What would you do if you woke up one morning to discover that your paved asphalt street had suddenly been ripped up, leaving an exposed underlayer of historic brick? That’s the scenario that Ardmore Place residents are now pondering. This morning Gabe Schmidbauer reached out to me to tell me about the situation that neighbors are now looking at as a golden opportunity to recreate a true historic “Complete Street” in Buffalo (there are only a handful of brick/cobblestone streets outside of the Cobblestone District). From Gabe:
“Trucks came through our street Ardmore Place on Monday morning, tearing up pavement to lay new road. This gem was uncovered. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see this preserved? The street is scheduled to be paved over today or Wednesday. The residents of the street have been making calls all week and there is a strong motivation on the block to lobby for the original brickwork to be restored.
“It was interesting to discover that unlike a lot of streets in Western New York, Ardmore Place has a preserved intact brick street buried beneath the blacktop. This is an unique opportunity to preserve a bit of the past and enhance the street for very little budget money! Overall, we have been impressed by the huge outpouring of support for the preservation of the brick on our little street. We want everyone to call the Mayor to support the restoration of Ardmore – his number is 716-851-4841.”
If you think about it, this is a permeable street (as it stands with the brick) that we have been striving to achieve in order to alleviate the stress on our combined sewer overflow systems. Plus, there are other brick/cobble streets in Buffalo, which means that The City has the ability to maintain them accordingly. Above all, this is character that enhances the value of our neighborhoods, and what could be better than that?
As it stands, Councilman Rivera has expressed an interest in being a part of the conversation. We will keep you posted as this development unfolds.
Newell Nussbaumer is 'queenseyes' - Eyes of the Queen City and Founder of Buffalo Rising. Co-founder Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts. Co-founder Powder Keg Festival that built the world's largest ice maze (Guinness Book of World Records). Instigator behind Emerald Beach at the Erie Basin Marina. Co-creator of Rusty Chain Beer. Instigator of Buffalo Porchfest, and Paint vs. Paint. Founder of The Peddler retro and vintage market on Elmwood. Instigator behind Liberty Hound @ Canalside. Throws The Witches Ball at Statler City, the Hertel Alley Street Art Festival, and The Flutterby Festival. And his latest adventure... FigBuffalo, with the intention of creating a Buffalo United Fashion Front (BUFF).
Contact Newell Nussbaumer | Newell@BuffaloRising.com