Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Thursday is your chance to speak up on the planned project to cover a portion of the Kensington for about a mile in the vicinity of the Buffalo Science Museum. There will be two scoping sessions at the Buffalo Museum of Science.
New York State Senator Tim Kennedy is a backer of the project and says the state is moving forward aggressively, and as expeditiously as possible. "These scoping meetings are an opportunity for residents throughout Buffalo, particularly the area that the 33 cuts through on the east side of Buffalo that this investment is going to take root and really help to transform our entire city," says Kennedy. He adds you can have your voice heard, get on record, and be heard by the engineers, the designers, and the commissioner in Buffalo on the future of what the redesign of the 33 corridor looks like.
Kennedy says the project currently calls for a tunnel that will exist right through the heart of East Buffalo. "From around East Ferry Street to around the Best Street area. It's about a mile long, it will reconnect the community it will create green space park space treelined core corridor where families can enjoy a leisurely stroll or ride their bikes or play in the grassy areas with their families," explains Kennedy. He says right now it's six lane expressway that "cuts through the heart of our community like a scar from 70 plus years ago when boneheaded decision to entirely rip apart an Olmstead design parkway became the reality."
State Senator Sean Ryan says it has to be done right this time. "When the Kensington Expressway was finished, neighbors said, 'Oh, my Lord, what have we done?' We divided communities, we isolated communities of color, we cut off Martin Luther King Park, from Delaware Park, we cut the science museum a lot from other communities," says Ryan.
Ryan says your input is key. "How can we make it safer for pedestrians? How can we make it safer for bicyclists? How can we make it safer for for drivers? So it's a chance to put forward a plan that's well thought out? It's a plan that will be built on community feedback," notes Ryan.
Ryan says if you can't make it Thursday, you're not out of luck. "It's not one and done. So you'll get the scoping is tonight you'll get the feedback and then they'll come back to the community with preferred alternatives," says Ryan. He says they'll show it to the community again to narrowed it down, and get feedback on the changes made.
The sessions are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m at the Buffalo Museum of Science.
