October 22, 2012 5:22 PM

Porter Pride

queenseyes 20

There's a new sign on the old Citgo gas station on Porter Avenue, near the entrance to the Peace Bridge, that states that a new Mobil station is on the way. Since I was little this gas station has always been an eyesore in the historic neighborhood. In recent years the condition of the station has gotten progressively worse - nothing has been updated or fixed in ages.

With Mobil moving in, there is an opportunity to fix up this station. I would think that all of the pumps will be upgraded and will no longer look so ragtag. But there is much work to be done, and Mobil has the ability, and the responsibility as a new owner, to make the station look and feel welcoming. After all, look at the close proximity to the waterfront and the Olmsted Park System. This is a centrally located station that people visit as they enter and exit the country.

Much like the vacant-looking Duty Free storage buildings (for example) on Porter Avenue, this section of the city has been dumped on for far too long. Now that The City is putting money into new infrastructure, including bike lanes, curbs, etc., businesses such as ~~Citgo~~ Mobil and Duty Free should step up their games. Why does Duty Free need to keep its products in a building that looks vacant, with cheap fencing and broken surface lots? I'm willing to give Mobil a chance to see what it has planned for the neighborhood, but Duty Free continues to operate out of a blank shell that brings down the rest of the street. I'm sure that there are plenty of developers out there that would love to build so close to Canada and the waterfront.

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Comments

20 Comments Leave a comment

grad94

October 22, 2012 5:38 PM

yeah, it could be way better. look at this sunoco station in saratoga springs, which is in the middle of their most intact 19th century thoroughfare:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Sunoco_station,_Saratoga_Springs,_NY.jpg

[ Reply ]

Score: 10 ( 10 votes )

300miles

October 22, 2012 6:05 PM

I think anything that nice would require the city to push Mobile on design improvements. I'd be really surprised if they did something like that all on their own without an outside push.

[ Reply ]

replied to grad94

Score: 3 ( 3 votes )

paulsobo

October 22, 2012 7:24 PM

This is exactly what Buffalo should have...if one must have a gas station at the gateway entrance to New York State then it should be something like this...

[ Reply ]

replied to grad94

Score: 2 ( 6 votes )

JSmith

October 22, 2012 6:35 PM

I think you will have to wait for the Green Code before the city will be able to legally push any significant design standards on gas stations.

Look past the curlicue canopy on the Saratoga Springs Sunoco, and it's still a typical brick box in a giant square of asphalt. I guess they design credit for not opening up the entire bottom of the photo to the street as one giant curb cut, like plenty of gas stations here.

[ Reply ]

Score: 2 ( 2 votes )

kapryt

October 22, 2012 8:00 PM

Good to see this abandoned gas station get new life.

PS Its a gas station! It has to have a large plot of asphalt for ... the cars!

And I have an electric car! But gas stations aren't evil, they're a necessary part of the current infrastructure and one close to an international gateway is critical in helping travelers.

[ Reply ]

Score: 4 ( 10 votes )

BuffaloItalianGuy

October 22, 2012 10:11 PM

It may look abandoned, but the gas pumps and convenience store are open for business 7 days a week.

[ Reply ]

replied to kapryt

Score: -3 ( 3 votes )

PaulBuffalo

October 22, 2012 8:50 PM

I think Buffalo should jazz it up a bit.

http://www.archdaily.com/36062/united-oil-gasoline-station-kanner-architect/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helios_House

[ Reply ]

Score: 9 ( 11 votes )

ivan putski jr

October 22, 2012 9:30 PM

Mobil....home of the overpriced gas....why is it always about ten cents more a gallon than anywhere else?....why people still fill up at the one on Elmwood/ Forest is still a mystery to me.....ever since Ted's and the Tender Trap closed down this area went down hill....maybe it was when they moved the Duty Free...I don't know

[ Reply ]

Score: 5 ( 5 votes )

whatever

October 22, 2012 9:56 PM

"Mobil....home of the overpriced gas....why is it always about ten cents more a gallon than anywhere else? ....why people still fill up at the one on Elmwood/ Forest is still a mystery to me"

For Mobil and Sunoco, I'm pretty sure the explanation is local owners of stations like Elmwood/Forest setting prices the market will bear, rather than caused by brand of gas.

The Mobil and Sunoco across from each other at Delaware/Amherst generally have lower prices than stations selling those brands spread out along Elmwood. Farther north on Delaware, stations near Delta Sonic seem to keep their prices not much above Delta's. It seems Detla always has at or near lowest prices anywhere in WNY (even at the Main St one in the Midtown District) regardless of other stations nearby. And I think Noco is often a little higher than most.

But for Mobil and Sunoco, my guess is local dealers set prices relative to competition. That station at Forest might benefit from a lot of student customers either not realizing the prices are higher than a mile away or not caring very much.

