One Parkway Now!

Complete Highway Removal for Full Parkway Restoration

With a billion dollars in hand, Buffalo can go from worst to first in the national highway removal movement. Whereas highway removal is almost always considered to be synonymous with highway-removal-to-a-boulevard, ROCC has already rejected the boulevard option to avoid 65,000 cars a day driving right in front of residents’ houses. Moreover, Buffalo has the first ever City-wide Park and Parkway System in the history of the United States, and in order to restore it, we need Complete Highway Removal of both the 198 and 33.

Unfortunately, NYSDOT’s Final Design Report / Environmental Assessment (FDR/EAEA Environmental Assessment), only provides one take-it-or-leave-it “Build Alternative” – a Tunnel that would require 20 feet of additional blasting and digging at the northern end, covered by a replica parkway that stops 2,000-feet short of connecting Martin Luther King Park (MLK ParkMLK Park Martin Luther King Park, formerly Humboldt Park.) to Delaware Park with a Parkway.

NYSDOT’s design has two disastrous consequences: 1) The Tunnel would cement-in-place that these two Parks will never be connected with a Parkway because any future Tunnel extension to the north would run into the buried Scajaquada Creek; and, 2) Concentrated exhaust plumes will be blown out the Tunnel portal ends toward dozens of schools, youth facilities, parks, museums and churches.

As a result of NYSDOT’s plan, both of ROCC’s initial goals of restoring Humboldt Parkway and improving the health of local residents would be made worse by the $1.5 billion investment.

We stand behind and support all local stakeholder groups including the ROCC to fight for ROCC’s original goals of ending exhaust-related diseases in highway-adjacent neighborhoods and fully restoring the beautiful Humboldt Parkway so it once again connects Delaware and MLKMLK Park Martin Luther King Park, formerly Humboldt Park. Parks. This long-overdue Parkway connection should be made now with the currently allocated funding.

We can get full Restoration of Humboldt Parkway if all Buffalo’s communities work together!

Lawsuit Update

ESP, New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLUNYCLU New York Civil Liberties Union The NYCLU is the state affiliate of the ACLU. We fight for a New York where everyone lives with dignity, liberty, justice, and equality. We advance civil rights and civil liberties through an expert mix of litigation, policy advocacy, field organizing, and strategic communications. Our work is informed by the insights of our communities and coalitions, and is powered by our supporters.), Citizens for Regional Transit (CRT), and the Western New York Climate Council (WNYYCCWestern New York Youth Climate Council (WNYYCC) Definition to come.), have brought Article 78 Lawsuits to compel NYSDOT to complete an Environmental Impact StatementEnvironmental Impact Statement An environmental impact statement (EIS), under United States environmental law, is a document required by the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment".[1] An EIS is a tool for decision making. It describes the positive and negative environmental effects of a proposed action, and it usually also lists one or more alternative actions that may be chosen instead of the action described in the EIS. (Wikipedia) (EISEnvironmental Impact Statement An environmental impact statement (EIS), under United States environmental law, is a document required by the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment".[1] An EIS is a tool for decision making. It describes the positive and negative environmental effects of a proposed action, and it usually also lists one or more alternative actions that may be chosen instead of the action described in the EIS. (Wikipedia)) process in order to fully study alternatives that would provide a more healthy environment for adjacent communities. Judge Colaiacovo indicated he will provide his Decision by mid-January.

Judge Colaiacovo will also decide whether Humboldt Parkway was a “linear park” or a “thoroughfare.”

Read more about about each individual lawsuit here.