While it’s unfortunate that Route 5 was never converted into a boulevard even though the idea appeared to be backed by myriad organizations throughout the city, there is undeniably significant progress being made at the Outer Harbor. Route 5 remains a loud, high-speed thoroughfare that disconnects the waterfront from the city. Despite the grave mistake, there are continued signs of prosperity and positive change, as seen at Tifft Street Pier, Wilkeson Pointe, the Buffalo Lighthouse, Tifft Nature Preserve, Ship Canal Commons, Buffalo Harbor State Park, and much of the appealing infrastructure that surrounds the freeway. As much as it’s unfortunate that we didn’t downgrade Route 5, Buffalo’s Outer Harbor is gaining momentum with each passing year.
As goes the Outer Harbor, so goes the Inner Harbor. Canalside is leaps and bounds ahead of where it stood a few short years ago. This weekend thousands of visitors will be experiencing these areas in unprecedented ways. As the tides of development rise, there is an urgency to keep the momentum moving forward. Congressman Brian Higgins is still pushing for additional connectivity between the Outer and Inner Harbors. He recently compiled a laundry list of accomplishments, in order to show that the plan is working.
Project | Status | Funding Source | Investment |
Erie Canal Harbor | Completed in 2008 | federal, State, Local | $53,000,000 |
Outer Harbor Greenbelt | Completed in 2008 | Federal, State | $13,500,000 |
Aud Demo | Completed in 2009 | Erie County and NYPA | $7,500,000 |
Cobblestone Streets at Canalside | Completed in 2010 | Federal Funding including Recovery Act | $3,800,000 |
Outer Harbor Parkway | Completed in 2010 | Federal and State Funding | $56,800,000 |
Ship Canal Commons | Complete in 2011 | Federal Highway, Erie County, NYSDEC, Niagara River Greenway, NYS, BUDC | $9,200,000 |
Union Ship Canal Promenade | Complete | Federal Recovery Act | $2,000,000 |
Gallagher Beach Node | Complete | Federal Funding | $500,000 |
Mutual Riverfront Park (NYPA) | Complete | NYPA | $24,000,000 |
Times Beach Node | Complete | Federal Funding | $600,000 |
US Coast Guard Lighthouse Access Project | Complete | Federal Funding | $6,100,000 |
Buffalo Lighthouse Rehabilitation | Complete | NYPA Settlement | $179,000 |
Buffalo RiverFest Park | Complete | City of Buffalo, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeepers, NYPA, NYS Canal Corporation, NY Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Dormitory Authority, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, the Buffalo & Erie County Greenway Commission and the Valley Community Association | $1,700,000 |
Canalside Temporary Extension of Central Wharf | Complete | NYPA Settlement | $205,000 |
Canalside Improvements for Concerts, Furniture, and Bathrooms | Complete | NYPA Settlement | $120,000 |
Tifft Street and Lake Kirsty Piers | Kirsty Completed in 2012; Tifft Underway | Federal Funding | $2,350,000 |
Industrial Heritage Node | Underway | Federal Funding | $1,160,000 |
Canalside Central Wharf Permanent Extension | Complete | NYPA Settlement & State | $998,000 |
Aud Block – Canals | Underway | NYPA Settlement | $25,000,000 |
Outer Harbor Parcel/Wilkeson Pointe | Completed 2013 | NYPA Settlement | $3,100,000 |
Sand Beaches – Gallagher & OH Parcel | Fall 2012 | NYPA Settlement | $40,590 |
East Canals | Completed 2013 | NYPA Settlement | $5,764,180 |
Ohio Street | Underway | Federal w/ State & Local Match | $11,000,000 |
TOTAL: | $228,616,770 |
Now Higgins is pushing even harder to eliminate the Skyway, which he hopes will go hand-in-hand with the building of the Buffalo Harbor Bridge. With the elimination of the Skyway, does that mean that we might see the elimination of Route 5? If Fuhrmann Boulevard was planned to one day accommodate additional traffic that once traversed the Skyway, leading from a new bridge built at the foot of Main Street (or even Michigan), then we just might see that debacle righted at the Outer Harbor. Increased lane capacity on Fuhrmann, along with help from Ohio Street, could mean that one day we will see a sole boulevard instead of two roadways sitting side by side.
