Oh. My. God. does this mean Higgins isn't too stubborn to do a 180° for what is right, for what the people want? Does this mean he could become an advocate for moving the commercial pass-thru traffic off the Peace Bridge and thereby saving a huge chuck of waterfront access and an entire neighborhood? Higgins, are you giving me reason to believe in you again? Wow.
The only thing keeping the Skyway up is inertia. With the reduced freighter traffic, it is no longer necessary. It is a scary and dangerous ride (high, narrow, with no shoulder). It's always been ugly. But, with Canal Side taking shape, the view (and sound) from below is particularly jarring and surreal. And now we see it is also expensive.
Freighter traffic is way up, not down.
The State and Fed pays for the Skyway maintenance, not WNY.
Other DOT statistics have demonstrated that the Skyway cost per vehicle mile is among the cheapest and the safety is among the highest.
Personally, I like the way the Skyway looks and I think it makes the entrance to Buffalo's Inner Harbor exciting.
We have a long way to travel before we should start considering actually removing successful and well maintained infrastructure.
The last time I checked, I paid both state and federal taxes so yes, if you are from WNY you pay for the maintenance of this unsafe eyesore. I love having to turn my head around like an owl when entering the skyway from the 190-S.
Take that 175m and improve existing ground transportation and arteries to the south.
THIS IS THE KEY WE HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR YEARS! "Though the report does not specifically evaluate alternatives to the Skyway, its data concludes that if the skyway were eliminated, traffic could be handled by alternate facilities including the Outer Harbor Parkway which is currently under construction, the planned and permitted Ohio Street improvements and Tifft Street Connector, and the Inner Harbor Bridge which is currently under study"
Once the Lift Bridge(s) are built connecting to Furhmann Boulevard then neither the skyway or the southtowns connector are needed. The I-190 and Tifft Street Connector can more than handle the expressway traffic and the Lift Bridges/Furhmann Boulevard can more than handle Parkway traffic.
This is just an example of how arse backwards everything gets done in this state, county and city. Dont they always repave a street first and then rip it up after its repaved for sewar, water, gas, communications or some such repair. Its the same thing with the Skyway and Southtowns Connector. ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS BUILD THE TIFFT STREET CONNECTOR AND THE LIFT BRIDGES TO FURHMANN BOULEVARD FIRST AND THERE WOULD BE NO ARGUMENT OVER WHAT SHOULD BE DONE!
we do pay for it -
look how much taxable downtown & waterfront property is covered by these structures . . . lets not forget how adjacent property values are also suppressed by four lanes of traffic racing by the fourth story.
remove the skyway = more property tax revenues.
lets not forget the costs for emergency responders on this ice filled toboggan run.
,,,if they take down the skyway, the new motel will look taller, that is a good thing, right?
BBloviator,
You do pay for it. That State and Fed money spent on the Skyway could go to something else in the area that is really needed.
Steel,
You got that right. I sure do pay taxes. The Skyway is one of the projects that I think they should keep spending my tax money on.
We have the Niagara Thruway running somewhat parrallel to the Skyway and it has plenty of excess capacity to take on the Skyway's traffic and freight volumes. It's time for the Skyway to go.
We have the Niagara Thruway running somewhat parrallel to the Skyway and it has plenty of excess capacity to take on the Skyway's traffic and freight volumes. It's time for the Skyway to go.
anyone ever notice alll of the sailboat masts up the Buffalo river? There is a sailing school, 2 marinas and a small boating club up there. How would they get out into the lake? Can you imagine what a lift bridge would do to commuter traffic?
BuffaloBloviator, you can look at the above photo and see the Skyway and its tentacles as exciting? Well, depending on the wind speeds, it can certainly be a thrill ride. At the very least, it has created a dead zone of land beneath it that has negatively infected the immediate community.
Skyway needs to go, convenience of commuters should not override the best interests of the city and residents
All lof those boat owners and businesses that serve them are contributing tax payers, I talking hundreds of people. Ever see how many boats are out there on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening for racing or on the weekends? Do you have any idea what kind of money those people are spending on storing and maintaining their boats. BTW a sailboat is a little more complicated to use and maintain than a stink boat. Those people are putting tremendous amounts of money into those facilities and the other marine related industrys that serve them. I'm sick of Buffalo ignoring the sailing community.
people got downtown for many decades without the skyway ~ and many fewer parking lots. they even did it with few parking lots, more density, and even without streetcars (for a decade or so).
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the other day I had a mini-epiphany. i now know why the worlds largest disco calls Buffalo home: 1970's ideas on government, planning, architecture, education, policing, transportation, and development are still very much in vogue. it isnt that people want to revisit the 70's in one big kitsch party, they just think its how things should be.
the irony that the disco is held in the abomination that we call a convention center is not lost on me either. urban renewal, with its defeated ideas of architecture and dead spaces, screams 1970's.
couldnt we have gotten stuck in the City Beautiful era instead? alas.
