For all of us that wish we could have been engaged with a big project from the start, here is a great opportunity. It's the NY Route 198 (Scajaquada Expressway) Corridor project. You can match the scale of this project, as far as importance, with the Outer Harbor as far as many people are concerned. The Scajaquada Expressway, also known as The Scar, was one of the city's worst blunders, and neighborhoods /parklands have been paying for the tragic mistake for many years. This is a roadway that went from a tranquil park promenade to a high-speed, traffic filled, loud, dangerous raceway. The 198 runs along the Scajaquada Creek, leaving debris from cars and oil residue (due to poor drainage) in its wake. Of course a bike has never seen the light of day on this stretch of asphalt...
The one good thing about bad decisions is the ability to correct them (if you can't prevent them). The DOT hinted at yesterday's waterfront meeting that this might be a good time to get involved with The Scar issue (otherwise we might end up with an elevated freeway running through our parks). I spoke with the Senior Project Designer, Dave Hill, after the conference, and he was very hopeful that public representatives would attend a public scoping meeting coming to Medaille College on November 28th. This is an opportunity for anyone concerned to learn about the project while affecting change from the start. Lighting, signage, landscaping, environmental issues, noise, speed, traffic calming measures, boulevard suggestions, downgrading ideas, exit ramps, entrance ramps... this is an incredible opportunity to right a wrong that was handed to us... shoved down the throat of thriving neighborhoods... and the time has come to heal deep old wounds. Let's fix The Scar.
To see the photo's above in larger size, see EM Tea Coffee Café post.
The first shot captured the stretch back in 1890 – the caption reads “Speedway for horse and sleigh”. The second photo in the series shows a more manicured tree-lined boulevard, dating back to 1915. The third shot ‘heralds’ the age of freeways - the trees were hacked down to bare stumps (1960). And the fourth photo depicts a decimated, totally stripped wasteland as it readies itself for vehicular traffic and the Kensington Expressway.
*NYSDOT To Host a Scoping Meeting on Scajaquada Expressway Project Wednesday, November 28 at 6 p.m. at Medaille College Lecture Hall. A formal NEPA scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 28, 2007, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Medaille College Lecture Hall, located at 18 Agassiz Circle in the City of Buffalo. The meeting will be an informal open house with a brief formal presentation at 6:30 p.m. Department of Transportation representatives will be present to receive comments and answer individual questions.