Buffalo Rising Online

Nov 17th 2007, 4:40pm By queenseyes

Have you heard of the idea that has been proposed by Buffalonian Charles Griffasi that would see a pedestrian bridge built at the foot of the Frank Lloyd Wright Boathouse? It's part of an even bigger concept that has supporters praising implementation of The Niagara River Boardwalk. The concept proposes the decking of the Bird Island Pier from Broderick Park to the foot of Porter where it would then meet up with the pedestrian bridge. I had been hearing a lot about this plan, so it was nice to see finally see the renderings.

The 6000' long, 60' wide boardwalk would create an incredible waterfront destination that basically solves the problem of connecting waterfront amenities like the boathouse to points along the Greenway Trail. The visual appearance of a grand boardwalk would be stunning... the Bird Island Pier could definitely use an enhancement or two. And the pedestrian bridge would be controlled automatically, thus allowing ships to continue freely up and down the Black Rock Canal. This would be a big draw for bicyclists, walkers, joggers, sightseers, fishermen, etc. Often times a walk out along the current pier leaves people wishing that they were walking to a destination... it's concepts like these that get many of us excited about the future of our waterfront.

I called Charles minutes ago to ask about some of the details regarding his plan. "The County Legislature and the Common Council approved the concept," he told me. "They sent copies of the approval to Senators Schumer, Higgins and Clinton two or three weeks ago. I’ve been working on this proposal since 1979. We need to bend the ears of Higgins, Schumer and Clinton. Back in 1979 Nowak fought to have the concrete slab walkway put up. Griffin fought to have it closed off completely. People said a boardwalk would never work because of the flow of the Niagara River. So the idea was dropped. It was someone from the Army Corps of Engineers that helped me figure this out... and that's the plan that you see in front of you (the top image is a sketch from an the original concept). Nowak got the ball rolling and now we are trying to implement Phase 2. This is Federal land. The state does not own it. The people that have jurisdiction are in the Federal Government. The River Boardwalk is designed to move... to adjust with the movement below. The name 'Niagara' is world known. This would automatically make it a world destination… a tourist destination. This is a major attraction… we need to build something that is outstanding. Here is something that has already been designed and ready to go and would be a big feather in Buffalo’s hat when completed. There’re a lot of people that don’t have vision… this is a visionary plan that would not be difficult to pull off. We have to remember that we almost lost access to this land altogether. This is not for me… it’s for the public. The Common Council and the County Legislature get it… this is something that could happen in two years… I rest my case.”