Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The changing of the seasons is taking effect in Western New York, as the snow and chills associated with winter is being replaced with the sunshine and brisk weather that comes with spring.
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With the weather starting to warm up and the forecast starting to dry out, it is prompting more people to get out of the house to enjoy the great outdoors in the City of Buffalo. This may include going for a simple walk or even a bike ride through different parts of the city.
One of the many popular spots for people to visit and take in the warmer weather is along the Buffalo Waterfront, which includes Canalside right in the heart of Downtown Buffalo.
Although Canalside is accessible throughout the year, things remain relatively quiet throughout the winter and into the early spring. However, things are expected to open up for the public come Mother's Day weekend, where the 2023 season will officially kickoff for visitors.
"We're doing a soft opening on Mother's Day weekend, and that'll be the soft opening of the boardwalk, Clinton's Dish, boat tours will be coming back, all the boardwalk vendors. There's really daily activity happening at Canalside, and there's something to do all day long," said Lauren Moloney Ford, general manager of Buffalo Waterfront. "Visiting the carousel, the Longshed [Building], Explore & More [Children's Museum], and then we do have one-off events. Fitness at Canalside will be coming back on a daily basis, we have children's programming nearly every day. You can visit the canals, learn a little bit about the history of the Longshed Museum."
As of Wednesday, the large lawn chairs that occupy the greenspace at Canalside were laid out for those who may be looking to take a moment to relax and enjoy the environment.
As you move up the way from the Buffalo River towards downtown, visitors will notice some construction that is ongoing in the South Aud Block of Canalside. There will soon sit Heritage Point, which will be two nearly 103,000 square foot mixed-use, five-story buildings.
While construction may add some extra congestion to the area, that will not stop Canalside from being open and available to the public.
"Explore & More has now been open for 4-5 years, and they're continually turning over their interior. So people should be welcome to come down and visit that," said Mark Wendel, Senior Director of Design at Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation. "We have the carousel that's gonna be operational, their hours will be more for the summer. At the Longshed Building, the Maritime Center is about 60%, complete with the boat recreation of the Seneca chief, that will be launched for the for the bicentennial. So I encourage people to come down and see that construction, they're going to be building the cabin probably over the summer. It's come a long way, if you haven't visited since the summer. Then the canals will be open in the water. So we have a lot of exciting things that we've established, that we're gonna continue to build on with our operator at Be Our Guest, and really have that be an open site for people to come down and visit."
Even though construction may slow things down a bit in-and-around Canalside, it's not stopping Ford from continuing on with plans for the upcoming season in Downtown Buffalo.
"Construction just really shows progress at Canalside," she said. "I don't think it really impacts our planning a whole lot. Construction typically happens a little earlier in the day and during the morning time. So by the time of the weekend, we're ready to just host people at Canalside all day long on the weekends."
"We have enough streets and venues to get people around. Yeah, there'll be a little bit of a detour, but that's really the only stretch as of right now," Wendel added.
According to Wendel, the ongoing construction of Heritage Point - a Sinatra Company project - should be completed sometime in 2024. He advises people heading down to Canalside this season to just be mindful of some temporary road closures in the general vicinity.
With the expansion of Canalside currently ongoing, the goal for the area is not only to create more commercial activity and event spaces, but also be an inviting space to build a neighborhood for living in-and-around Canalside. Wendel says there are still some parcels at Canalside waiting to be developed, but nothing in the immediate works other than the Heritage Point project.
"The lawns could be developed, but I think people right now are enjoying the open space. The North Aud Block hasn't been developed yet, and that's something that we hope to have resolved soon and see some more city structure built upon there, get some density," he said. "Create that pedestrian path to really connect the South Aud Block and get that connection back down to the Canalside Bridge, and even going between Pearl and Main Street, as well."
As for Ford, she believes that when projects like Heritage Point and others in the area are completed, it will create plenty of opportunities for people to enjoy what Canalside has to offer not just in the warmer months of the year.
"When we're seeing these development projects coming online, it really gives us an opportunity to provide the public with daily amenities - restrooms being one, food and beverage options - things that people can really enjoy year-round, whereas right now, we might be limited to a seasonality," she said.
With the weather warming up, it is also allowing for Wendel and the rest of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation team to get a look at what effects the winter weather Buffalo experienced this past year had on Canalside. The good news is there was nothing significant enough that would back up the opening of the season.
"I think, for the most part, with the boardwalk being about 10-12 feet above the water's edge, we held up a little bit better than we did on the Outer Harbor with the debris coming up," Wendel said. "The canal took on some of it a little bit, but that damage was minimal to what we've seen on the Outer Harbor."
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