government hasn't yet been determined. More dialog and study are needed to figure out the details, but Bronson says he doesn't want that study to come at the cost of further delaying Renaissance Square.

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks says she's willing to talk about high-speed rail. But she says that discussion should have nothing to do with Renaissance Square. Brooks says the idea of Ren Square being a rail as well as a bus terminal was discussed -- and rejected -- ten years ago.

And Mark Aesch -- the CEO of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority -- said "the only way we won't build at Main and Clinton is if a meteor strikes the earth."

Bronson says more dialog and study are needed to figure out the details, but he says he doesn't want that study to come at the cost of further delaying Renaissance Square.

How the rail component would be added to Ren Square also isn't clear.

Bronson says the first step isn't legislative, but rather to undertake a series of conversations.

County Executive Brooks says she'll be glad to join the discussion about high speed rail service for Rochester, but that's a different conversation from Renaissance Square.

Bronson says he's talked about the idea with Congresswoman Louise Slaughter and Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy so far.

Both of those politicians have at times been critical of Ren Square's viability. © Copyright 2009, WXXI