Housing the students downtown and connecting them directly to Amherst should be the long term strategy here. What kid wants to be holed up in an isolated dorm area? They want to live in the heart of the action ( hopeful tone here ) and they probably would rather take classes there too. Amherst was just another one of Nelson Rockefeller's weird Brazilias. While we can't reverse that trauma, we can tease out the pain and swelling gradually.
or if amherst has enough "pull" it can have it tunneled under Millersport out to the North Campus.
Al-Alo is right. If UB wants to be a meaningful part of life in Buffalo, then it should be front and center demanding that the light rail line to the North campus be finished. No one else around here has as much clout as they do. Or maybe they'd rather continue to pave over their whole campus for surface parking.
Bob has done more for this city than he ever would take credit for or anyone outside of the university circle would realize.
He pushed to start the discussion about downtown housing years ago laying the foundation of policy working with the Masiello admin to make all of what we see happening downtown possible. The Queen City Hub plan put hope and inspiration in many professional level planning minds that Buffalo can become a great city again. the UDP was critical in working with the Cityview people in their planning for the Larkin District, they have engaged the waterfront, Olmsted parks and now the University all of which are starting to align and proser in ways that support and reinforce the city. I am finally glad to see some of his work and words coming directly to Buffalorising.
It would give the most direct connection between campuses and could even allow more distant park and ride lots out at the north campus.
I would have loved to have had direct rail access to DT (Sabres, Nightlife, Waterfront, etc) while I was at UB in the late 90's
i might add one adjective to the North Campus to Downtown light rail route: One Seat. ok, i know it is two words, and it looks like a noun. but a light rail route from amherst campus to downtown should be a one seat ride to have true connectivity.
some of the proposed routes could require a transfer (at lasalle, and/or others). while these may be the least expensive to build, they would be the penny wise and pound foolish. in all likelihood, much of the construction costs will come from federal and state transportation dollars anyway. so i say we should build the best system possible (well lets be reasonable, no genuine, bonafide monorails please)
and, since the operations costs would come from local coffers, we should be wary of a plan requiring a separate route that could cost more to run on a daily basis.
in addition to the cost considerations, consumers (the riders) want the fastest, most convent ride. transfers slow transit times. they confuse the uninitiated user. and they make a system less user friendly.
so my suggestion, extension via the north campus in a singular and simple route.
I would like to see more encouragement from UB for students to live in the city. We hear a lot about UB expanding to downtown, but at the same time they are devoting a large portion of their resources to securing a monopoly on student housing around North Campus. This can only hurt the Heights, and what about the Fruit Belt?
As far as the trepidation about "breaking up the academic spine" goes, nearly everyone I've talked to in the Humanities dept and the law school is positive about a move downtown. Most of them live in Elmwood Village or Allentown anyway. I suspect that the anxiety these guys are talking about in these departments comes more out of a general fear of Buffalo, or a fear of upheaval in their routines (commuting to the city if they're already homeowners) rather than worries about severing their academic relationships.
This is very exciting. It's a dramatic shift from UB's previous lackluster involvement in the community. There plans for downtown are really great. I have to wonder how the North Campus can ever be improved to the point where it can compete with other great state universities like Michigan, Ohio, California, all of which have great physical campuses.
I just listened to the podcast. Did this really need to go on for more than a half hour? Lot's of lip service and little commitment of concrete investment other than the M.Wile building. What they said basically adds up like this, here is what "captain subtext" has to say:
"We're going to go 'stay the course' and keep most future UB investment steered toward our sterile suburban campus. Here ya go South Campus: a few fixed up buildings and a daycare center, have at it. Here you go downtown, some academic programs involving social outreach programs for your dysfunctonal underclass we want to keep the majority of our student body as far away from as possible."
BTW, how did those "productive" conversations with NFTA go?
With a downtown campus, I wonder if light rail would increase the student population in the U District. I suspect most of those students would live downtown. Perhaps a survey of the students resident preferences could be conducted assuming light rail came all the way to the campus.
