Buffalorising has been redesigned.

Securing those gorgeous Italianate houses on Ellicott Street from demolition, and finding an alternative like taking parking lots instead for the road extension, is worth the wait.

What is the current plan? Will the houses be spared or are they still doomed? How about the NFTA doing an RFP to solicit developer interest in building on top of the new station while it is being reconfigured?

in a classic buffalo-style bait and switch, the bmnc now plans to demolish these houses under the guise of needing them down to extend allen st., though on their master planning documents (and as is readily apparent if you just stand there and look at them) the road can easily be extended with the houses left intact.
though the road extension should go through, tearing down these houses is a stupid idea that is another corruption of the 'need' for shovel-ready sites. open your eyes! the medical campus is full of underutilized land and surface parking lots.
tearing down these houses is another betrayal of public trust, and a slap in the face to those who supported this project under the bnmc's false pretenses.

Actually, did anyone ever consider widening Allen before the extension? Going down Allen Street at any time can be a real chore, especially during truck delivery time.

Initially Allen St. was going to be extended to the East side of Main St., but only to foot traffic. I'm not sure if that initial plan has been revised to allow for vehicular traffic.

PS Queenseyes...I know you like to refer to areas of Buffalo as districts, but when so much effort has been put into developing this area as the "Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus", it would be nice to see it referred to it this way.

Widen Allen? The right of way is only 62 feet, and there are buildings right on the line. That's talking about chopping down the trees and making very narrow sidewalks.

Widening streets to relieve traffic congestion is like fighting obesity by letting out your belt.

A year ago I posted about this same issue - Connecting Both Halves.

This is a no brainer. Pictures of the houses on Ellicott Street that Chris writes about, too. Many people use the existing pedestrian right of way and cycle path to get from Medical Campus to Allen Street . When you walk or ride there's an interesting poetry mural to check out. Pictures of that, too in the above post...

So, are those beautiful old houses on Ellicott Street to be demolished?
Or is it one of those "yet to be decided" issues (wink, wink)?

It seems to be a sad fact that the planners and managers at BNMC are fixated on demolishing those buildings. NOW is the time for the "preservation" organizations like Pres. Co and the Campaign to step forward and begin to develop a dialogue with BNMC, and to develop counter-arguments. Let's not have another case like 399 Franklin, where the two groups are AWOL until after the Pres. Board approves the demo. (And then only one of them could manage any sort of public response.)

I'm very surprised that MR would advocate for widening Allen Street. Allen Street works as well as it does because it is narrow. If you want to get where you're going really fast please avoid it. Unless maybe we can trade a wider Allen for opening the Johnson Park cul du sac so that traffic going from Elmwood to the Niagara Street can cut through there instead of having to go all the way down to Mohawk Street.

What exactly is the purpose of spending $6 million. Pork for us? Road to a place where there is already good access? Put more cars on narrow Allen Street? Demolish two houses that are not in the way?

I understand the desire to spend money. I can already see the giant ceremonial ribbon cutting scissors in the hands of the elected officials all claiming credit for bringing pork to Buffalo. They should also be made to have their photos taken in front of the beautiful houses they will allow to be demolished.

The really baffling thing about this design heralded here is that the continuation of Allen Street to Ellicott Street will end at a surface parking lot! Actually I guess we do celebrate surface parking lots here.

Why is BRO so excited about this?

How about We The People of Buffalo start a national trend and spread the news that we are regifting our fellow taxpayers the $6 million. Maybe the 50 people on that Alaskan island will see the wisdom and regift the nation the $200 million designated for their stupid bridge.

A simple thought to relieve traffic congestion and vehicular incidents on Allen and the criticism flows rampantly.

Sorry for offering an opinion, but opinions are supposed to be taken as such, not creamed by those who may not experience the issues on a daily basis.

When Allen went two-way it created not only traffic congestion, but also created issues for pedestrians attempting to cross the street without being sideswiped themselves.

Those who are on the attack, rather than giving thought to other ideas, show a stubborness that can deplete open discussion rather than afford equal rights to all who read this site.

At least I use my name in my comments.

Can someone provide specific details about those houses to the east of the station? Are they or aren't they being torn down? Are they currently occupied? David, I'm sure you've got the skinny on them...

William z all-stars...

