{"id":2947,"date":"2021-10-11T23:22:43","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T23:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/?p=2947"},"modified":"2021-10-11T23:33:36","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T23:33:36","slug":"bringing-back-an-olmsted-parkway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/?p=2947","title":{"rendered":"Bringing Back an Olmsted Parkway"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container hundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff;background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#e7e4e2;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"width:104% !important;max-width:104% !important;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;background-color:#ffffff;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><h1 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 42px;\" data-fusion-font=\"true\">Bringing Back an Olmsted Parkway<\/h1>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator\" style=\"align-self: center;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width:100%;max-width:20PX;\"><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;margin-top : 10px;margin-bottom : 10px;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 1.92%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 1.92%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}<\/style><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link) , .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):before, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):after {color: #76c043;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-hover-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):hover, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-hover-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):hover:before, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-hover-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):hover:after {color: #76c043;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .pagination a.inactive:hover, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .fusion-filters .fusion-filter.fusion-active a {border-color: #76c043;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .pagination .current {border-color: #76c043; 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background-color: #76c043;border-color: #76c043;}#main .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .post .blog-shortcode-post-title a:hover {color: #76c043;}.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-1{ padding-top : 1%;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 1%;padding-left : 0px;}<\/style><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: #efefef;background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#e7e4e2;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"max-width:1248px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;margin-top : 10px;margin-bottom : 10px;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 1.92%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 1.92%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}<\/style><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-2{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 5px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 5px;padding-left : 0px;}<\/style><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-3 fusion-flex-container hundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0 0 0;border-color:#e7e4e2;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"width:100% !important;max-width:100% !important;margin-left: calc(-0% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-0% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-2 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 26px 0px 54px;\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\"><p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>A recent interview conducted by Mike Puma was featured in the April 2015 edition of the\u00a0<a title=\"Buffalo Spree Magazine\" href=\"http:\/\/www.buffalospree.com\/Buffalo-Spree\/April-2015\/Developing-Bringing-back-an-Olmsted-parkway\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Buffalo Spree Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Picture the Hamlin Park neighborhood in the winter of 1959. As a light snow falls, resident Donnee Hill steps out of his house, feeling the fresh snow crunch under his feet. The mighty elm trees overhead seem to go on forever and create a snow-covered canopy as far as he can see. As he takes a moment to gather himself, he realizes that Humboldt Parkway, where his family has recently bought a house, is one of the most beautiful streets he\u2019s ever seen.<\/p>\n<p>Over fifty years later, when Hill leaves the same home on Humboldt Parkway, he\u2019s now confronted with the Kensington Expressway. Even though he only had a few short years to enjoy the parkway, his memories are vivid. \u201cWalking the parkway was like being in an Ansel Adams photograph,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen the trucks came in 1962, it was devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Looking back on that day and so many others like it, Hill remembers the paradise that once was Humboldt Parkway\u2014and he\u2019s not the only one. A movement that has been decades in the making\u2014to restore Olmsted\u2019s vision for his longest and grandest parkway\u2014is gaining traction in Buffalo. Dedicated community members who want Humboldt Parkway returned for future generations to enjoy have organized as the Restore Our Community Coalition.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell me about the Restore Our Community Coalition (ROCC)\u2014what are you trying to achieve?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Clarke Eaton (founder\/board member):\u00a0<\/strong>To bring back to the neighborhood what was here before the expressway destroyed Humboldt Parkway. I\u2019ve lived in the community for the past forty-eight years, and, like any person who loves their home, I want to see the best for it. I raised my daughter here and she raised her son here. This is something we want for future generations. It\u2019s time for us to go back and restore the beauty of the parkway. I even remember the days we could pet horses still using the bridle path.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stephanie Barber-Geter (board president):<\/strong>\u00a0ROCC was formed five years ago, but Clarke has been involved in some form to restore the parkway as far back as the 1970s. I remember as a kid living downtown on Eagle Street when they took all the land, moved everybody, and built the Frederick Douglass Housing Projects, which was a big calamity. I remember a woman named Margaret Strasner, who had to move because of the project and moved to Humboldt Parkway. Unfortunately, with the expressway coming only a few years later, she went from one calamity to another. We\u2019re still dealing with the effects today and need to fix it.<br \/>We\u2019ve been reaching out to the community with our \u201cI Remember\u201d campaign, where residents recall the beauty of the parkway so we can have an identifiable face for the movement.