RDA draws up new map for 2020 Thursdays Downtown

While many of us are still thinking about how to get downtown for the final two Thursdays of the season (the weather today could not be better), the Rochester Downtown Alliance has already started planning for 2020.

That is because construction on Peace Plaza will force the organization to shift the map of the weekly street festival southward.

The proposed layout for 2020 — still in need of city approval — shows the event still coming down First Avenue and across to Historic Third Street; but instead of stretching north toward Peace Plaza, the festival will continue down and across to the reconstructed Fourth Street Southwest. The two stages will create barriers between Second Street and Broadway.

Holly Masek, the RDA’s new executive director, said the map was drawn after consulting the city and community stakeholders.

“The layout direction in which we’re likely heading utilizes First Avenue, which will be familiar to attendees, and gets people experiencing the event in a new section of downtown,” said Masek.

The event footprint will undergo a formal permitting process with the city before the final layout is confirmed, according to the RDA.

Because Peace Plaza construction won’t begin until spring 2020, this winter’s SocialICE event is still being planned for Peace Plaza.

Work on the plaza is a result of Destination Medical Center’s Heart of the City project. You can learn more about those plans here.

There are still two Thursdays Downtown events remaining this summer. The final event, on August 29, will feature ‘Voice’ runner-up Chris Kroez.

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.