By Jake Steinmetz:
Update: Wednesday’s meeting will be open to the public and will take place at 237 Main Street, between 12-1pm.
Citizens for Regional Transit (CRT) will be holding a quarterly meeting this Wednesday, January 15th. The meeting will be led by speaker William Tuyn and will discuss the organization’s accomplishments in 2013, its short-term and long-term goals for 2014, and a preview of the upcoming 22nd Congress for New Urbanism (CNU22), taking place in Buffalo this summer.
The meeting will feature CRT’s involvement in several events, including the creation of a memorial for the NFTA Theater Station that closed last February, its presentation to the Buffalo Common Council advocating the extension of the light-speed rail (who passed a unanimously approved resolution on the matter), and the Transit Conference held in September that brought various speakers to discuss transit matters.
Also to be discussed, in 2014 CRT will be involved in the Buffalo-Niagara Corridor Alternatives Analysis Project, an NFTA study seeking alternative transit to UB’s Amherst Campus. CRT also plans to advocate for the conversion of the DL&W terminal into an indoor light-rail station, the potential extension of rail lines to the Riverworks project, and the creation of ramp-parking that encourages greater use of the light-rail during events at the First Niagara Center.
During the meeting, speaker William Tuyn will provide an overview of the upcoming CNU22, taking place from June 4th – June 7th. According to CRT President Doug Funke, the event will bring various speakers to “highlight new trends in urban development.”
Although no direct connection exists between the two organizations, Funke maintains that their interests coincide: “We have attended several CNU events and found their work very exciting and encouraging. We believe that public transit is an important ingredient for making the ‘new urbanism’ successful so we bring that message to the CNU events that [we] attend.”
As part of CRT’s mission to provide education to the community, Wednesday’s meeting will be open to the public and will take place at 237 Main Street, between 12-1pm.
