Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was last week when the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) announced it is starting the process over with the Kensington Expressway project. Despite mixed feelings on the project reset, two local lawmakers still feel a tunnel is the best option for the future of the 33.
State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes does not agree with a State Supreme Court Justice's decision to pause the project in the first place, feeling the steps NYSDOT took with their Environmental Assessment was good enough for the project to proceed.
"We live in a system where there's executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Judicial had a call on this, and they stopped the project. So it stopped, and it's going to start again. Which means now they have to do an EIS [Environmental Impact Statement] study that would include all of Erie County," said Peoples-Stokes in an interview with WBEN. "Anybody who uses that expressway for travel is gonna have to be included in what the study looks like, because if it happens the way the opposition would like to see it happen, there is no more expressway. I don't know what street you live on, but they might have to come down your street instead of this way."
Peoples-Stokes still believes a tunnel for the Kensington is the best solution to complete the project's intended goal of reconnecting neighborhoods on Buffalo's East Side that were separated by the expressway's construction.
"I'm just a legislator who was able to help deliver the resources for it. Now it's up to the courts, and DOT to come up with a strategy that engages everybody who uses that 33 on what the solution is," Peoples-Stokes said. "What they're going to come up with, I have no idea. But I know what the opposition is interested in, and by the way, I'm in Buffalo long enough to know how that used to look, and it was beautiful. But times change, things change, and sometimes we have to adapt to those changes."
During a recent visit to Western New York on Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul expressed some frustration over the progress of the project, feeling too often, people with differing viewpoints of a project of this magnitude decide to go to court to try and stop such initiatives that are only looking to significantly improve communities like the East Side of Buffalo.
Peoples-Stokes shares some of those frustrations with the governor.
"I'm a lifelong Buffalonian. We have a very good habit of the paralysis of analysis: We want to analyze everything until we just get stuck and nothing happens. I'm hopeful that won't happen with this project," she said. "I've already got 15 years in, so if it takes DOT another; I'm going to assume they say 2-to-3 years, I say 3-to-4, because there are a lot of people who have to weigh in on what happens when there's no 33. So I believe it's going to take that long, and unfortunately, it's a delay, but I still think it's going to happen."
Peoples-Stokes adds it is more likely than not that officials will need to, once again, regroup on funding for the project at some point down the line.
Related
Masten District Councilwoman Zeneta Everhart feels strongly that a reset for the Kensington Expressway project is exactly what NYSDOT should be doing.
"I'm always in constant conversation with the DOT, and yes, we should hit a reset button," said Everhart with WBEN. "What does this project look like in the future? For me, I'm still on the ground, we're still making this happen. I still want to see this happen. I don't care what that looks like and what process we need to go through to get there, but I want to see it happen. And so yes, they hit the reset button, I have been assured they're going to be hosting community conversations and things like that. They're going to be going door-to-door, which is exactly what they should be doing. I'm just excited to see what the outcome is."
Everhart feels the city's role in this project, at this point, is to make sure NYSDOT is following through on their intentions to talk to the residents of Buffalo's East Side neighborhood.
"Talk to the people who live in this neighborhood, who's the stakeholders, the people who have been here forever. That is our role, I see that as my role as a Council member, is to make sure they're hosting those meetings right in my district, in the neighborhoods. And making sure they're getting that actual feedback from people who live directly in these neighborhoods. That is my role," Everhart said.
As for Everhart, she, too, would still like to see the Kensington capped with a tunnel for traffic to continue to flow to-and-from the city.
"I've been going to these meetings over many, many years, participating with the ROCC [Restoring Our Community Coalition] group. They worked really, really hard, lobbying to get this funding. They've been going to Albany over decades, doing this work, and I believe in their vision for this project. And I like the idea of the of the tunnel," Everhart said.
In her travels and visiting a number of big cities in recent years, Everhart feels confident that a tunnel project, like in other cities, will work for Buffalo.
"One of the things we have to think about is, where is this traffic going? I'm sorry, I realize some people would like to see the traffic eliminated, but I don't want to see that traffic all up-and-down Humboldt Parkway, on Fillmore or on Jefferson. That is just bringing emissions right back into our neighborhood," Everhart noted. "So for me, what does that look like? If we are going to fill it in, where are we putting those cars? Because I don't want to see them up-and-down Brunswick [Boulevard]."
While Everhart may not exude as much frustration as Gov. Hochul or Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes with the reset of the Kensington Expressway project, she does show some frustration of the project getting pushed back.
"You want to see these projects happen," she said. "When you see an organization like ROCC work over 30 years on one specific project, they finally get some push, they get some funding, the real funding, there's a real opportunity for this to happen and it gets pushed back, of course people are frustrated. Of course I'm frustrated. You want to see these things happen, but you want to see them happen the right way. So we have an opportunity right now, yes, hit the reset button. Let's figure it out. But let's also get the project done."