A BRO reader has pointed out that Buffalo needs to get its act together if it is to compete against other cities that are taking their public gathering places seriously. CityLab.com has just posted on Cleveland, and its newfound energy that can be seen in the form of reinvigorating public places by transforming them into creative social hotspots. Currently, Cleveland is turning a traffic hub into a public park. In Buffalo, we have a hard time keeping our traffic hubs safe, let alone fun places for families to gather. We’ve been talking about it for years… look at Niagara Square and Lafayette Square. Why are we not activating those public spaces? Take a look at some of the downtown traffic thoroughfares (there are many). Buffalo should not only be introducing traffic calming measures, The City should be looking towards the future of place making initiatives.
Take a look at the rendering featured in the article. Now take a look at North and South Division Streets in Buffalo. See the similarities? See the differences? Buffalo still has a couple of high speed thoroughfares and a dead zone parkway.
In the future we will be lucky to get a couple of bike lanes. We need to think bigger. We need to look further down the road. Obviously I’m not talking about superimposing the Cleveland plan on Buffalo… simply that we need to be looking at ways to elevate the social experience in our downtown core, not just Canalside and Larkinville.
Take a look at the CityLab.com article, and decide for yourself if The City needs a kick in the pants when it comes to some of our outdated roadways and intersections. We need to reconnect city blocks by incorporating safe, walkable, fun and interesting destinations that will once again captivate the imaginations of our citizens.
Renderings: Adam CruftT | Thanks to RK for passing along the article