Move Beyond the Asphalt, Restore the Green

by Daniel Q. Moore

Density doesn’t have to mean colossal projects. It looks like this: tree-lined streets, historic charm, and a neighborhood where people actually want to plant roots. (Moore, 2024).

Earlier this year, I argued that the endless car-centric and sprawling subdivisions and the commercialization of the 250 and 441 intersection were chipping away at the very fabric of our community. (A Case Against the Sprawl) This remains true. Many neighbors have expressed their displeasure with the double “drive-thru, drive-through” culture Penfield has. We have restaurants and stores, just like every other town in the area has, and Route 441 has turned into a bypass similar to Jefferson Road in Henrietta and Ridge Road in Webster. In Facebook groups, the comments compare us to the New York version of Breezewood, Pennsylvania. This comparison is not just an internet hyperbole; it’s a symptom of a philosophy that prioritizes the windshield view over the sidewalk view. When we design our town exclusively for the convenience of cars and the double drive-thru, we shouldn’t be surprised when our community is replaced by identical corporate logos with a greater amount of asphalt.

The standard reaction to this sprawl is often a defensive retreat, a desire to freeze time, ban development, and strictly enforce the single-family zoning ordinance that created this car-reliance in the first place. The stringent, dimensional, cookie-cutter layout of the quintessential suburb, once thought to create community, is actually what is eroding it. When we maintain a code that guarantees every trip requires a car key, every development subsequently requires a sea of parking spaces. The mindsets of “one more spot will fix parking” and “one more lane will solve traffic” are what got us into this mess, eating us alive socially, economically, and environmentally. We must think differently, and thankfully, the solution is well within our reach. It is time we stop reacting to bad development and start proactively demanding zoning for the more attainable and sustainable community we all deserve.

The remedy to this asphalt gridlock is a concept known as gentle density. This practice adds diverse, human-scale housing and retail options that grow incrementally within our existing footprint. Instead of colossal, isolated apartment blocks like The Arbors or sprawling strip malls at 250 & 441 and Baytowne, gentle density focuses on the “missing middle.” Duplexes,

accessory dwelling units (ADUs), townhomes, and one or two residential stories on top of existing commercial space increase the density without consuming more green space, developing inward, not outward.

If we want Penfield to live up to its motto of “a town of planned progress,” our zoning code can no longer treat housing variety and walkability as legal violations. The 2023 Comprehensive Plan calls for the town to adopt Smart Growth and Complete Street principles. We need to update our land use laws to permit these neighborhood-scale options by right. This is not just about aesthetics; it’s an economic, sustainable, and generational necessity. It’s how we build a town where a young adult buying their first starter home and a senior looking to downsize can afford to live on the same street. When I say “housing for all,” this is what I mean. Attainability for all means dignity for everyone.

Every square foot of asphalt we mandate in our code is a square foot of community we surrender to apathy and abandon to cars. To achieve a better future, we can no longer afford to react defensively. We can secure both our environmental future and economic health. It is time to reclaim our town from being the “drive-thru, drive-through” spot on a map and design spaces

that develop and foster human connection. If we fight for it, we can move beyond the asphalt and restore the green.