The land freed up from Route 5 would help to connect two nature preserves (Tifft and Times) and give the people the connectivity to the water that they asked for from the start. My only hope is that the pillars of the Skyway remain and are incorporated into some sort of interactive art monument. I’m torn – I have become a fan of the Skyway over the years, but can’t stand Route 5. It appears that if one goes, the other goes with it?
“Seven years ago there was little to no activity along the inner and outer harbors; today thousands of people flock to the water day after day and it continues to grow,” Higgins said. “What has changed since 2007? At Canalside and along the Outer Harbor we have built the infrastructure that draws people to the water’s edge. The best plans don’t just look at what we need now, but anticipate what we need to sustain economic growth years from now. Infrastructure provides that foundation and momentum for long-term growth.
“In 2008 we took on an $80 million project to reconstruct Fuhrmann Boulevard from a one-way, crumbling street that you couldn’t find, to a beautiful and accessible, two-way parkway. With that infrastructure project came access like we’ve never seen before at the Outer Harbor. Today, regardless of what the final plan looks like, the goal is to see more people enjoying the Outer Harbor and our community benefiting from the waterfront access that is naturally ours. It is incumbent on us to continue our work building the infrastructure that supports that objective.”
Congressman Higgins spoke about the issue from the House Floor:
“Mr. Speaker, over the past few years, Buffalo’s Inner Harbor has gone through a startling transformation. This summer, Canalside will offer over 1,000 public events, drawing in a million visitors.
“The same possibility exists for Buffalo’s Outer Harbor. The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation will host public meetings, starting tonight, to support public discussion about the future of the Outer Harbor.
“The successful growth of Canalside has been attributed to federal highway dollars and the New York Power Authority $279 million federal relicensing settlement, which is now financing the reconstruction of Buffalo’s long-neglected waterfront.
“Likewise, putting in place the infrastructure to bring Western New Yorkers to the water’s edge at the Outer Harbor will open it up to public access and private development. A good start would be to remove the structurally deficient Skyway bridge and to build a new pedestrian-friendly Buffalo Harbor Bridge, which is now in its final stages of environmental review*.
“Buffalo has several waterfront master plans that each say the same thing: get to work. The attraction to Buffalo’s waterfront is the water itself, and it’s our responsibility to build the infrastructure to make that vision a reality.”
Below is the text of Congressman Higgins formal comments:
July 9, 2014
Mr. Robert Gioia
Chairman
Erie Canal harbor Development Corporation
95 Perry Street
Buffalo, NY 14203Re: The planning process for the Buffalo Outer Harbor
Dear Chairman Gioia:
I commend the Corporation for commencing land-use planning for the parcels which it has recently acquired on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor. Years of concerted effort on several fronts have made this possible. These foundational efforts include, but are not limited to, the construction of the $56.8 million Outer Harbor Parkway, completed in 2010, which made the site easily accessible for the first time, and the $13.5 million Outer Harbor Greenbelt, completed in 2008, which established public access on the site and enhanced habitat in the Bell Slip. This milestone also could not have been reached without the relinquishment of this property by the NFTA, for which many of us have fought for so long; and this effort is, of course, financed by proceeds from the New York Power Authority’s 2006 license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Taken together, these efforts have removed the barriers which had prevented public access this critical piece of Buffalo’s waterfront and these efforts have empowered the community to reclaim it as its own.
