Increase Metro Rail runs during peak weekend times... please.

Well, the trains run every 20 minutes on Sunday evenings. Be glad that the new schedule restructuring has the trains running until midnight on Sundays - prior to November they used to stop running at 6 PM.

Ironically it also stuck me on Sunday that the trains were not more frequent with everything going on. I didn't exactly time the trains, but I live on Main Street and have a pretty good sense of the train schedules (ding ding ding ding).

Another issue with the current system is that there is no location based technology built into the system. The signs should at least indicate when the next train is due to arrive or offer an interactive map on the NFTA website displaying where buses/trains are located. Heck, my phone can do this for free via GPS! Perhaps this will be built into the refurb trains hitting the system.

Lastly, the NFTA needs to figure out a way to accept credit cards again. Again, if my PHONE can accept credit cards securely with a card reader attachment why will it cost the NFTA $200,000 (or whatever it was) to outfit their systems?

This might be 1 of many (and I mean many) reasons Main St. is in shambles. I am not about to waste my time proving my Planning degree on this, I know someone will, but one of the major issues with Main St. is the negative stereotypes about certain areas in the city.

Main St. IS the major divider of the city, and people view it that way. I do believe certain sections of Main St., that have racially/ethnically mixed neighborhoods, have a chance to revive it as a walkable, safe, neighborhood (because the negative stereotypes are more diluted there. (South Campus, Parkside (by CPG), and possibly near Allentown.)

The city needs to be stricker on slum lords who own many of the crumbling buildings (400 & 500 Block of Main St.) Business owners (many family owned) can also help by staying open later than lunch time, and after 5pm and on a weekend in general. If one goes downtown beyond the weekday lunch hours and finds it deserted WHY RETURN???? It'll take more than just increased rail and bus's to make downtown more alive. Building owners, business owners, developers, the city, Buffalo Place and others need to step up and clean up downtown, make it more attractive, market, give breaks for new businesses (office, retail, restaurants) to move in. STOP with the first floor office spaces. That adds nothing but more blank walls and empty sidewalks on off times.
Did anyone else hear the rumor that the Food and Drug Administrative was taking over Theatre Place Building (which is why Melanie's Sweets moved out and soon, Sue's Deli) for more first floor office space. DOES THIS MAKE ANY SCENSE considering the location? The Theatre district should be a year round attraction with theme restaurants, cool retail stores, gift shops, out door entertainment, moveable ads, lights and so on. NOT a boring office block that is a complete ghost town on any give day and night except for when Shea's has an event.....

How about a vast increase in street lighting along the corridor as well? The corridor is way too dark after hours.

I really like how you made a comparison with another city and downtown and how you focused more on issue of ease of use and good urban design contributes to higher use of transit and viable central business districts. And, good forward thinking prior to introducing transit changes makes a big difference. This was something that really struck me moving from downtown portland oregon to Buffalo. Other considerations are partnerships between the businesses affected by public transit and the transit authority. Plus building into the transit system ease of use between transit and alternative modes of travel such as biking and walking. And, when each group actively dialogues with the goal of joint problem solving, the impact on the city and region benefits everybody.

I'm not sure that adding vehicles of any sort would do much. In fact, businesses would probably get MORE interaction from people walking past their front door than whizzing by in a car, bus or train. Right now, the problem is that there isn't enough active commerce on Main St to keep pedestrians engaged. It's a street to get THROUGH, without enough destinations to stop AT.

That said, 20 minutes IS a bit of a long wait for a train if you only need to go 5-10 blocks.

But a short walk or wait would be much more tolerable if there was something other than empty storefronts to view along the way. Think of it this way: if you had to travel the same distance on Elmwood, would you stand and wait even 10 minutes for a free shuttle, or would you walk instead and window-shop along the way?

you're all missing the point!!!

the fact that we are surrendering to the car on main is an issue - it is not a solution, its a band aid

the biggest goal should be to build infrustructre in Buffalo such that access to public transit and lack of access by the auto helps buffalo and the surrounding real estate, business, etc like in a real city

if we keep moving in the other direction and do everything for cars (getting rid of light rail, make more parking lots, etc) thigns are going to get worse

you people are all thinking just liek sedita, saperston and all of those other idiots in the 50's

A quick solution should be to add a bus route on the Metro ROW of Main Street. Cut stops down to about 10 minutes apart along the Central Business District because of the combined Rail and Bus use. Keep this a free zone like the metro rail. This strategy of increased frequency is employed in Curtiba, Brazil, a city known for its great mass transit.

Nothing against cars, but it's worth seeing the response to higher frequency mass transit as a way to ease in personal vehicular traffic.

Re: Shuttle bus service to supplement the rail - At one time, there was such a mini-bus service during the weekday to ferry people to the parking lots at the foot of Main. Does this service still operate? If so, could it be expanded to include weekends and evenings? If not, why did it fail? I believe the service was provided by Buffalo Place, not the NFTA.

Re: Location-based technology - Over ten years ago, NFTA started printing numbers on every single bus stop sign, along with a phone number. It didn't tell you exactly where the bus WAS at that moment (the buses were just in the process of upgrading to that technology), but a relatively easy phone call would let you know when the next bus was SCHEDULED to pass, as well as give you transfer/travel time information to your destination. A decade on, has this service failed to evolve? And how could it have been neglected to include the rail? Buffalo has a relatively admirable public transportation for a city of its size, but I'd call it a major fail if they can't broadcast wait times on those LED signs.

