By RW:
I finished the Skyride this weekend. Fantastic! I know that the fate of the Skyway has been the subject of much speculation, from demolition and removal to conversion to a High Line park, a la Manhattan’s.
How about this! A ‘mixed use’ Skyway. Let’s close the Skyway to vehicular traffic on weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day and utilize it as our own High Line. Two-way bicycle traffic on the outbound lanes, and food vendors and stands on the inbound lanes. Connection of the two sides of the Skyway would require the removal of just a few of the concrete dividers. Memorial Day Saturday could be the official opening, with daylong music and festivities at Canalside, and the ‘soon to be annual’ bike run over the Skyway to the Botanical Gardens. Labor Day would be, not a closing, but an invitation to “kiss the fall hello” and enjoy WNY’s exceptional autumn!
The result would be threefold: Buffalo would have a new and fabulous gathering spot, our urban planners would have a realtime view of what life without the Skyway would be like, and all drivers would be forced to look at the fabulous beauty of Buffalo’s waterfront.
On a personal note, I spent a Saturday afternoon last summer on Manhattan’s High Line Park. It was so busy, that you could hardly walk, a tremendous success. Our Summer Skyline Park would be easily more spectacular.
Yesterday, as we ascended the Skyway, which was surprisingly easy on bike, the aroma of Cheerios was pervasive, at least fifty sailboats floated on Lake Erie and life was good. Somewhere the Chamber of Commerce is smiling!
Photo: Nate Neuman