As the Corporation has solicited public comment regarding Outer Harbor planning in association with a series of public meetings being held this week, I hereby convey my own comments with regard to this plan:
1) Water-dependence. To the extent possible, the Buffalo Outer Harbor, like all urban waterfront land, should be reserved for water-dependent land uses. Where this is not possible, at the very least, this unique resource should be reserved for water-enhanced uses. This means that uses and facilities which draw users’ attention inward, are, of necessity, not the highest and best use of waterfront land and should be avoided.
2) Public access. Except in very limited areas of marinas which must, of necessity, be limited to slipholders and their guests, the entirety of the water’s edge should be reserved for public access in perpetuity. This edge should not then be the end of public access, but a beginning of substantial and high-quality access.
3) Environmental sustainability. Vast sums have been spent to remediate contaminated water, soil and sediment all along Buffalo’s waterfront. More work is currently underway in this regard and much remains to be done. Given this significant, ongoing investment, development on this parcel should use the latest and best storm water management and other environmental technologies so that it enhances, rather than harms, the environmental quality of Buffalo’s waterfront.
4) Scope. The process should include not only the land which is being transferred from NFTA to ECHDC, but also other, adjacent lands owned by the state and its authorities.
a. The NYPA Parcel. In 2010 NYPA purchased 15 acres at 32 Fuhrmann Blvd., a portion of which is necessary for mooring vessels which can access the ice boom in the winter. NYPA has responsibly managed and improved the site since that time. The bulk of the site is operated as a private marina, under contract with NYPA. Because marinas are truly water-dependent uses, the continuation of a marina operation at this site should be maintained. It is significant to note however, that under the previous ownership, the site was not only a marina, but also a kind of nautical junk yard. Now that NYPA and their marina operator have (appropriately) removed substantial amounts of nautical debris, it is apparent that some significant portion of the 15 acres is surplus to both the needs of the Authority and the marina. This surplus, state authority-owned waterfront land should also be part of the planning process.
b. The Skyway Outer Harbor Footprint. In the context of the recently-concluded Outer Harbor Parkway Project, provision was made so that Fuhrmann Blvd. could be converted from two lanes to four with minimum expense (e.g., fire hydrants were not placed in the traffic-calming bulb-outs). The idea behind this was that eventually, it could be possible to remove the Buffalo Skyway and its associated elevated berm in its entirety, with a portion of this traffic being handled by Fuhrmann and the Buffalo Harbor Bridge. Just counting the portion across from the land ECHDC is acquiring, the Skyway occupies 27.5 acres of prime waterfront land which faces Fuhrmann at its front and the City Ship Canal at its back. The plan should anticipate the tremendous possibilities presented by these potential development parcels.
5) Buffalo Harbor Bridge. The plan must build off the pre-existing planning work associated with the Buffalo Harbor Bridge. This facility can eventually carry a significant portion of traffic which currently travels via the Skyway. While the Ohio Street project is an important step in providing high-quality access between downtown and the Outer Harbor waterfront, the full potential of Buffalo’s Waterfront, particularly the Outer Harbor, will not be realized until a shorter-span facility with full bicycle and pedestrian capability is constructed.
6) The Density Debate. Over the years, scores of plans, with varying degrees of detail, have been advanced for the Buffalo Outer Harbor. On one extreme, some plans advanced a second downtown. Buffalo’s Outer Harbor should complement, not compete with, the very good and improving downtown we already have. As such, proposals with too much emphasis on commercial office space or other “downtown” uses should be avoided. At the other extreme, some have advocated for 100% parkland at the Outer Harbor. This is not economically sustainable nor should we see it as desirable. Great urban parks, in the Olmstedian tradition, add significant value to the private property to which they are adjacent. For that formula to work, some private, adjacent land use is necessary. In short, the right formula for the Outer harbor is a middle ground which provides substantial, high-quality public access and complementing private uses.
*The $7 million study was funded with $1.6 million in federal highway dollars and $5 million in NYPA funding secured by Congressman Higgins, plus additional state support.