Al, maybe instead of the world's largest disco, we could host a giant re-enactment of the Pan Am expo.
Two other spaces are gained from the removal of the skyway... The Terrace was a linear Olmsted park (similar to days) with one block north and south of Erie Street. These were spaces that long has no buildings and divided the high ground from the lower marshy grounds along the river and lake. These are two historic elements of America's first park and parkway system in our downtown core that could be used to greet visitors and give them direction for all the other amenities that the system has to offer (delaware park, the front, the museums, FLW, Zoo etc.). These are all in relation to the parks but the parks don't have a downtown presence anymore...
Taking the skyway down would allow that, plus all the other benefits, to happen again.
Take the Skyway down and melt the steel for new light rail track. The 21st Century is knocking, Buffalo. Anybody home?
So much potential for new land uses after and if the Skyway is removed.
If the Skyway goes, as it should, and instead the new bridges comes, those bridges will become a huge impediment for the sailing community, whose boats frequently moves between the inner Harbor and Lake Erie. One solution may be to have slips and docking around SeaWayPier, that area can accommodate ~350 boats 30ft and up. Will that be enough? Commentaries around this subject do not commonly address the concerns of a 100 year old local tradition, an existing multimillion dollar recreational industry.
The Skyway has to go, otherwise where are the people coming from to enjoy this new beautiful outer harbor parkway? If no people can access the outer harbor parkway easily, via bike, public transportation or as pedestrian, why was it even developed to begin with?
Agreed... There are hundreds of acres of waterfront property just waiting for those boats. If that is really he biggest hold up.
And is it really that hard to wait for a lift bridge. Why should the 250 boaters take precedent a dozens of acres of land in downtown and the outer harbor. I love boaters and hope to one day be able to afford a small sailboat but there are larger, more important goals here than a few sail boats.
How can Higgins support removing the Skyway, but not insist on leveling Fuhrman Blvd? This is the same issue, creating access to the waterfront by removing barriers like the highway system. We need to make our waterfront a destination, instead of something you wizz by at 60mph.
Come on Higgins, there's something we can do RIGHT NOW to improve access to the outer harbor, tear down the elevated section on Fuhrman. What's the hold up? It would be cheaper, and a street level boulevard would handle just as much traffic. Don't sell out South Buffalo by going half-way. What are you afraid of?
Short reply to sbrof: the recreational boating in Buffalo involves approximately 2,000 boats, each boat-owner with family and friends and we are talking about 10,000 people, easy. As a quality of life issue for us who actually use the waterfront for water related activity, please make our lives easier, not harder. Boats needs slips and protection from foul weather, not land-acreage. On land, it is nice to see support structures, restaurants etc, but space for quality docking is extremely hard to come by in Buffalo. Thanks,
While I think there are better alternatives to the skyway, its not a log flume or a roller coaster or ice filled or anything else like that. So stop calling it that just because you don't like it. It weakens the argument by making you sound whiny and over dramatic. Its just a big bridge in an akward spot. I commuted on that stretch of road everyday for 15 years and never felt any more or less safe than on any other highway I've ever been on.
When I was a child growing up in Boston, NY, I fondly remember drving over the Skyway with my parents to visit my grandparents on the west side. It was not scary, it was fun. We drove over it in all sorts of weather. I even remember when they raised the roof on the Aud to add the orange seats. .What a sight to see from the Skyway. I also remember the first time I drove up and down the Skyway from both directions. It was still fun and what an awesome view. I live in Anchorage, Alaska now and really don't have an opinion on whether or not they should tear it down. If they do tear it down, how will that affect commuters in the southtowns. I know when I stayed at Comfort Suites at Main and Chippewa last summer, the Skyway was the quickest way to Dock at the Bay. If they do tear it down, will that guarantee the development of the lakeshore we have been hearing about for years. Is there any reason why development of the lakeshore can't coexist with the Skyway? I think it is a cool entrance into downtown Buffalo. If anything, they should tear down the horrible 190. Thanks! Dave in Anchorage
When I was a child growing up in Boston, NY, I fondly remember drving over the Skyway with my parents to visit my grandparents on the west side. It was not scary, it was fun. We drove over it in all sorts of weather. I even remember when they raised the roof on the Aud to add the orange seats. .What a sight to see from the Skyway. I also remember the first time I drove up and down the Skyway from both directions. It was still fun and what an awesome view. I live in Anchorage, Alaska now and really don't have an opinion on whether or not they should tear it down. If they do tear it down, how will that affect commuters in the southtowns. I know when I stayed at Comfort Suites at Main and Chippewa last summer, the Skyway was the quickest way to Dock at the Bay. If they do tear it down, will that guarantee the development of the lakeshore we have been hearing about for years. Is there any reason why development of the lakeshore can't coexist with the Skyway? I think it is a cool entrance into downtown Buffalo. If anything, they should tear down the horrible 190. Thanks! Dave in Anchorage
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