Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) The Reverend Mark Blue, NAACP Buffalo Branch President, tells WBEN he's a realist. He knows the Kensington Expressway is not going back to what it used to be.
But he said now is the time to get behind a project to tunnel a portion of the expressway.
"They're not going to take the 33 Expressway out. They're not going to take the 198 out. Let's put the tunnel back. We can have more crosswalks across Humboldt Parkway." And he said, "let's do the environmental study."
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Having the expressway covered, according to Blue, will bring an opportunity to reduce emissions and eliminate the possibility of sickness.
Blue grew up near the 33 on Rickert Avenue. He crossed the bridge going to Public School 74 everyday. He added that a young friend of his was killed trying to cross the expressway.
"I think we can cover it and have more of a safe community in which individuals can grow up in
and be proud of."
He wants to restore some semblance of Olmsted Parks, which were removed when the expressway was built. The only way to do that, in his words, is to cover it because they are not going to remove it or eliminate it.
Plus, the money the 1.5 billion dollars that has been earmarked for the project has been earmarked for the creation of a tunnel, and cannot be repurposed.
"If we don't use this money it can be taken away from us," he added.
Why are we hearing now about support for the tunnel project, when the discussion in recent months has been dominated by people who have been speaking out against it. Where has the support been ?
Blue thinks there are individuals, not from the community, who are trying to prevent development on the East side.
The East side is the only area of the city where there hasn't been a lot of development. He thinks this project will spur more opportunity and economic development for the city.