Tomorrow morning at 11am marks the ceremonial ground breaking for Buffalo River Fest Park. While I was down at the site yesterday I was in awe of how nature has turned parts of the Buffalo River into wild green sanctuaries. The long grasses were lush and vibrant and birds were flying around just about everywhere. I know that this particular parcel of land (see photo) will soon be manicured into a people park, but I hope that when the rest of the land along the Buffalo River is sectioned off, there will be a good mix of smart development and natural landscapes with public hiking and biking trails and plenty of access to the river and not just to the road.
As far as I know, there is no comprehensive plan for the Buffalo River. Some parcels are privately owned, while others appear to be within the South Buffalo Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA), or a combination of each. From what I remember Festival Park is supposed to be part of this much larger plan. If that is the case, then as these initial advancements unfold, it would be good to know what is in store for the rest of the river so that there is a synergy between the projects – just down the river is a temporary rowing boat house and of course there are existing parks and small craft launches already in place.