The condition of neighborhood streets has long been a source of frustration for East Side residents living near the Kensington Expressway.
State transportation and elected officials came to Buffalo on Monday to offer solutions.
They proposed major street and sidewalk improvements on both sides of the expressway as part of the $1 billion project to cover a section of roadway, create a deck of greenspace along Humboldt Parkway and reconnect long-separated neighborhoods.
A 9-mile radius of 25 streets would be redone, bordered by High and Genesee streets to the south, Northland Avenue to the north, Wohlers Avenue and Johnson Street to the west and Fillmore Avenue to the east.
“That is a significant portion of the East Side of Buffalo, where residents have always lived and worked, and will make their quality of life that much better,” Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said as she joined other state officials on East Utica Street, a block from what also is known as Route 33. “This project is going from good to better to best.”
State transportation officials also propose adding a roundabout that widens Best Street and removing a signalized intersection.
The public will have a chance to learn more about the proposal and offer feedback during public information meetings from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Buffalo Museum of Science.
DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez, in the city for the announcement, said streets will be milled and repaved, sidewalks reconstructed or enhanced, driveway aprons repaired, landscaping added, lighting and traffic signals improved and ramps made to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“This project is fundamentally about improving quality of life for residents in the surrounding neighborhoods,” Dominguez said, adding that the idea to improve streets came from those in nearby neighborhoods.
“There are about 150 families along the parkway, but the…
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