Earlier this week, Buffalo Rising featured the proposed renovation of a wonderful historic building on Niagara Street just north of City Hall (see post). This is a down at its heels section of Niagara which I thought would not get much if any notice from preservationists and developers for a long time if ever. It was an extremely pleasant surprise to hear of this project. The area has tremendous potential but is heavily burdened by poverty, disinvestment, and planned sprawlification locked in by policies set in motion 50 years ago.
The neighborhoods east of the street remain tattered but remarkably intact. Almost all of the historic neighborhoods on the west side of Niagara were removed for new suburban style sprawl developments. Unlike the suburbs these developments were built to house the poor. Also on the east side of Niagara is the set of giant Thruway on/off ramps which gouge a huge hole in what is left of the street scape, forming a gaping divide between neighborhoods to the north and south. The giant ramps with associated "green space" were installed in anticipation of a expressway connector which would have rammed a highway through the historic neighborhood at the south edge of Allentown. Little things like historic neighborhoods did not matter to planners back in the 50s, 60s, 70s etc. Thankfully some miracle the highway connector concept was dropped and Buffalo was spared another epic mistake.
Unfortunately we were saddled with the dismembered stubs of this highway at three locations and no one has ever suggested getting rid of them. I thought about how stupid these ramps are as I read about the proposed building renovation which sits across the street from their east end and how a reurbanization of this area possible. Even if access to the Thruway has to be maintained here for the convenience of highway users, certainly it could not be too hard to rework them to make the access much less intrusive and destructive to the city. A smart rework of the ramp configuration could drastically reduce the highway foot print and open up a huge amount of new taxable land to enable a major improvement of the Niagara Street urban environment. The will to get rid of the highway all together will likely not emerge for many years. While we wait, why not start chipping away at some of the more silly city killing components of the thing. These ramps have to go!
View image
The neighborhoods east of the street remain tattered but remarkably intact. Almost all of the historic neighborhoods on the west side of Niagara were removed for new suburban style sprawl developments. Unlike the suburbs these developments were built to house the poor. Also on the east side of Niagara is the set of giant Thruway on/off ramps which gouge a huge hole in what is left of the street scape, forming a gaping divide between neighborhoods to the north and south. The giant ramps with associated "green space" were installed in anticipation of a expressway connector which would have rammed a highway through the historic neighborhood at the south edge of Allentown. Little things like historic neighborhoods did not matter to planners back in the 50s, 60s, 70s etc. Thankfully some miracle the highway connector concept was dropped and Buffalo was spared another epic mistake.
Unfortunately we were saddled with the dismembered stubs of this highway at three locations and no one has ever suggested getting rid of them. I thought about how stupid these ramps are as I read about the proposed building renovation which sits across the street from their east end and how a reurbanization of this area possible. Even if access to the Thruway has to be maintained here for the convenience of highway users, certainly it could not be too hard to rework them to make the access much less intrusive and destructive to the city. A smart rework of the ramp configuration could drastically reduce the highway foot print and open up a huge amount of new taxable land to enable a major improvement of the Niagara Street urban environment. The will to get rid of the highway all together will likely not emerge for many years. While we wait, why not start chipping away at some of the more silly city killing components of the thing. These ramps have to go!
Must be nice to have a convient excuse (planned sprawlification locked in by policies set in motion 50 years ago)for all of Buffalo's ills. That takes the voters and one party rule that the voters have embraced off the hook for 60 years of decline.
Yes by all means get rid of the off ramps so that the thousands of cars passing by will have even less reason or opportunites to pull off and maybe actually visit downtown. Keep the road blocking the water from downtown but make it a through road so that downtown won't be clutered by those pesky people - hell they are probably from the suburbs anyway.
From a post by someone who never fails to amaze with his simplistic outlook this post is truly a new classic.
did you read the article. he's just suggesting reducing their footprint.
i believe this is what was there before the ramps:
http://wnyheritagepress.org/photos_week_2004/buffalo_pitts/pitts_campus.jpg
Lol, I dont see what this picture is supposed to mean at all? Judging by those steam powered canal barges this picture was probably taken around the late 1800's or early 1900's. So being that it was taken fifty years before the the ramps were ever put up I guess I can post another picture of something that has no relevance on what was there before........
http://www.old-picture.com/indians/pictures/Buffalo-Dancer.jpg
your logic is flawed. people are using the 190 to haul ass out of downtown with no thought of ever getting off at Niagara st to visit any businesses, no matter how vibrant and thriving it may become in the future.
Now, if the 190 were removed and people were forced back onto the city streets, THAT is what will make them stop and visit downtown. Not the oversized on/off ramps.
"Now, if the 190 were removed and people were forced back onto the city streets, THAT is what will make them stop and visit downtown. Not the oversized on/off ramps."
Or they would just avoid coming into the city enitrely and get all they need at the many retailers in the suburbs.