Re: The shuttering of Main St - The decline of downtown retail began long before traffic was ended. I think it's still a chicken-egg question whether one had anything to do with the other, or whether bringing it back will solve any issues or make them worse. Pennsylvania offers tax breaks to both residences and businesses located on public transit lines. It's not much, but it helps bring up property values and reduce costs for homes and businesses that locate in accessible areas.

Quick point of order, running a shuttle bus on Main is quite likely just as expensive as running a LRV - if not more.

After all, infrastructure is already built. The catenary is electrified. The stations are staffed. The LRVs (whose lifespan is significantly longer than a bus) are available. My first response would be to add capacity by reducing the times between trains, with one caveat:

Is anybody sure its warranted? 20 minutes btwn trips is actually not too bad, particularly on a Sunday.

That said, sure, the NFTA should have foreseen the increased demand and added extras for this wknd, but they didnt - this time. Just like the the Festival learned from last year, it will be important to ensure lessons are taken away to better serve the community. Of course follow up is needed.

However, needlessly adding to Metro Bus and Rail's operating costs by operating the route at overcapacity without sound economic justification isnt good for anyone.

the problem is not in the money, it is in the planning

people might fail to recognize it, but there is a grocerty store downtown (washington market), restaurants, coffee shops, wine bars (essentially all the thigns to reign in the professionals)

however, all of the dead, open space and the fact that the residential units are spread out makes it hard to build critical mass. if the city built a strategic critical mass and aligned public transit, than this would fall into place pretty quckly

unfortunately, the city is very reactionary and they dont pursue these things, they just wait for developers to grab property and beg for subsidies

Paid instead of payed? At least give it a read-over before posting.

Derek,

For the Powder Keg Fest and other such events, increasing rail service much as they do for some hockey games and concerts might not be a huge ask.

In general, I agree that it's a shame to have a rail system that runs less often than some of the bus lines. However most of the time when I think that I'm either stuck underground in one of the stations or it's 10 degrees in the theater district.

In nicer weather, I have to play devil's advocate here and say that in terms of a vibrant urban environment, it's better to have people walking or biking for an extra 10 minutes and actually interacting with each other on the street than saving time by sitting and shuttling past in a tube.

My ask would be increased frequency of service in the winter only and for special events.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but NFTA DID in fact increase rail service as well as provide a shuttle to the different events.

I guess my original point was misunderstood. I know there is a metro rail service already in place that runs about every 15 min for the entire line. That is good. My request is for about a 1-2 mile stretch from the Medical Corridor(Anchor Bar) to HSBC. Along this route, have rough;y 4 buses make a continuous route for all the hours that the rail runs, to complement the rail service. This will cut the twenty minutes into closer to 5 for that highly populated two mile stretch. It will increase traffic flow on Main st. It will encourage employees or visitors of the medical district to use the service to get to downtown for lunch or dinner easier. I understand that there is little business on Main, but there is a lot directly off of Main. This is an artery that is hard to travel down and it sees a train on either side every 20 min. Every 20 min elmwood probably sees, hundreds of cars, hundreds of walkers, and countless buses travel through, and don't forget about the bikers. Elmwood is an example but I would say the same for Delaware, Grant, Hertel... If someone wants to stick up for the current state of Main street, that's fine but I actually want to see Main street look how it once used to; full of shops and restaurants. This is a quick fix that could be planned out in a matter of months. I planned it out in the 20 minutes it took me to walk back to my car. This option does not need cars on Main street, and will bring potentially more people to the doorsteps of any potential business. I just don't see how this is a bad option

20 minutes for a Sunday afternoon is quite good service. I've waited for 30 minutes for a train on a workday in NYC before.

I agree maybe they could have done something a little more for the Powderkeg festival but at 20 minute increments all day, it is really easy to plan: a train leaves at 4:00, 4:20, 4:40, 5:00, 5:20, 5:40 etc... And who can't kill another 10 minute at Pearl Street waiting.

The problem is people don't want to plan anything. They just want to show up and be serviced immediately right then and there. It is the instant gratification generation. Which is fine for some things but transit is a system for everyone.

As for the GPS point... that would be the solution not just to satisfy the instant gratification crowd but would also go a long way for problem mitigation. If you are not sure you got to your stop on time, it would help. If a bus broke down, it would help, if it is running hot or late, it would help inform people. All the new buses have GPS in them that the controllers at NFTA use to make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be...

The trick, which some clever programmer can probably figure out, is how to publish that information in a way that is accessible on mobile devices. Heck, even a screenshot saved as a JPG and updated every 30 seconds would be a good start...

Two things: The powder Keg has nothing to do with this argument. And other cities are doing things so you don't have to wait twenty minutes. These are cities that plan for people and money to be infiltrated into a certain area. (aka 16th st of Denver) Why can't Buffalo do the same for their Main street. Why is twenty minutes good enough. This is not a bus service that will take you all around buffalo. The "bus" or "trolley" is something anyone can hop onto at a moments notice, be lazy and get off where ever they want, and spend money at a location of their choice. The circuit continuously circulates people in and around Main st. that is currently a ghost town. Hopefully, business' will like a constant flow of people and and begin to open shop on Main st. It's OK to want more in a city that some of us Love.

Maybe the Main Street Corridor needs an organization like the Elmwood Village Association. This Association can be a liaison (spelled wrong, I know) between businesses, residents, the politicians and assist in revitalizing the neighborhood. It worked on Elmwood, it can work here. Heaven knows our politicians aren't doing anything to improve downtown.