Exactly three years ago, transit planners were forced to scrap grand plans for a skywalk linking the redeveloped Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Terminal to KeyBank Center across South Park Avenue.
An unanticipated maze of underground utility lines at the base of a planned support tower suddenly made too expensive the idea that thousands of Buffalo Sabres fans could leave Metro Rail trains at a new DL&W station in a "coatless crossing" to the arena. And as Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority efforts to seek federal money for resurrecting the historic terminal continually failed, it appeared the concept of a direct rail-arena connection faced long delays.
The Buffalo Riverwalk near the DL&W Terminal, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Erie County Department of Health's mental health and substance abuse programs will get substantial funding, too.
But at least some federal money for the skywalk and a host of other waterfront and transit-oriented projects has finally arrived.
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On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand and Rep. Brian Higgins gathered outside the DL&W Terminal near the Edward M. Cotter fireboat to announce $10 million for everything from new electric buses and related charging infrastructure to the proposed Riverline project through the Old First Ward.
"This is going to boost Buffalo like never before," Schumer said at the waterfront gathering, noting the abandoned DL&W right-of-way will also be transformed into a linear walkway and bikeway similar to New York City's Highline.
The wait continues for Western New York commuters anticipating the proposed extension of Metro Rail to Amherst, even as the nation's new $1.2 trillion infrastructure package finances New York City megaprojects.
"This was once a great connector, and instead of being a uniter, it became a divider," he said. "Now, we'll be able to begin transforming this 1.5-mile line to bring downtown and the waterfront together ... and reclaim one of Buffalo's natural treasures."
At the news conference, Schumer, Gillibrand and Higgins said the money will be aimed at "green" projects for expanded walking and biking access to the Buffalo waterfront. And as the NFTA prepares to introduce electric buses to its fleet later this year, the lawmakers said its Cold Spring maintenance facility can now count on overhead equipment to charge new buses.
But the most visible project, claiming $2 million in money from Washington, will be the skybridge set to open with a new Metro Rail station at the DL&W in 2024. Thomas George, the NFTA's director of public transit, said the new money will pay for utility relocation and allow for a bridge near the intersection of South Park Avenue and Main Street. It will allow rail passengers attending arena events to disembark at the DL&W, cross the terminal on its second floor and directly enter KeyBank Center.
"It was one of the missing pieces, and this really fills the gap," George said in an interview, adding planners can now address the utility relocation, as well as all other options for entering and exiting the arena.
"We've always pursued it," he added.
"I'm talking about a vision that could dramatically change the whole waterfront environment over the next 24 months to three years," Rep. Brian Higgins said.
Planners will also continue studying stairway entrances to the terminal via a tower at the foot of Illinois Street, he said, and from an adjacent parking garage. The goal, George added, is for skywalk construction to coincide with the planned opening in 2024 of the new Metro Rail station on the DL&W's first floor adjacent to the Buffalo River.
The money announced Monday by the lawmakers amounts to at least partial success in obtaining federal support for the DL&W project. And it followed criticism from Higgins just after the NFTA suspended the skywalk project in 2019 noting a possible "softening of their commitment" and lack of interest by potential developers.
Since then, however, the authority has signed up the Savarino Cos. as the project's developer, even after it failed on several occasions to obtain federal grants in the face of stiff competition. But now the new money will help the NFTA on the $3 million skywalk that is considered one of the most attractive aspects of the DL&W project.
Other projects to be addressed by the new federal dollars include:
• Riverline: Will receive $900,000 to transform the 1.5 mile DL&W corridor into a greenway connecting downtown Buffalo and its waterfront. The land is owned by the NFTA and the project is spearheaded by the Western New York Land Conservancy, and the new money is earmarked for design, development and construction of the first phase.
"The Riverline will connect to the Buffalo River, to Canalside and to the Shoreline and Empire State trails," said Riverline Director Jeff Lebsack, "helping to ensure equitable access to our redeveloping waterfront. These connections further our goal to be a part of a healthy, inclusive and opportunity-rich city with vibrancy in every neighborhood."
"It's the largest infusion for infrastructure for Western New York certainly in 70 years and maybe even longer," said Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat who compared the effort to the construction of the interstate highway system starting in the 1950s.
• Electric bus equipment: $1.76 million for overhead charging stations at the NFTA's Cold Spring maintenance garage, capable of servicing 10 electric vehicles.
• New electric buses: $4.84 million in a U.S. Department of Transportation grant to help the NFTA's planned conversion to electric buses. With the first electric buses set to arrive later this year, it allows the authority to continue phasing out carbon emitting vehicles.
• Riverwalk improvements: $1 million for new bicycle and pedestrian improvements along "various public spaces" adjacent to the DL&W Terminal and in the Ohio Street corridor.
