HEY IDIOT69... I wasn't defending the teachers or the union you over-emotional jackass. I was stating that the media has deflected our attention away from more important issues like the crisis in the Buffalo Public Schools. I will not defend the district or the teachers. I believe that both sides are equally culpable in the decline of the BPS.

I did say that issues with the schools are far more important than the rewatering of canals, building train lines, and tearing down the skyway; because when it comes right down to it, families will not move to the city if they get a higher quality education for a lower price in the suburban schools. It doesn't matter what you do to the landscape and architecture, without serious improvement to the schools, controlling crime, and trust in the government, people will stay in the suburbs and Buffalo will remain in decline for another 30 years.

I am not against the 'new urbanist' ideal. I just think that we have far more pressing issues to tend to. We need to be cautious of how we relate with our suburban neighbors and co-workers. Most of the major employers are looking at alternate workplace arrangements for their employees, this means that employees will be working from home or remote sites 2 - 4 days per week. This push towards the home based worker has gained acceptance and interest with companies looking to reduce facility costs and increase employee satisfaction. There are several companies that have instituted this arrangement already, including M&T, HSBC, Bank of America, Key Bank, Buffalo News, HealthNow, and others. The idea that reducing the speedy and easy access to the city, with the hope that people from the suburbs will choose to a shorter commute from an urban neighborhood over an increasingly lengthy commute from the suburbs is naive, especially if they have the option of not coming to the city at all. We may actually lose ground that has been recently gained in terms of bringing more people to the downtown core.

I still believe that the removal of the Skyway or other major renovations to the city scape will not give us the return on investment that we expect they will. These are nice to have, but in the larger picture, they barely make a difference to the perceptions that most people have of the city. We have MAJOR issues that must be addressed first. I don't believe that this is a matter of redirecting $100M from the Skyway to another project, it is a matter of fixing the corruption, inadequate schools, high taxes, and other elements that make the city relatively unappealing to the majority of people in the US. The 'new urbanist' agenda will enhance the quality of life, no doubt, but we really need to quit focusing on these pipe dreams and start making the hard decisions that will fix the chronic issues that plague our city.

Brian Higgins doesn't have the balls to make a difficult decision, instead he puts his energies into highly emotional issues like the waterfront, skyway, and peace bridge. These silly media plugs serve to distract the public from the real issues, like poverty and the Buffalo Public Schools. Notice how we hear about Bass Pro the week that students returned to school? Instead of hearing about the teacher crisis in Buffalo, the unfinished school projects, and the shortage of qualified teachers and substitutes, we focus our attention on Bass Pro or the Peace Bridge. It is no wonder that we have debated the same topics and hoped that something would happen in Buffalo for the past 50 years.

Everyone notice Congressman Higgins' outrageous comments in the Buffalo News today. Higgins has solidly established himself as an enemy of good planning on the waterfront. He has been the biggest proponent of a traditional truck plaza that will destroy the Prospect Hill neighborhood at the Peace Bridge, has been the biggest roadblock to getting things done at the foot of Main Street by embracing the Bass Pro boondoggle that halted Canal District construction for months, and now he's the biggest advocate for thoughtlessly moving forward on making Furhmann Boulevard a six-lane surface highway!

I regret pulling the level for Higgins in the last election. It won't happen twice!

Too bad it is not up to city hall. Can Albany hear from that far away? Oh that is right they really don't care what Buffalo wants or needs. Oh well.

SkaJack,

I completely agree. I think we should build an elevated roadway over Niagara Falls as well. I cannot imagine a better spark for development. And as far as the bigger picture, who cares as long as its a pretty view for the 5.6 seconds you are at the top in between watching the road to prevent from driving into the barriers and holding your breath hoping that it is being maintained properly.

Why do people in the suburbs get to dictate land use in Buffalo. Certainly the People in the city don't have a say in Hamburg's land use.

Eliminating the skyway will result in a less costly structure to maintain. There is your tax savings. I highly doubt that there will be any more than a 5 minute add to anyone's commute if the highway is eliminated. Increasing the value of property where this highway stands would serve to add to both the city's population and its tax base. Two things which could help improve schools. If removal of the skyway is a benefit to the people of the city of Buffalo why would any WNYer be against it. Why should the people of the city of Buffalo shoulder the burden of someone's decision to live in Hamburg. If your commute is too long you should decide to move closer or shut up.

