There’s additional connectivity along the waterfront, as of today. A passageway between the Central Wharf and the DL&W Terminal has been created, which allows visitors to bike and walk directly along the water’s edge from one to the other. While this might not appear to be an enormous deal, it’s another crucial step towards establishing an easily navigable parcel along the Shoreline Trail. Now, instead of coming face to face with a Skyway stanchion, there is a short passageway that will alleviate plenty of headaches in the future. The new addition can be found directly next to the staging area for BFLO Harbor Kayak.
Now that there is an uninterrupted path, cyclists can simply coast along the water’s edge, from the Central Wharf, behind the DL&W Terminal, and onto the Outer Harbor, South Park Avenue, of the Old First Ward. A bike path from Main Street to the aforementioned connection point has also been paved and marked.
Aside from new Shoreline Trail wayfinding signs, historic markers, bike racks, and landscaping, this is an initial step towards realizing an even bigger dream to reclaim this land in the name of the Buffalo people, instead of parking for NFTA employees.
Hopefully when the exciting plans move forward to convert the DL&W Terminal into a major waterfront destination, the rest of this property will be ironed out in the process. It’s too bad that we lost the DL&W Rail Station when we did (see Forgotten Buffalo).
That would have been a stunning addition to Buffalo’s new waterfront. Hopefully the powers that be will have the foresight to pay homage to the structure in some way or another.
I’m sure that Buffalo architect Charlie Gordon is pleased to see things heading in the right direction. Now, there are lots of directions that we can go from here. Let’s keep the momentum going!