Buffalo needs to take a note from the Tonawanda's on how to build up their river walkway
Buffalo needs to take a note from the Tonawanda's on how to build up their river walkway
Some people will do _anything_ to get a cable-stay bridge! All kidding aside, I'm all for increased pedestrian amenity, especially when it adds urban connectivity.
What a great improvement to the quality of life for city residents. I don't care if this is a tourist attraction as long as it attracts City residents and people from the surrounding community.
Since 1979! Mr. Griffasi is not just a person of creativity and vision, but also tenacity. A very cool project, the value of which will immediately be recognized by anyone who has ever walked and walked seemingly forever all the way to the very very end of the pier till they just couldn't go any farther. . .then turned around to face the prospect of walking and walking seemingly forever all the way back from the very very end of the pier because they just couldn't go any farther. . .whew.
I'd love to know a detail or two about how the bridge will lift, especially the automatic control part - I'm aware of some bicycle/pedestrian projects in the RaChaCha area where something like that might be useful.
Kudos, Mr. Griffasi, and very best wishes!
Bridges with pedestrian access also make rowing regattas more fun because you can stand directly over the crews and cheer them on as they whoosh under you. It's fun from the boat too since rowing otherwise tends to isolate you from your friends, families, and teammates whose support you want as you're gasping for oxygen racing toward the finish.
Great Idea! Almost every "cool" city I've been too has joggers along the waterfront. Buffalo has been lacking in this endeavour. This would definitely be for the people of Buffalo and gain considerable access to the waterfront. My only suggestion would be to have the bridge end at Porter Ave. LaSalle park is right there with plenty of parking. What a great way to connect LaSalle park to Squaw Island. If you haven't taken a walk on Bird Island Pier, I suggest you do. Right now, no bikes are allowed, but this project would solve that. Kudos!
Love it. What about that pesky navigable waterway beneath ? Hope that bridge can swing !
Buffalo could use a 'Riverwalk' like San Antonio's but without the fading, dated convention hotels, the cheesy bars and restaurants with "The World's Biggest Margarita" and the reeky brown water...but with the palm trees and the exhibitionist couples mooning the night away up on a balcony at said convention hotels.
A pier over the breakwall? That doesn't make any sense. The Bird Island Pier already is a pier. I think he must mean a boardwalk over the pier. And what's the point of that? I can walk on the pier just as easily as I can walk on a boardwalk so what's the advantage? And where does the pedestrian bridge go? It goes to the same place that the existing Ferry Street lift bridge goes. So what is gained by that? No wonder this project hasn't seen the light of day since 1979. Much greater benefit could be achieved just by figuring out a way to clean up the garbage in Broderick Park.
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