CHRIS69 - You are missing the point, or just losing it behind your misdirected bigotry. Let me rephrase this... THE EDUCATION SYSTEM of Buffalo is a far more pressing concern than the excavation of canals and removal of the skyway. The failing EDUCATION SYSTEM keeps people from moving to Buffalo, while the canals and skyway offer more aesthetic improvements that are nice to have. If we build population, then infill development and reworking of the built environment will have a chance, as it stands right ow, most of the new developments are targeted at existing residents or young and single professionals. Developers know that many Buffalo residents leave or relocate to specific neighborhoods when they have children, so they do not cater to that population.

We are on the same page (to an extent) regarding the EDUCATION SYSTEM (again, to a certain extent).

John Norquist's The Wealth of Cities is practically a free market treatise. His views on planning run counter to statist zoning practices which limit the flexibility of neighborhoods to grow organically with a mix of uses - he advocates form-based codes that set forth simple rules for a complex city. Where do you get the idea that he's socialist?

Bravo to Norquist for bringing his passion and his hard work to this city. If only he could have been our Mayor instead... Here's hoping NYSDOT and their buddy Higgins doesn't ram this freeway through our waterfront. Over my dead body!

chris69, honestly your comments typically drive me crazy.....and thats in my opinion only, however you are dead on right this time. keep it up!

reason dictates that the route 5 and fuhrmann blvd. be combined to one at-grade thoroughfare. and simply put, the current DOT plans are concerned only with moving cars as fast and efficiently as possible without regard to the possibly of an outer harbor neighborhood or any future development for that matter. hell, look at all the use those bike paths are getting along the current concrete mess. build the blvd. alternative for the sake of buffalo.

Look at that huge crowd! Standing room only... In terms of importance to the majority of Buffalonians, this ranks a considerable distance behind more jobs, lower taxes, better schools, repopulation of the city, and political reform.

I can't imagine the people in the suburbs thinking that adding 45 minutes to their commute as a good idea. It may be good for the people of Buffalo, but the vast majority of "Buffalonians" will see this as more of a hinderance than a help.

get rid of the Route 5 expressway with the skyway

a single Furhmann Boulevard is all that is needed for Route 5

Do I need to remind everyone that they are building a Tift Street Aterial...to connect route 6 to I-190.

Neither the expressway or the skyway or needed.

If you havent already, take a look at the Queen City Hub plan from the City of Buffalo website. It points out that a reliable and sensible transit system is key to the development of Buffalo. Will an upgrade to a Boulevard system fix the city's problems. No. It's just a piece of the puzzle.

And its not that the Skyway is at the back of people's minds. Lets remember that this meeting took place when most citizens who do care about Buffalo's improvements are working.

I hope that higgins reads this:

Higgins you are becoming the enemy of Buffalo not its savior. Your stand on demolishing homes and businesses for the Peace Bridge Plaza and now your stand on the skyway and southtown connector are diametrically opposite to what the community and the citizens of Buffalo and WNY want.

how quickly you earned the respect ...and how quickly you are pissing it away!

really? Does anyone think that a majority of citizens in Buffalo would support the demo of a functioning roadway for some New Urbanism vision? really?

skajack makes a really good point....lets expand on the idea that the skyway has great views and put a parking deck on the shoulder so people can get out and look

and even better to have a bike race across the skyway...

and while we are at it, lets just put a safety net under the skyway for all those bikers and pedestrians who get blown over the side.....it could be Buffalos version of bunjee jumping. yeehaa

(sarcasm)

Call me crazy, but I do not believe Canalside will be built under our Skyway.

How dare you bring teachers and Buffalo Schools into this Braden? In a region that has hemoraged jobs for 80 years....government workers have enjoyed the job security, pay increases and benefits that the rest of the city had to give up, descend to poverty or leave. Buffalo Teachers can go suck eggs....they can close every g-darn school in Buffalo ... the city would be better off with charter, parochial and private schools.

This is about rebuilding Buffalos economy....its not about blood sucking...vitality sucking teachers, unions or public schools.

hack urban planners

Where are our State politicians screaming for the removal?

braden all reasons we should replace Buffalo Public schools with a school choice/school voucher program because you cant fix Buffalo Public Schools nor teachers unions nor tenured career teachers nor an over buracratized public school system, nor a public school system that tries every nutjob anti-assimilation bilingual sex-ed atheistic hate america program.....these liberal schools do anything but teach.....their social engineering warehouses that no parent who wants their child to have real world values and go to college wants any part!

So yes, light rail, rail, canals, business incubator parks, convention centers are all more important than public schools.

Who wants to swing the first sledgehammer or spin the first wrecking ball?