BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — There was a full house this evening as the Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Councilunveiled its plans for the future of the Scajaquada.
"We're the people that live there, we want to see what we want,” West Buffalo resident David Ettestad said.
The area with the Scajaquada expressway is referred to as ‘region central.'
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Ettestad said this meeting taught him a lot about the way it could look in a few years.
"It could be a really good parkway, it could enhance the west side and give people a lot more access,” Ettestad said.
So, what are the four ideas?
The first is ‘status quo:’ the expressway would look and operate the same way but have some minor improvements.
Next, there's the ‘at grade roadway:’ there would still be a road running from the 190 to the 33 but would look more like a regular street with intersections.
The third and fourth concepts remove either part or all the expressway.
"We're looking not two years, not ten years, but far into the future in terms of how transportation services might be changing,” project manager Hal Morse said.
As for the Scajaquada Creek, here's what it looks like now compared to what the Scajaquada Corridor Coalition is envisioning:
Project managers said enhancing or changing the architecture is long overdue.
"Buffalo in the 1950s and Buffalo in the 2020s is a very different place,” David Dixon from Stantec said. “And in the middle of a very different region."
The goal of the project is safe neighborhoods to live, work and play.
"Wonderful walkable streets and a really connected series of neighborhoods without an expressway create those sorts of qualities.” Dixon said.
If you're wondering whether the changes would impact your drive times, the group behind the project said early studies say it should not.
