Buffalo streets could handle Kensington Expressway traffic, groups say

That’s according to a hypothetical model presented by the University at Buffalo Department of Architecture and Planning Small Built Works Program and Citizens for Regional Transit. Those involved with the program say streets that handled city traffic when the population was more than double what it is now could do it again – only better with the use of state-of-the-art synchronized street signals.

“The goal is to remove Humboldt Parkway from the car traffic patterns,” said Brad Wales, a professor with the Small Built Works Program who has worked as a project architect for 40 years. “That’s the way to have environmental and restorative justice for these communities.”

Their plan envisions commuter traffic on Route 33 being dispersed at Fillmore Avenue, the last major street before the restored Humboldt Parkway would begin.

That’s similar to the Region Central plan for the reimagining of the Scajaquada Expressway, released last January by the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council. That plan calls for reestablishing Humboldt Parkway between East Delavan and Agassiz Circle, but with bicycle trails instead of the bridal paths when Frederick Law Olmsted designed it.

Wales and Citizens for Regional Transit are members of the East Side Parkways Coalition, which is calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Department of Transportation to conduct a more thorough study, called an environmental impact statement, before moving forward with plans to reconstruct a portion of the parkway above a 3/4-mile long tunnel.

The Parkways Coalition wants a study done on filling in the highway to restore the parkway, and a traffic study on diverting traffic onto city streets. The group is also calling for a study of the health impacts on residents along the project area, and a…