Mayor Brown should be congratulated on his leadership for taking on the Buffalo Green Code. This bold and ambitious project is an unparalleled opportunity to actualize the smart growth, health and sustainability objectives of Buffalo’s Comprehensive Plan.
With the draft land use plan expected in October which will be used to inform an entirely new zoning code, we are reminded that transportation – the public realm of streets, sidewalks, bicycle facilities, transit corridors and the like – directly impacts and largely determines the use of the land. Transportation uses themselves compose a significant share of the city’s land area, and an even larger share of the land under the direct public control. With this understanding, a land use plan cannot be credibly advanced without addressing the key linkages between transportation, land use and economic development.
Cities across North America and Europe are competing to be the most livable, the most vibrant, the most sustainable – all in an effort to gain the upper hand in the global competition for knowledge workers and the capital needed for job creation. As a global economy makes these resources even more mobile, high quality places will continue to have an advantage in attracting and retaining these resources. Quality of place matters more then ever!
In the spirit of collaboration, Green Options Buffalo developed a “Sustainable Transportation Agenda” (PDF below) that was submitted to the Mayor for consideration as a way to create a more competitive city that embraces healthy, environmentally sustainable and community friendly transportation. As suggestions for the upcoming land use plan and zoning code, Green Options Buffalo is sharing these ideas with everyone to inspire a conversation about what kind of city Buffalo can become with the hope that our “Sustainable Transportation Agenda” can be a valuable contribution to ongoing community dialogue of the Green Code.
Please take the opportunity to review our “Sustainable Transportation Agenda” and consider sending a letter to Mayor Brown endorsing it. See sample letter below: