By Matthew Ricchiazzi:
The State DOT is set to study the Skyway removal, and the ECHDC has taken control of hundreds of acres of waterfront land. Residential demand for dense, vibrant, unique downtown and waterfront neighborhoods has the city on the brink of transformation.
So, I ask, when do we talk about big picture urban design?
It is great that the Ohio Street reconstruction is taking shape with momentum – and seemingly with the ethos of a participatory process at its core. But this is a narrowly tailored process focused only on Ohio Street, which ignores the question of how Ohio Street will interact with a future street grid that links the city with its harbor (click to enlarge images):
And when it comes to big-picture urban design, no issue is more pressing than the reconfiguration of the Interstate 190 from Riverside to Chicago Street. Its removal will increase property values, quality of life, and catalyze private sector investment. Imagine how Riverside and Blackrock could flourish:
Without the 190 splicing through downtown, thousands of acres of real estate would become available for prime dense mixed-use urban development with sweeping waterfront views. We can finally start to heal the urban fabric of the scourge of surface parking lots, international trucking, and concrete overpasses that have decimated downtown:
*Matthew Ricchiazzi holds an MBA in Finance and Private Equity, and a BS in Urban Planning, both from Cornell University. He founded Change Buffalo PAC to promote issues of new urbanism in Western New York. He can be reached at ChangeBuffalo.org.