Walking home yesterday afternoon from downtown I noticed that these places are still "medical offices" and appeared to be occupied.

Simple call to the permit office 851-4200 would provide demo answers...

Its a whole block to either North St. or Viginia to go straight thru, or even smaller blocks to Carlton or High St. Just continue a nice pedestrian walk way thru to N. Oak (Roswell)

Or if you have to pork it out, lets get 6M dollars worth of tress to rebuild from the Oct storm. Or to fund the 198 downgrading thru Deleware Park. Or for hidden Elmwood parking ramps. Or any number of other things that would be more usefull or lead to development.

Another waste of money. And we wonder why our taxes are so high with nothing gained to be seen.

I'd like to see Genesee St. in downtown re-opened too. When is that going to happen?

Dan - BRO is always excited about everything - good and Bad. Keep in mind it is an exclusively positive editorial website not a News site. Which is all good as long as readers remember that. Facts that cast any negative light or even questions are generally excluded

As for widening Allen - what? Narrow-ish, 2-way streets and busy ones are really cheap traffic calming devices. Compare Auburn ave west of Elmwood with Lancaster and notice the clear difference in your experience.

I'm not sure what the BNMC folks have in mind, but like "preservation ready" said above, there is clearly enough room to the north of these houses(currently a parking lot) to extend Allen St across Main St, without demolishing them.

With all the amazing houses in this city, why do we get so ramped up about knocking one or two down to make a much-needed improvement? Has anyone been down Elmwood lately and taken a look at that beautiful masterpiece next to Panos? There it sits, unoccupied and hurting my eyes. I am completely opposed to knocking down houses and buildings for frivolous reasons, but isn't this a perfect example of how taking out a few houses could really benefit the city as a whole?

I must disagree with the idea to widen Allen street. And here is why....

The fact that there really is no room to widen aside, widening streets to reduce congestion simply increases demand and thus increases conjestion again. This has been studied and proven over and over again. In addition, going to one lane in one direction increases speeds and makes drivers confused on how to get to their destination, and in many cases adds additional time to trips. The city, to their credit understands this and in recent years we have seen a large return of two-way streets.

Narrow streets do increase congestion to a point but normally forces cars to travel at the posted speed limits - this is a good thing. Pedestrian accidents often occur because of speeding cars and the Western New York tradition of speeding up at a yellow light instead of slowing down does not help - education and enforcement initiatives could work to proactively solve this. Driver behavior is the most prevelant culprit when vehicular/ pedestrian accidents occur. If we could create more streets narrower like Allen or Elmwood, as opposed to the 4 lanes of traffic on Niagara or Main Streets, we would have a more vibrant city in my opinion.

Back to Allen Street, by extending it you create more connectivity and provide vehicles more diversified routes to get to their destination - thats why a close knit street grid pattern works so well. It keeps traffic flowing slowly but efficiently to destinations through multiple routes. This same argument was made for how traffic will be accomodated with the removal of the Skyway.

And lastly, living in the city, a car is my last option for travel. My feet, then bicycle, and public transit are used first. That is why I chose to live downtown - my car is not needed for everyday trips. This keeps me healthy and saves money, which I would much rather spend in one of our great local eateries.

mj says "$6million for trees". I second that ! !

Still laughing over "letting out your belt" to fight obesity. ;)

I heard that the BNMC has a secret farm in the southtowns where they are breeding genetically engineered goats and feeding them only asphalt as a way to decrease the costs of the project. Instead of a milling machine, they'll release these hungry genetic freaks of nature loose on Allen Street gobbling everything in their path until they reach Ellicott Street (for now).

Additionally, after exposing the goats to extreme temperatures without water, they plan on milking the goats and using the cheese as binder coat for the new roadway. Then they plan on using the defecate as a tax write off after donating it to youth hockey leagues for use as hockey pucks. The scoundrels!!!

Not to beat up on poor Marilyn, for whom I have the highest regard, but Allen Street's resurgence really took off after Allen Street was returned to two-way traffic after being one way for a long time. (I do not have the date handy but I think it was in the late 1980s. Maybe someone can confirm.) It stopped being an unpatrolled expressway, as is Linwood Avenue, and started being a desirable commercial address--for all the reasons Justin cites.

