Construction on Niagara Street seems endless. Phase 3 was scheduled to finish up this year but delays have changed that timetable. Changeorders (including replacing the water line for several blocks) have gummed things up a bit. We scratch our heads when we see the entire section of Phase 3 from Busti to Forest blocked off but only a few blocks are actually being worked on. And how about the Jesse Kregal section? Don’t get us started! That should have been completed months ago!
Some of the poles for the new traffic lights are installed on the Phase 3 section. Paving is promised from Busti to Breckenridge this year. Sigh.
But good news: Phase 4a (Forest to Hertel) has been fully funded. So the project marches on…bit by bit.
Vision Niagara has coordinated clean-ups in Broderick Park for several years, beginning with a big spring event. Covid put a damper on that but not anymore! We’re teaming up with Friends of Broderick Park (FOBP) on Saturday mornings from 10am to noon. Everyone is welcome. We’ve been weeding, cutting grass, and cleaning up. The park looks great! And we have plans for more! Watch for an art even this July highlighting the history of the Underground Railroad.
Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper helps out -a member of FOBP!George Johnson on the Right, Buffalo United Front – also a member of FOBP
Check this out! Future bike lanes with a four foot buffer on Niagara Street!
Illustration of completed bike lanes.
Happy to report that construction is steaming ahead despite the Covid crisis. General contractor, CATCO, submitted the required safety plan and we’re seeing remarkable progress. They are working on the southern section (Busti to Albany) of Phase 3 and then will jump to Forest Avenue and work south while water line issues are getting resolved in the middle section.
Lots of curbing getting installed this past week for the buffer lane and sidewalk.
We’ve been following the progress of Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council (GBNRTC) plans since it was announced by NY State that they would be the lead agency for the planning process. We hoped to have a presentation by Hal Morse, ED of GBNRTC, at our April VN meeting. Our meeting, however, was scotched due to you-know-what.
We learned that it will be an 18 month process aimed at a project that “will strengthen … community assets to create a safe, healthy and prosperous city and region for all needs.” From what we understand, this will be for the entire length of Rte. 198 and the section of Rte. 33 from 198 to downtown Buffalo.
GBNRTC is in the initial phase of the process, identifying and engaging stakeholders, community leaders, officials and experts. Multimodal assets will be identified, objectives and performance metrics will be documented. GBNRTC plans to engage a panel of national experts for counsel on potential options. Then this is where it gets interesting:
Based on all the input, GBNRTC will “assemble specific transportation access actions to achieve the stated objectives.”
“These will include options in all modes and specific to the study area as well as potential alterations outside the corridor.
Testing of the proposed set of actions in transportation simulation models..
Final set of improvement options will be subsequently prepared.”
Vision Niagara is actively working with Scajaquada Corridor Coalition to develop designs on how we can reconnect our communities and restore historic landscapes, as well as make way for development opportunities which have been strangled by highways. Our goal is to present this vision to GBNRTC, other stakeholders and the community at large in the near future. Stay tuned!
Quotes are from GBNRTC document Region Central – Approach to Project Workscope for Scajaquada Community Forward Study.
It was a cold January evening but a warm gathering and Happy Hour at CBW for our first meeting of the year. We recapped 2019 and introduced projects for 2020.
Thanks to all who participated and connected! We were happy to meet architects who are working on WEDI’s project on Niagara Street, future home of the popular West Side Bazaar. We also had updates on the Niagara Street construction project, and input about a park we envision at 1318 Niagara Street. More on that to come. We introduced events for 2020 including this year’s Jane’s Walk.
March 4 @ 4:00 pm will be our next get-together. We’ll be at a smaller venue so give a shout out if you’d like to join us!
1318 Niagara St., at the foot of Lafayette Avenue, was once a gigantic building used for malting, an aspect of beer production. The lot has been a contaminated DEC site for over a decade. Cleanup began in November and is nearly finishing up. So what next for this site, that offers a view shed of Black Rock Canal?
Vision Niagara advocated that the site be preserved as a green space. On November 26th, zoning was changed to D-OG (Green), thanks to the work of Councilmember David Rivera and staff!
We’d love to hear from our community on the Niagara Street corridor – what would you like to see here? Tell us at our next meeting and happy hour on January 8th (CBW, 4:00 pm) or pop us a note: info@visionniagara.org. We’d love to hear from you!
Buffalo Sewer Authority will give Vision Niagara participants a tour of their treatment plant on Thursday, August 8th at 4:00 pm. Count on a two hour fascinating session where you will learn about what happens to sewage and overflow, as well as the importance of our infrastructure, green and otherwise.
Send an email to info@visionniagara.org before Wednesday, August 7th, if you would like to secure one of the limited spaces for this tour. We will send you instructions where to meet.
We were delighted to announce at our June Vision Niagara meeting that a new mural will enhance our Niagara Street Corridor. Artist Nicole Cherry designed this bicycle themed image for the south side of 1330 Niagara Street. And it fits so well because the next tenant will be Campus WheelWorks, when renovations are complete.
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery has teamed up with the artist and owner, Buffalo Spokes LLC, as part of their public art initiative. The surface was just primed – the artwork should be completed by the end of July.
We at Vision Niagara have a goal to turn the adjacent lot into a park. What a perfect backdrop this will be! Hearty thanks to Nicole Cherry, AKAG and Buffalo Spokes!!
Wednesday, May 1st @ 5:00 pm @Resurgence Brewery – side room next to the chalkboard.
Tom Duk and Julie Fetzer, City of Buffalo Department of Public Works – update about the long-anticipated, now underway complete street project for Niagara Street.
Jeff Empric, Bootleg Bucha– business and rehab progress in a big section of the corridor of Upper Rock (the middle section of Niagara Street).
Howard Rich from Rich Products – what’s happening @ Rich’s.
Join us on May 11 from 10am to noon! We’ll be shining up beautiful Broderick Park including spreading mulch and a bit of weeding. Cuz we love this park so much and want it to look its best! Refreshments and free t-shirts for our volunteers!