This morning Congressman Brian Higgins along with the DOT presented their plan for Route 5 and Fuhrman Boulevard that is scheduled to break ground in the spring of 2008. Brian spoke of the plan as a culmination of a fifteen-year process to overcome an embarrassment that is Buffalo’s Outer Harbor. He stated that this project is about connecting the Inner Harbor to the Outer Harbor, and with the limited amount of money available ($55 million) it is best to move this plan forward now.
Commissioner of the NYS Department of Transportation, Astrid Glynn, stated that the plan will consist of one arterial, one local circulator, and one ‘bike-ped’ with landscaping, historic lighting and benches. She voiced that this is a chance to have separate and complimentary uses by incorporating a major roadway and a boulevard. She also expressed a potential surface lift bridge in the future that “could go to the rest of the city”. She said that would be a good way to try to knit the Outer Harbor back to the city. She concluded with the statement, “This will not protract the life of The Skyway.” She added that time and money make this plan possible now and stated that the DOT intends to move forward. She mentioned that the money can’t just sit on a shelf, as The State likes to keep its money moving. Plus, inflation would just increase the cost by 20%-30% by the time another plan is agreed upon.
One proponent of the current plan (after the announcement ended) stated the he is determined to not have this issue turn into another Peace Bridge issue, and that he “…is tired of projects withering on the vine just because somebody has a better idea.” Let there be no mistake. The DOT plan is much better than what is currently at the Outer Harbor. The Waterfront Coalition’s Boulevard Alternative might be the better idea that many Buffalonians would like to see... bu the question is, “Do people want to see the plan done now and cross off another ‘to do’ on Buffalo’s list? Or is there a way for the opposition to this plan to make timely headway, thus delaying the plan in order to get it right? With a hefty contingent of politicians, developers, authorities, and fed-up Buffalonians screaming to ‘Just get it done’, it looks like progress might be king in this case.
Yes, this plan is better than what currently exists on the Outer Harbor… I guess I just don’t understand the need for a short, elevated and grade-separated expressway (from Ohio Street to foot of Delaware Avenue). Otherwise the plan sounds great. The construction contract award is scheduled for this December, with a project completion date of December 2010.