There is growing support from Council President Franczyk and other local politicians to have the Central Terminal become the terminus for high speed rail in Buffalo.
Take a look at the WKBW news piece that aired last night.
Here is the story text from WKBW’s website:
The Buffalo Central Terminal was built in 1929 for high speed rail, away from downtown Buffalo. Now that piece of Buffalo’s past presently has the strong possibility for the future as the hub for high speed rail once again. Mark Lewandowski is a terminal board member and says this is a dream come true. “It’s a wish that we all had in the current vision of our board is to always consider rail as part of this project,” said Lewandowski.
Just a week ago Governor Paterson was touting a plan to use billions of federal stimulus dollars to connect New York City to Albany to Buffalo. Now some on Buffalo’s common council want to make sure the final stop is at a refurbished central terminal. “It could be used as an engine of restimulation for entire (area). It’s good for the City of Buffalo. It’s good for the East Side. It’s good for the neighborhood. This could be a spin-off affect.There could be restaurants open and people servicing the new hub thats there,” said Franczyk.
If it happens, it would be a rebirth of history for Lewandowski and those who have worked for more than 11 years to protect and preserve a part of buffalo’s history. “The goal was, it’s not about Central Terminal. It’s about the community surrounding the Central Terminal be it the Broadway Market, St. Stans, Corpus Christy and all the residents that still live here that still believe in the area. How Central Terminal goes so goes the neighborhood,” said Lewandowski.
Would be cool to have a connection to the airport as well, though that may require raising the intersection of Harlem and Walden again.
Great piece…
While an east side booster, not a good idea.. Would you park your car in the area & leave it for a week? No way…
An enhanced downtown Buffalo site would be better providing it’s secured. Sorry. I don’t see many visitors hopping off the train & heading to churches or the market… A pipe dream.. Rebuild the neighborhood first.
Ken, don’t forget that the parking plaza is 17 feet above the street level and could easily be gated and secured. Also, don’t forget that there is a secured underground ramp that holds 200 cars. It’s really a perfect park and ride facility.
PS – in six seasons of daytime and nighttime events, we’ve never had one incident of auto theft or break-in.
Thanks Mike. That is a valid point.. It’s the old analogy, what comes first.. housing or business? The market is on the rebound. Now only if the century old housing could be replaced within the neighborhood..Think of the potential for the entire terminal property..
What’s wrong with century-old housing ? There are wooden churches in Poland that are 400 years old. How old are the historic shacks in Cape Cod ? With minimal maintenance, these places can last forever.
Andy, the operative phrase here is “minimal maintenance” which some of our old Polish cottages haven’t had. I’m all for saving these houses where possible.