Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - After more than 50 years of proposals and plans to expand the NFTA Metro Rail system, there may finally be some progress towards the expansion of the Amherst high-capacity transit extension.
"This, in our mind, is the first step to extend the light rail, according to the original plan," said President of Citizens for Regional Transit (CRT), Douglas Funke.
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The CRT held a public meeting on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments with the expansion of the Metro Rail system. At this stage of the process, the group is preparing a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the expansion through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This process will allow the CRT to assess potential effects of the build alternative(s) and develop mitigation measures for adverse effects. It will also provide meaningful opportunities for public participation during the environmental process.
The hope is for the DEIS to be released some time this fall, conduct public hearings for the project in the later fall months, then develop a draft for the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) near the turn of the calendar year, and then release the final EIS in the spring of 2023.
A key part of this process, though, that has allowed the project to really garner support is the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has adopted the CRT as a project, making them a sponsor. With that now in place, the FTA and CRT will be moving forward with the NFTA as a partner.
"We're doing a little bit of re-doing some of the work that the NFTA has already done. They did the alternatives analysis, they picked a locally preferred alternative, which was light rail along the alignment of Kenmore up Niagara Falls Boulevard. The FTA wants us to go back now and also re-look at bus rapid transit," Funke explained. "I think the FTA agrees with us that bus rapid transit really isn't going to work. You've got 2,500 students riding the bus every day, putting them on buses, it doesn't work now, it's not going to work with the new system either. But they want us to look at it, so we're going to look at it. We think the light rail extension is the best way."
While the light rail expansion may not officially get started for a while yet, progress is being made, especially now with federal support. And with federal support for the project comes federal money, along with support from the state level of government.
"[Senator] Tim Kennedy has been very, very supportive, and with his help, I'm very optimistic that the state will be able to come through with their money, their share of the project. It's a good time, and we're finally making some progress," Funke said.
With the FTA sponsoring the CRT, they will work with the NFTA to select the final alternative alignment mode and more. After that comes the engineering phase, and that would take another year or two any actually development takes place. The NFTA is looking at opening up the new Metro Rail extension around the year 2030, but Funke believes that can happen sooner.
"It's really going to happen if we can keep this moving," he said. "There is federal money, finally, in pipeline that we can plug into. And this is a good one too, because this one has really good ridership, because of UB. I mean, there's 25,000 students riding it every day. The payback is there, and the state's already spending money on the 'Stampede.' So it'll be more efficient, and it'll provide inputs to the NFTA budgets to run this thing. It's a win-win, we think."
While federal money is finally available for this project going forward, talks in the past for the Metro Rail system expansion has been shelved time-and-time again. What if this project falls through again and doesn't happen? At the point, would the project ever be able to happen?
"I mean, if it doesn't happen now, I don't know when. That's a very good question," Funke said. "I'd be disappointed if it didn't happen now. It's possible that it'll drag on for another 10 years, but I don't think so. I think that the stars are aligning, and there is support for the project locally and at the federal level. So we think we can move forward with it now.
"I'm more confident than I have ever been. I am pretty confident, but you never know. Things always change, but I am optimistic that this is going to happen."
Hear more of our conversation with Funke in the player below: