As the planning process heads toward approval next year, there is far from a public consensus on the value of the project to re-create a portion of the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Humboldt Parkway, with greenspace and trees, atop almost a mile of tunnel covering the Kensington Expressway.
Differences of opinion were apparent in the first of two public meetings hosted Wednesday by the state Department of Transportation to share updates on the project contained in a report earlier this month.
A few dozen members of the public in attendance were about equal to the number of state transportation officials and consultants, many standing alongside large informational placards to answer questions about the project.
Officials led a presentation in the museum auditorium afterward.
“I think it’s a great idea, something that’s been needed for a long time,” said Malcolm Lott of Buffalo. “It’s time for something new, something fresh.”
“I totally agree with what’s going on,” said Dorene Forbes, who lives on Riley Street, less than a block from the expressway, also known as Route 33. “I was here when they dug it up and I hope I’ll still be here when they restore it. It’s joining our community back together.”
The work seeks to reconnect neighborhoods severed by the highway that created an east-west divide when built in the 1950s and 1960s, a period when Black residents moved into the area in large numbers as white residents left.
Critics of the project were also present.
“Fix what you have now,” said Edward Hughes, who moved to Humboldt Parkway in the 1960s. “It’s a nice idea, but I’m against it because they could use the money to fix the things they haven’t even bothered in years to take care of. The lampposts are falling, the bridges are terrible, the sidewalks are in disarray.”
“There are so many needs on the East Side that money needs to be spent on,” said Humboldt property owner Enid Wright. She said she “questions the project,” which…
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