Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Buffalo Mayor Ryan says he wants the city to take over as lead for the next phase of the Scajaquada Corridor project. Ryan has sent a letter to the State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) formally seeking the request.
In his letter to NYSDOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez, Ryan also asked for $56 million be included in the NYSDOT Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to advance the project through environmental review and design.
North District Councilman Joseph Golembek, a long time advocate for turning the Scajaquada into a parkway, says he is excited by Ryan's proposal.
"But I still need to see the details," Golembek said. "It would certainly help rectify past mistakes."
Ryan say the Scajaquada Corridor was the subject of the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council's "Region Central" planning process, which concluded in 2023 after extensive community engagement. He says the process produced a preferred vision for the future of the corridor that received broad support from the surrounding community.
Ryan says Buffalo must play a leading role in shaping major infrastructure projects that will affect the city's neighborhoods, parks, and transportation network for generations.
"This is a major transportation project that will shape Buffalo for the next generation, so the City of Buffalo needs to be in the driver's seat," Ryan says. "For too long, City Hall has taken a back seat while decisions about our infrastructure were made by others. The Region Central process produced a thoughtful, community-supported vision for this corridor, and now it's time to move that work forward. By coordinating this effort with the Kensington project, we can deliver a better outcome for the surrounding neighborhoods and everyone who interacts with these corridors."
Ryan says the Region Central plan represents a rare consensus after more than two decades of stalled planning around the Scajaquada Expressway. He adds advancing the project would allow Buffalo to coordinate improvements with the ongoing planning process for the Route 33 corridor and ensure the two connected projects are designed in a way that works for the city as a whole.
Golembek says a parkway design could be "instrumental in revitalizing parts of the North, Delaware and Niagara districts."
"There is so much potential," he said. "I think, in the end, the benefits would far out weigh any negatives."