Frankster - Keep in mind that UB led the charge for the light rail expansion several times in the 80s and 90s. The surrounding community is the main obstacle to expansion. Same goes for the University Heights; the local residents have fought against an increase in student housing, local community activism is what drove UB to Amherst in the 60s and 70s, it pushed students out of the surrounding Amherst and Cheektowaga neighborhoods and kept them concentrated in the University Heights, and it drove the students out of UH again in the late 90s. Residents in Amherst, Kenmore, and Tonawanda do not want the metro extended to UB and they have fought against it every time it has been proposed.
If we want to direct our anger or frustration over lack of expansion on someone, it should be the people that reside in the areas surrounding UB. Their collective voice and tax dollars are what is holding back the light rail expansion, and they are what is keeping more students from living in the city.
I have to echo agreement with the rest of the comments. There can be no discussion about UB without discussing the light rail connection to Amherst.
and yes UB is constrained in amherst ...they built stupid 2-3 story townhomes when they should have been building 10 story dorms ...they should have been building 8-10 story libraries and class rooms instead of building 2-3 story additions along the spine ...they should have created a north south spine connecting the ellicott dorm complex and the northern facilities buildings.....instead of townhomes and parking lots and expressways
they wasted a huge amount of land with that inner loop and outer-loop expressway combination...and now they are suffering.
it should also be mentioned that the fruit belt location is only one key to Buffalos future. the long term future is that Buffalo needs more centers for excellence and more research campuses. We can only hope that future centers of excellence will be scattered round Buffalos other communities like Riverside, like South Buffalo/Lackawanna, Central Terminal area....but there can be no more discussions of additional off campus centers of excellence until the Amherst Campus and is connected by light rail and the proposed off campus centers of excellence are also on light rail expansion routes.
Committing to 40% growth has earned my respect and admiration unlike do nothing patronage minority/gender appointment Howard over at Buffalo State....but the missing discussion is on light rail extensions and additional centers for excellence.
From what I remember, I think the original idea behind the light rail was because it's cheaper, we will be able to afford to expand it more readily than a full-fledged subway. (Please let me know if I'm making up my own history) There was a lot of hoopla when the first car arrived...the news stations, a marching band, and I seem to recall the intention of linking UB North down the road. When it opened, a ride down Main Street, I thought, uh-oh...the train that goes no place. Another Buffalo joke. And the biggest part of the joke was that building the train killed off what little retail we had left downtown on Main Street. Now I am hopeful that someone will remember the original intention and get us some REAL public transportation. If it's too much money to build a subway, perhaps we can steal an idea from Chicago, and put the tracks and platforms in the median of the highway?
al-alo I couldn't agree with you more. The main reason so few UB students venture downtown now if they have to get off the bus, walk 100;' to the subway station, buy a ticket, and wait for the train. Not a big issue if you have to do it but it doesn't make it convenient enough. It needs to be a one seat ride if it wants to be as efficient as students at UB need it to be.
chiknlil - You're right. I'm trying to remember the cute name that Amherst residents have for the proposed light rail expansion, it's something like the "Thief Express". Idiots.
Having underground rail from UB North thru South all the way downtown is essential. There also needs to be easy connectivity to the airport and stadium. We need to get UB students involved in the community if they are ever going to (dare I say it) stay here and/or help the region. It's not a hard concept, except Amherst/Williamsville/OP do not give a f*ck about Buffalo, obviously. Most suburbanites don't know we have a downtown, much less a city. Bringing thousands of Long Island kids with daddy's money could dramatically, easily, and quickly, help the city.
how can you discuss connectivity without discussing a light rail connection?
UB = Ohio State - 20,000. I love the idea of a downtown campus but it would be virtually impossible without this light rail network connecting the three, how would anyone get around on a daily basis. A lot of doubters wont see this happening but UB has the money and power to do this. Ten thousand more students and higher tuition will do wonders.
With a downtown campus, I wonder if light rail would increase the student population in the U District. I suspect most of those students would live downtown. Perhaps a survey of the students resident preferences could be conducted assuming light rail came all the way to the campus.
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