In a letter sent to the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT), Governor Cuomo has directed Commissioner Joan McDonald to immediately lower the speed limit of the Scajaquada Expressway to 30 MPH. Along with the lowering of the speed limit, Cuomo’s executive order also directed the DOT to install speed message boards and guardrails in order to protect pedestrians and cyclists from cars that speed through the freeway that is located in the center of Delaware Park.
For years, members of the community have been attempting to get the DOT to do what’s best for the citizens of the city of Buffalo. It took a tragedy such as the one that we saw on Saturday to send a wake up call to the DOT – hopefully the design of the boulevard moving forward will reflect the needs of the urban neighborhoods that bound the expressway, and not that of the cars that race to get in and out of the city.