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Genesee Gateway Streetscape Project Expected to Start Next Spring
The long-planned streetscape work along the Genesee Gateway corridor is expected to be underway next spring. Previous plans were for the project to extend from Washington Street to Oak Street. The planned improvements have now been extended one block east to Elm Street to include the section where Catholic Health's new Administrative Center is located. It will tie into work currently underway on the 500 block of Main Street and future work by the NYS Department of Transportation to calm traffic on the Elm/Oak Corridor two years from now.
Genesee Street improvements will include
landscaping, sidewalks, lighting, bump-outs, street resurfacing, and green
infrastructure enhancements. The design will be consistent with work
undertaken along the 700 block of Main Street.
"It's been a
long time coming," says Brandye Merriweather, Buffalo Urban Development
Corporation's downtown development coordinator. "We are utilizing
multiple funding sources, and the last piece would be an allocation in the
City's 2015 Capital Budget."
Downtown
streetscape improvements are a key component of the Buffalo Building Reuse
Project (BBRP) which Mayor Brown has made a multi-year commitment to.
The Buffalo
Urban Development Corporation (BUDC), the Office of Strategic Planning, and the
Buffalo Niagara Partnership have conducted a rigorous process of setting
criteria and selecting eligible projects for the Mayor's 2015 Capital Budget
allocation for the Buffalo Building Reuse Project. This process included
input and collaboration with the Department of Public Works, participation of
BUDC's infrastructure consultant, Urban Strategies, as well as a recent
meeting of BUDC's infrastructure working group held on July 31st.
As a result of
this process, funding improvements along the Genesee Gateway were recommended
as the candidate for the Mayor's third $750,000 capital budget
commitment. The Genesee Gateway is one of the most utilized entry points
into downtown and has seen an influx of investment of late including a number
of new restaurants, building redevelopment, and the Catholic Health offices.
"We calculated
$42 million in recent or planned development along the targeted corridor," says
Merriweather.
The project met
the following investment criteria established by the BBRP and the infrastructure
working group:
•Connects
existing and planned infrastructure investments
•Enhances existing and planned infrastructure investments
•It is a Gateway Corridor with High Visibility and Image
•Identified as a key corridor for investment in the upcoming Infrastructure
Master Plan
•Enhances the Pedestrian Experience
•Is proximate to residential development
•Is ready for implementation
Streetscape work
along Genesee Street is being funded with $150,000 in previously allocated
capital budget funds for design, $1,000,000 in State funding, and $250,000 from
National Grid.
Genesee Street is one of a number of streets that will be
upgraded in coming years. BUDC is working with consultant urban strategies on a 10-year infrastructure master
plan for future streetscape work in the downtown area. Work on the plan
started in January and a draft is expected to be released next month.
"The main goal
is provide better connectivity throughout downtown from the Medical Campus to
Canalside but also the waterfront to the Larkin District," says Merriweather.
Merriweather
says the master plan will provide design guidelines, create a list of priority
streetscape and pedestrian improvement projects, and recommend a funding/implementation
strategy.