Those fine old houses on Ellicott Street should be saved and rehabilitated for new uses appropriate to the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus. Demolition is definately the wrong answer for these historic brick houses. They are in good physical shape and appear to have had major repairs and restorations already done and they are a major positive contribution to the streetscape. As for extending Allen Street, I have mixed emotions on this project. But there is absolutely no legitimate reason why Allen Street cannot be extended without the needless demolition of those historic brick houses on Ellicott Street.

Spandrel, thanks, and the feeling is mutual.

I realize the effort of creating Allen as a two-way venue had great results, especially for retail and restaurants alike. Unfortunately, the two-way system does create traffic issues, espcially during the day when delivery trucks abound. If there was a way to designate that these larger vehicles would have to stay clear of corners, it could improve the sight line of drivers attempting to enter Allen from the cross streets. That would help a great deal.

Justin, I wholeheartedly agree with your comments regarding walkability. And I would feel the same way a few years ago, but one thing all you young folks need to understand is there are reasons for some needing to utilize private transportation - disabilities.

I sure was one for critiquing folks that were "too lazy" to walk somewhere, until I was struck with a severe case of Rheumatoid Arthritis. I went from a size 10 since I had to stop running every morning and evening and had to also curtail weight lifting that was a six-day a week event for me. My hands, wrists, lower back, shoulders, neck, knees, and feet are compromised every time the weather changes. If I catch a cold, it's even worse since RA is an auto-immune disease. Depending on the weather is the barometer for whether or not I can get around with or without private transportation. There are many folks out there like me and I hope every one starts to understand this before they have to go through it themselves to see what lies on the other side of the fence.

But walking in someone else's shoes, we can surely become more understanding of others' needs, and not just the wants and desires of some. We're all going to get old sometime, let's respect the folks that are there already - it might make a difference for those with full abilities now, in their future. Thanks for reading...

Allen St. is NOT a highway and was never designed to be for people's easy motoring conveniences. It's narrowness and compact feel give it intimate qualities which make the street very pleasant for walking.

If car-friendliness is your main concern, please pick another street to drive down. Or should we suburbanize the entire city because a few people with disabilities might be inconvenienced?

Watch out for karma, Piva.

Everyone has an opinion and those opinions are the foundation of creating good government and community. When people are negated because of their opinion, the ignorance of those commentors is blatant.

I, for one, believe we should remember the needs of all of our residents in any type of planning. Not all of us are in our 20's or 30's and the older residents were probably here a great deal longer than any of us.

Comments such as Piva's only depict a community that is out for themselves and no one else, creating a void that could, in turn, develop into negative planning. If you wish to continue thinking in this manner, I ask you to remember what happened during the Nazi Regime. Is that what we want for our city?

Getting back to the post. It is, indeed, unfortunate, that buildings such as these are even being considered for demolition when there are so many other structures in the city whose demolition would create stronger neighborhoods. However, I know, the BNMC would be paying for these demolitions N'est Pas?

The surrounding streets of North, Summer, and those feeding into Carlton could be the thoroghfares, instead of reinventing the wheel at Allen.

I do agree that the traffic situation on Allen is horrendous as I work on Delaware and have seen the damage done to my co-workers vehicles who have to park on Allen due to insufficient parking for those living away from the city and dependent upon their vehicles to provide services to city and county residents during the work day. (eg: NYS Department of Health workers)

Allen is successful since it had become a two-way street, but that success has also come with a price. The use of Allen for deliveries is a constant problem as is any type of vehicle over a certain weight and breadth that poses vehicular incidents. I personally have witnessed pedestrians having to dodge vehicles due to delivery vans obscuring sightlines when attempting to legally cross the street at corners.

There are two sides to every coin. Each opinion is valid. Criticizing opinion, especially when that opinion is delivered with a background for concern, is sophmoric and useless.

I also agree that certain parties need to watch their karma here.

I have read the BNMC master plan and the BNMC/NFTA Transit Oriented Development Study (all of which are available on the website). I don't see any mention of demolitions or references to width of streets. Where is all of this rhetoric coming from? Has anyone bothered to ask the medical campus?

Bill what an insightful question "Has anyone asked the medical campus?" Additionally I commend you for viewing the BNMC website for information about the Allen Street Extension., prior to chiming in. I imagine people find it more amusing to fire off random thoughts based on daydreams and bar fueled ramblings.