Skyway: Highway or Byway?
The Congress for New Urbanism and their partners are studying less expensive and more sustainable transportation options for cities with highways that have surpassed their design lives. Norquist announced last spring that Buffalo's Skyway and Route 5 would be included in this analysis along with highways in Louisville and Seattle as part of a 3-year long study. The study has been well-received by the public but has encountered resistance by the New York State Department of Transportation.
These events are a great opportunity to see current results of their study and to meet and talk in person to these prominent new-urbanists. The issue of what to do with the Skyway is perhaps one of the greatest challenges and opportunities for Buffalo and its waterfront. For more information about these events and how you can get involved see below.
Thursday, September 6:
5:00-7:00 PM
Reception @ Shanghai Reds
2 Templeton Terrace, next to Erie Basin Marina, 852.7337
Cash bar with hors d'oeuvres
Sponsored by Partners for a Livable Western New York
Presentation will include discussion of CNU Study conclusions, posterboards with sketches/diagrams.
*RSVP to George Grasser: ggrasser@irdprojectmanagers.com
or 883.5070
Friday, September 7:
10:30 AM
Press conference @ Gallagher Beach
Tifft Street & Fuhrmann Blvd.
1:00 PM
Meeting with City Council Waterfront Committee
City Hall
Discussions of CNU Study conclusions & options for Buffalo
What Others Have To Say
What Do You Think?
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Comment Options
Spaulding97
Arghhh, if only the Sabres would have won the Stanley cup. The riots would have taken care of the Skyway no problem!
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cpm6
I'm really excited about this. I think its a great I idea to tear down the skyway and have a boulevard that connects the outer harbor better making times beach more accessible. More accessibility to the outer harbor would also mean more interest in the empty parcels of land out there, such as the NFTA lot.
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eyepharded
Sounds like someone is getting paid to talk about something that isn't going to happen...again.
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RonR
"Sounds like someone is getting paid to talk about something that isn't going to happen...again."
Is the mayor showing up????
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Adam726
TEAR IT DOWN!!! Too expensive to maintain, ugly and a pain in the butt
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Hospitable
I don't understand why they raise a lot of highways in the first place.... a waterfront boulevard akin to the road running along Lake Michigan in Downtown Chicago would fit quite well.
Regardless of the fact that its another study... and even if the skyway does come down ( I don't know how far along the process is).. it will be a heavily studied venture... eyeparded.. its build it now and worry laterr attitudes that got us into trouble years ago
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DanielSack
Please remove the skyway and substitute a simple boulevard with bike paths, sidewalks, and intersections at grade. Commuters from Hamburg and Evans will complain about the 3 additional minutes added to their commute - if the 3 minutes is such a problem they can move to Buffalo. Much land can be freed up for development and a simplified roadway will make outer harbor access easier.
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chris69
I dont understand why we need the Skyway Route5 AND Furhmann Boulevard. There only needs to be one not both!
Instead of Route5 expressway and Furhmann Boulevard they should diversify and get rid of the Expressway, make Route5 become Fuhrmann Boulevard Parkway then redistribute traffic to Ohio and South Park and Seneca.
That alternative would be wonderful for the cobblestone district, the outer harbor and south buffalo business community.
Im sorry BUT the best possible solution for buffalos communities is to abandon the inner city expressways and put traffic back on our urban streets!
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NBJOHN
decorate it in a nice suit and call it the Byron Brown way...it will be here forever... Like a temporary tax or Sam "daddy's name got me the job" Hoyt..it will be here foever...
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davvid
New Urbanism is total nostalgic BS.
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bfotk
Check out various pages of the PDF (http://www.canalsidebuffalo.com/images/Canalside_Brief_acrobat.pdf) that the Canalside group has posted showing past and present plans for the Canalside area. On page 17 there's a nice architectural rendering that has some odd arch-like structures traversing the site. You know what they are? Yep. They're the Skyway supports. The Skyway itself is discreetly omitted from the rendering but anyone with a minimum of visual imagination can supply it and can see what a horror it will be over the canal site development.
You can see similar renderings all through the document. The various maps show the Skyway in dotted line form as if it were invisible. It's not. It needs to go.
My fear is that the need will only become fully clear to our leaders, planner, movers, shakers, whatever you want to call them, AFTER the bulk of the Canalside project is complete and in place and at that late date demolition will take place at much greater expense and at much greater inconvenience to all.
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hamp
Great idea. Tear it down. It will bring many benefits to the city.
