This image shows the condition of Delaware Park a few years before it was taken from the people of Buffalo for use by the State as decorative green space around one of its superhighways. The park was gorgeous. Its composition was a complex weave of spaces, thick with trees. There was a wonderful forested foot path out into the lake with a footbridge connecting the Albright Knox Art Gallery with the Historical Museum. Elmwood Avenue crossed the water over an incredible causeway style stone bridge. The Scajaquada Creek was so wide as to almost be a river. The various ponds forming the lake were wide and peaceful. The park was peaceful. Was. We can only speak in the past tense. This was all destroyed and subjugated to accommodate shorter commuter times via a high speed roadway connecting Buffalo’s waterfront superhighway with the superhighway that replaced one of its beautiful parkways.
This action was nothing other than a theft of property from the people of Buffalo. As you can see from the current image the park has been basically turned into decorative green space for the highway. Hundreds of trees were removed. The creek was turned into a drainage ditch and the lovely Elmwood Bridge was destroyed and replaced with an ugly viaduct befitting a drainage ditch crossing.
This is no longer a park, and that is a travesty. We can forgive the people of a half century ago for their naive destructive mistake but there is no excuse for doing it again today. As other cities plan for removal of highways, New York State is inexplicably planning to rebuild this monstrosity in virtually the same configuration. Bureaucrats in power are set on foisting this mess onto Western New York for another half century. They call it a downgrade but their so called downgrade will be little different that what is here now. The people of Buffalo need to stand up and demand nothing less that a return to the original condition of the park. The State of New York should not have the authority to take the cultural assets of Buffalo so that someone can shave five minutes off of a commute.
You have a great opportunity to stand up for your rights and your city. You can demand that the state remove this unnecessary highway and return the park to the people of Buffalo in the state they found it in, the way it was meant to be. Attend this meeting and speak in the strongest terms against this highway reconstruction.