Congressman Brian Higgins is pushing to keep a dialogue open concerning the future use of the DL&W Terminal’s second floor. This evening (Thursday, October 15) Higgins will be taking part in an NFTA Open House at the First Niagara Center (5pm-7pm). At the meeting, he will be discussing how the DL&W Terminal should be worked into the Metro Rail expansion – part of the Canalside & Cobblestone Access Enhancement Study. The public is invited to attend.
“I commend the NFTA for their work examining transportation options that seek to meet the needs of a growing ridership and downtown economy,” said Higgins. “As we, as a community, look to continue the progress of providing greater access to and a better experience in our city and along our waterfront, reuse of the DL&W terminal should be part of the discussion.
“The DL&W sits as a broken link in the chain that connects Canalside, the Cobblestone District, the Buffalo River and Outer Harbor. Therefore we reiterate our call for Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation to make the necessary investments to prepare the second floor of the DL&W Terminal for private sector investment.
“The options under study by the NFTA are good, and they will provide some basic public access to the second floor, but they will not make the other infrastructure improvements necessary to ready the site for development. It would be a terrible missed opportunity if we as a community finally provide the public access to this historic space, but there is nothing there when they arrive; ECHDC has the resources and the mandate to open up this dramatic and historic space to uses the public can enjoy.”
The NFTA plans on discussing the following Metro Rail extension options at tonight’s meeting.
- Alternative #1 is a South Park Avenue alignment
- Alternative #2 is a Buffalo River alignment
Click here to see transit options.
“Before the NFTA and the project Steering Committee select one of these two alternatives to move forward for further development, we want to present them to the community and obtain as much additional input as possible as to which alternative they favor,”said Kimberley A. Minkel, NFTA Executive Director.
A Metro Rail station will one day be located in close proximity to the DL&W Terminal. Higgins is anticipating that that would mean the terminal’s second floor would play a significant role in the future of Canalside and the waterfront.
Photo: NFTA