Village of Pittsford Bulletin — May 2026

The Town of Henrietta is hosting a free drive-through paint drop-off this Saturday, May 2, from 9 AM to 1 PM at 405 Calkins Road. If you have old cans sitting in the garage — latex, oil-based, acrylic, varnish, shellac, lacquer, primer, urethane, or clear coatings — this is a clean, no-cost way to get rid of them properly. Pre-register before heading over, and you stay in your car the whole time. Note that spray paints and paint thinners are not on the accepted list, so leave those out.

Three practical items for the weeks ahead.

If you were planning to put brush out for curbside pickup the week of May 4, expect a delay — DPW crews are tied up with other road projects and won't be running the usual brush collection schedule that week. One note: if a contractor left debris at your property, the contractor is responsible for hauling it out, not the Village.

Schoen Place is getting overdue attention over two weeks. Starting the week of May 4, crews will do surface treatment along the roadway — that takes several hours — and part of the parking lot behind the Coal Tower will close for repaving over two days. Then the week of May 11 brings micro paving, also taking several hours. Both weeks will bring minor delays for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Follow the posted signage and give crews room to work.

And a welcome update to go alongside the construction news: the drinking fountains along the canal path are being turned back on during the first week of May. If you're out on the towpath this spring and summer, water access is returning just in time.

This one is worth putting on the family calendar. On the morning of May 16, Walk Bike Pittsford, Towpath Bike Shop, and the Monroe County Sheriff's Department are co-hosting a free, one-hour Bike Safety Jamboree right at the Towpath Bike parking lot on Schoen Place. Kids get a quick safety review, a chance to meet the community partners, some take-home materials, and free bike bells while supplies last. It is a low-key, welcoming way to kick off the biking season for families in the village. If your child is under 16, pre-registration is requested. The whole family is welcome — it runs 9 to 10 AM and you are right on the canal.

This is the most significant infrastructure announcement in the bulletin, and worth understanding now even though construction is more than a year away. NYSDOT is planning a full rehabilitation of Monroe Avenue from I-590 to the Monroe Avenue Bridge at the village's western edge. The project spans two construction seasons — Spring 2027 through end of 2028.

The scope covers what has long been needed on this corridor: resurfaced pavement, upgraded traffic signals, ADA curb ramps, and a new sidewalk on the south side of Monroe between 3750 Monroe Ave and Woodland Road — a stretch that currently has no sidewalk at all. Shoulder width will also be improved to better accommodate cyclists.

The most consequential change is the lane reconfiguration. Monroe Avenue will move from its current layout to one travel lane each direction with a dedicated center turn lane. That shift will slow traffic through the corridor, make it substantially easier to cross on foot, and produce a stretch of road that actually fits the pace of a village rather than a highway. Short-term lane closures and night paving will be part of construction. The inconvenience will be real, but the result should be a Monroe Avenue that works for the people who live here.

A few more items as you look ahead.

If you own or run a local business, the Village is accepting flower basket sponsorships through June 15 as part of the America 250 celebration — $100 per basket, and your business gets recognized publicly as a community supporter. It is a small investment that puts your name alongside something that makes the streetscape more beautiful all season. Reach the Village Clerk at villageclerk@villageofpittsfordny.gov or 585-586-4332.

Mark June 28 for the E Pluribus Unum Community Picnic — Sunday, noon to 2 PM. More details will follow as the date approaches, but it is the kind of gathering that reminds you why living in a place like Pittsford matters.

Finally: if you have not registered for the Village text alert system, now is a good time. It is how the Village reaches residents quickly when something important is happening — emergencies, service changes, anything time-sensitive. Sign up at villageofpittsfordny.gov or call 585-586-4332.

What would it mean for every resident who cares about this village to feel as connected to it as the people who already show up — at the picnic, at the Jamboree, on the canal path on a Tuesday morning in May? The systems are here. The invitation is open.