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Skyway Alternatives Make Fiscal Sense
It appears that replacing the Skyway with more suitable infrastructure will make sense fiscally for Western New York in the long run.
The Skyway requires painting every ten years which costs $15 million, and it has been suggested that it will require major sub-structural repairs which will require as much as $100 million in the years to come.
Right now, the Skyway is undergoing $9 million in structural repairs and $15 million in painting.
Given this, an analysis of the alternatives, including a series of lift bridges to more efficiently distribute traffic throughout downtown Buffalo, needs to be considered.
A Broken Transportation System
The Skyway works badly as a piece of transportation infrastructure.
The Skyway is closed several times each winter. It is closed so often, that it is the only bridge in New York State with a mechanized closing system, warning travelers in Hamburg with flashing lights when the bridge is closed.
Even when it is not closed, it is a dangerous road to travel. Buffalo Police Department records show a high record of Skyway-related accidents and fatalities.
The Skyway dumps all of its Downtown-bound traffic at one intersection (Church and Delaware), causing dangerous backups, especially in the morning. A series of lift bridges could distribute traffic at several points throughout downtown (Possibilities include: Erie St., Pearl St., Main St., Michigan Ave.), providing for a much more efficient distribution (please see diagram).
Let’s Open up Waterfront Development
The Skyway has a larger footprint (takes up more ground space) than either a tunnel or a series of lift bridges and related roadways would. Because of this, it ties up what should be some of the most prime land in the City of Buffalo (keeping it from either being developed privately and returned to the tax rolls, or keeping it from being effectively converted into public recreational uses).
The Skyway also serves to separate the Inner Harbor from the Outer Harbor. It is less than 1/10 of a mile across the channel from the Inner Harbor to the Outer Harbor, yet the quickest route by car is over four miles long (please see diagram).
The Milwaukee Model
Former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist, who is credited with the revitalization of his City’s waterfront, was in Buffalo recently giving an address to a group of concerned citizens at the Nichols School. A participant asked him, if he were charged with improving Buffalo, what is the first thing he would do. He stated, without hesitation, that his first priority would be replacing the Skyway. A similar move in Milwaukee helped spark a new era of waterfront development there.
About SkywayAlternatives.com
This site has been prepared in consultation with Congressman Higgins to provide information about the Buffalo Skyway, the need to look at alternatives to the Skyway, and to facilitate an online petition calling for the serious exploration of alternatives to the Skyway.