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the solution that ROCC has come up with to restore Olmsted\u2019s vision?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>CE:<\/strong>\u00a0We thought we would turn and look at the economics of the situation. A restoration of the parkway would be beneficial on so many levels. It would create jobs and help maintain and improve the community, while, in turn, draw more people to the neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SBG:<\/strong>\u00a0We looked at every possible fix and we believe that covering the expressway is the way to restore the community and fix the residual effects it created, like the loss of business on Fillmore and Jefferson. It\u2019s not our intent to disturb the flow of traffic with our solution. We don\u2019t propose filling it in; we don\u2019t think that makes sense. Capping the expressway allows us to reconnect the community, while still allowing easy access to downtown.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why not just fill it in and be done with it? It seems like an opportunity to fix systemic problems of sprawl in our region.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SBG:<\/strong>\u00a0For months, our meetings were just focused on how big this could possibly be, but we decided to have a more specific focus with the ultimate goal of restoring the parkway in the most feasible and least disruptive way. There was a big concern that removing the expressway would result in significant traffic on our streets and many folks along Humboldt Parkway wanted us to avoid that. We believe that filling it in places us too much at a disadvantage for even getting it started.<\/p>\n<p><strong>KSF:<\/strong>\u00a0The design report that was produced by Professors Hata and Warren at UB was to first and foremost reconnect the neighborhood, almost like pulling up a zipper. If we fill it, and create heavy traffic at grade, then we\u2019ve not closed the zipper and effectively reconnected the neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>This would be a pretty big project; what would be the first step?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SBG:\u00a0<\/strong>Phase one would see the expressway capped from just south of the science museum all the way up to East Ferry. It would actually extend the parkway beyond where it was originally supposed to stop, but it\u2019s an expansion on Olmsted\u2019s original vision.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>What about the rest of the parkway, since it went all the way to Delaware Park?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SBG:<\/strong>\u00a0Phase two is more ambitious, and the groups we\u2019ve had look at this have told us we can do some very interesting things with it. Because the expressway eventually becomes grade level past East Ferry, it would require some excavation. A part of that idea could include an extension of light rail that would allow people to get between downtown and the airport. That change in grade is due to the Scajaquada Creek being buried, which presents a challenge. There are a couple of thoughts about how to deal with it, and other projects have run into the same problem, like the big dig in Boston.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Speaking about the big dig, how much is this going to cost and where is the money coming from?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SBG:\u00a0<\/strong>We\u2019ve been working with a number around $500 million. It\u2019s a lot of money, but we believe the money is out there within the state and federal governments.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who are your political and community partners in this endeavor?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SBG:\u00a0<\/strong>We\u2019ve got a lot of politicians already involved and interested, thanks to the efforts of our executive director. The churches along the expressway have been very supportive, our various community organizations have been very involved, and all of our elected officials. We certainly have support from our Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes, Senators Kennedy and Schumer, and Congressman Higgins. The mayor and council even passed a resolution in support of the project. There are so many others like the people involved in removing the Robert Moses in Niagara Falls; we have a lot of people who want to help.<br \/>Although Sean Ryan doesn\u2019t represent the district, he has been a friendly ally. I hope he\u2019s able to keep the Scajaquada upgrade movement alive for the Parkside community. Speeding through a park just isn\u2019t right, and something has got to give.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you think this project can have broader implication outside of Buffalo?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SBG:<\/strong>\u00a0I think in a time when the president and elected officials are looking for infrastructure projects to put people to work, we look pretty good. The shelf life of the current expressway is fast expiring and it has serious issues that will need to be corrected eventually. A project like this is already necessary ,and employs a major number of people in our community for a long time. At this point in Buffalo, the city is coming alive and it should be coming alive for everyone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>KSF:<\/strong>\u00a0This project could generate over 950 construction jobs for the entire course of work, which would be five to ten years. That number doesn\u2019t include potential additional employment for infill housing, rehab work in the neighborhood, and improving Jefferson and Fillmore businesses. The potential ripple effects of this project are huge.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Puma is a project manager at Preservation Studios.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;margin-top : 10px;margin-bottom : 10px;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 26px !important;margin-right : 0%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 54px !important;margin-left : 0%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0%;margin-left : 0%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0%;margin-left : 0%;}}<\/style><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-3{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 3%;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0%;}<\/style><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bringing Back an Olmsted Parkway \u00a0 A recent interview conducted by Mike Puma was featured in the April 2015 edition of the\u00a0Buffalo Spree Magazine. Picture the Hamlin Park neighborhood in the winter of 1959. As a light snow falls, resident Donnee Hill steps out of his house, feeling the fresh snow crunch under his feet. The mighty elm trees overhead seem to go on forever and create a snow-covered canopy as far as he can see. As he takes a moment to gather himself, he realizes that Humboldt Parkway, where his family has recently bought a house, is one of the [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2947"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2948,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2947\/revisions\/2948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}