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TBone
If it isnt torn down how about this crazy idea, pull a Fremont St on it and turn the underside into a massive television... it might actually work well with the planned entertainment and shopping district.
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Pauldub
Chris - if I am in Riverside and have to get to hamburg, why the HELL would I want to drive through the city, using up gas at stoplights, etc? You don't want me on the urban streets. I won't stop somewhere along the way. I am going to the southtowns. Just because you force someone to drive through the city, it does not improve anything. If I am going into the city, then I will be driving down your urban streets. That being said, I would love to see the skyway come down. But I do not think it would be feasible cost wise. And other than a few studies, and a lot of people saying "Wouldn't it be nice if..." there is not a ton of support out there. At least I don't think it will happen in my lifetime, and I figure to stick around another 30 years or so.
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chris69
Pauldub, I know from driving down route 5 many times myself that there are plenty of stop lights on route 5 in hamburg, blasdell and lackawanna....not alot but plenty......so adding a few lights to fuhrmann boulevard in order to get rid of the expressway and sky is a small price to pay.
if you dont mind the lights then there are still city routes such as south park
and if you dont want lights at all....your only a few minutes from accessing I-90 to I-190.
sometimes if you want a city to be proud of...you should be satisfied that there are enough alternatives for you...and take one for the team.
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BuffaloBloviator
Gee. Am I the only one who kinda likes the Skyway? Not only is it functional according to NYS, but I actually like the way it looks. I think we should light it up and show it off as an important feature of our skyline. I love the look as you enter the inner harbor and you see it arching across the entrance. It is a confluence of transportation might in one very symbolic location. I also love the motion that the vehicles contribute to that view. I looked at it up close recently and it is also the best maintained structure in the area. It looks brand new and we don't even have to pay for it with local dollars. I even get a thrill every time I drive my car over it. What a great view! I would rather see us focus our frustrations on the remaining confiscatory toll roads and bridges first. What if we leave it alone and add the necessary infrastructure to connect everything together? I don't see this as having to be an "either-or" choice.
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aka_mouse
I actually kind of like driving the skyway, though I do see as being a 50's throwback to when they tended to do that sort of thing. I'd miss it, but I can also see why it has to go. Im completely neutral on the issue.
Pauldub: the only thing to keep in mind.. and this is the main reason I agree with Chris69 -- Every single neighborhood cut off by expressways, every last one of them is a ghetto. Its true in every city in the U.S.
You could get into the complexities of why this happens (property values).. but it doesnt matter.. the evidence is visible and empirical. There is nothing next to expressways and thruways except for slums.
And as far as the whole traffic thing... the funny part is.. building roads never has or will fix traffic problems. Added capacity gets filled and then you are back at square one (see: big dig, Boston, MA) So to me its a false question, not that we even have true traffic issues here in Buffalo, however, lets not act like the 90 doesn't backed up... or what about the rt 5 traffic everyday at rush hour? its backed up all the way from Bethlehem Steel to the skyway. Im actually planning on starting to drive out o the east side, and down Bailey to back to hamburg from Buffstate on the 3 days a week I have to head home at rush hour. Id rather just hit the lights that sit for no reason trapped by other cars.
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flyguy
If the NYSDOT is resistant to the wishes of the public who want to see change in their community and with this roadway then they are NOT representing the people as public servants. If this is the case the NYSDOT has essentially become a tyrant over the people that support it. The public will I think is overwhelmingly for change in Buffalo and so the NYSDOT should act to satisfy that change. If the people want change then NYSDOT must study ways to create the best change possible, it should not be black and white. If the people dont want the skyway in its current location then it must be fixed. Find a new route or new roadway classification, develop some design standards for a new roadway, respect community vision and incorporate the thing into new developments and initiatives along the waterfront, be a friend to the community.
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MJWorthington
Just imagine if the Elm-Oak corridor was allowed to become a sunken or raised highway connecting the 33 to the 190. Or the west side arterial was allowed to go through connecting the 33 to the 190 over on Niagara st. What a bigger mess we would have. At that time the same "we've got the funds for this miricale highway that will fix everything" still persisted but was thankfully stopped at that point.
The 90 exists for north south thru travel. RT 5 would be much better off as an at grade blvd with hope of development over the eleveted pass thru it is now. It's basically what it is anyways once you hit Lackawanna.
When the area was all industrial it may have made sence. But now we want to reclaim the waterfront for non-industrial use. The removal of the skyway and elevated portion of rt 5 is due and can be when the next major rebuild comes up. It should be prepared for now so other designs can also plan for the future.
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