[ Reply ]

replied to ivan putski jr

Score: 4 ( 4 votes )

ivan putski jr

October 22, 2012 11:03 PM

I myself prefer to buy my gas from that little mustachioed leperchaun working that cash only dump across from Great Wall on elmwood/delevan....their front door gets me every time though...it says push to enter but I just want to pull the damn thing

[ Reply ]

replied to whatever

Score: 6 ( 6 votes )

Timothy Domst

October 23, 2012 8:44 PM

You'd think a leprechaun wouldn't have to work at a gas station, someone must have convinced him to trade his pot of gold coins for the gold dollar coins that run the air pump.

[ Reply ]

replied to ivan putski jr

Score: 1 ( 1 votes )

whatever

October 22, 2012 9:34 PM

queenseyes>"Mobil has the ability, and the responsibility as a new owner, to make the station look and feel welcoming."

Just asking, but are you sure "Mobil" will be the owner? Might it not be a small local new owner just selling Mobil gas? Or maybe even the same current owner continuing but switching brands from Citgo?

js>"I think you will have to wait for the Green Code before the city will be able to legally push any significant design standards on gas stations."

Does the Green Code even say anything about gas station appearance or design? I didn't notice anything about that in preliminary info on the GC web site. Is it buried in there somewhere?

[ Reply ]

Score: 4 ( 4 votes )

JSmith

October 22, 2012 11:03 PM

"Does the Green Code even say anything about gas station appearance or design? I didn't notice anything about that in preliminary info on the GC web site. Is it buried in there somewhere?"
I certainly expect the final draft will include design standards for gas stations, just as it will for other types of buildings, parking lots, etc. We will see in the next few months when the draft is made public.

I suspect the code will not regulate cosmetic appearance beyond things like building materials, signage, lighting, etc., but will definitely include regulations to mitigate the negative impact of a gas station on the pedestrian experience, etc. Things like limiting curb cuts, requiring landscaping or screening walls along the edge of the lot, and so on.

[ Reply ]

replied to whatever

Score: 1 ( 1 votes )

BuffaloItalianGuy

October 22, 2012 10:17 PM

Whatever happened to the plans to add a take out restaurant to that Citgo station?

CITY PLANNING BOARD AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING NO. 1047
Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 8:15 AM, ROOM 901 CITY HALL

210 PORTER AVE.
Design and site plan review for the construction
of a 14'6" x 10'3" addition to a convenience
store/gas station.
Buffalo Code Section 511-137

[ Reply ]

Score: 1 ( 1 votes )

RaChaCha

October 22, 2012 11:24 PM

Olmstedian gas station or nothin'!!

[ Reply ]

Score: 5 ( 7 votes )

armyof100clowns

October 23, 2012 6:51 AM

I will echo the comments already posted - gas stations are necessary and utilitarian; however, they do not need to be poorly designed and unpleasant to look at. A few years back the village of East Aurora fought for, and won, a Mobil station more in character with the village's character. The original Mobil was a dump, but the first proposed redesign, which increased the size of the onsite building considerably, was no better than something you see alongside Route 15 in northern Pennsylvania (minus the porn shop next door). The Village haggled with the owners/Mobil and in the end they got one of the nicer looking stations in the region.

There is NO reason the City deserves anything less! As pointed out in earlier posts, this is the gateway to our city and the United States. We should have some pride and really demand that this area look the part and not reinforce the perception that the Queen is a down on her luck kind of gal . . .

[ Reply ]

Score: 5 ( 5 votes )

brownteeth

October 23, 2012 9:27 AM

I just drove the 15 in PA a few weeks ago. Probably the most depressing stretch of highway in the country, and I've driven through 43 US states. I call it the porn corridor. Although the burger I got at Sheetz gave me an excellent stomach ache for the last 200 miles of my journey...

[ Reply ]

replied to armyof100clowns

Score: 2 ( 2 votes )

NBuffguy

October 23, 2012 9:43 AM

I love the Northern half of Route 15, from the New York State border (around Corning/Painted Post) to Williamsport, PA. The new road that runs through the mountains and over some pretty amazing bridges is scenic and lovely. It's pretty far south of there, a good distance from Williamsport and just before you reach the Pennsylvania State Capitol of Harrisburg where you can buy porn, fireworks, pepper spray, and a taser all at the same roadside plaza. Gotta love it!

[ Reply ]

replied to brownteeth

Score: 3 ( 3 votes )

Buffalo All Star

October 23, 2012 11:51 AM

Theres literally a strip club or a movie shop every 3/4 of a mile..I thought it was funny..my wife none too pleased.

[ Reply ]

replied to brownteeth

Score: 2 ( 2 votes )

victorian361

October 23, 2012 10:29 AM

Yeah, and as "thanks" to Mobil for (hopefully) improving the appearance of this gas station, are "we" going to sit back while the Public Bridge Authority schemes to add a DUTY-FREE gas station to the expansion plan they WON'T LET THE PUBLIC SEE???

That will be just great for the local economy — cars and trucks gassing up at cheaper rates on the land-locked "international compact entity" complex — while us locals pay $.50 - $1.00 more per gallon 3 blocks over.

Get informed, speak out:
http://movetheplaza.com/2012/10/15/its-a-matter-of-life-breath-oct-24/

[ Reply ]

Score: 1 ( 1 votes )