City officials say the potholes that have wreaked havoc on cars and city streets for years will finally be met with long-term solutions instead of cheap, quick fixes.
The City of Buffalo released its 2026 paving schedule Monday and Mayor Sean Ryan says he's making good on promises he made on his campaign trail to make street resurfacing a priority.
“We're making sure that every dollar that we invest goes where it's needed most, and residents will be able to see with their own eyes how these decisions are being made,” Ryan said in a public announcement held in the intersection of Goodyear Avenue and McKibben Street, along roads with some of the city's worst potholes.
Ryan was joined by Deputy Mayor Benjamin Swanekamp, Department of Public Works officials, and founders of CYVL, an AI-powered infrastructure intelligence platform the city will partner with for 3D imaging and data collection.
The city will begin hot paving corridors and residential streets on April 20 and residents will receive a two-week notice before work commences on their streets. Erie County will lend the city hot paving equipment and provide training. The city had employed this method "a generation ago," Ryan said, but utilized cold patching in recent years to cut costs. These temporary fixes are the cause of recurring potholes.
"Cold patch was used because the city was cheap," Swanekamp said. "We've heard years ago they did do hot patch, but they stopped doing it many years ago due to the constant underinvestment in our infrastructure."
In addition to roads, the city will also target sidewalks to improve accessibility in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"We haven't had an update to that plan in over 10 years. This will be a game changer when it comes to sidewalks grading roadway, so we can make sure our crosswalks, our curb ramps, that they're all ADA compliant," said Department of Public Works Commissioner Nolan Skipper.
The updates are long overdue, some residents say.
Cherag Ali has lived on Goodyear Avenue for the past seven years and he says he's tired of hearing that his street will be paved every summer, but the work never seems to get done.
"My heart is broken because it's very, very difficult," he said. "I pay taxes; this is not fair. This is not nice. All the roads [are] fixed. My road, not fixed. Why?"
Ali's neighbor Donmarell Rogers he says he's been calling 311 for three years to get the roads and sidewalks improved on his street.
“My sister is in a wheelchair. Then she has to ride her scooter. They came and put a cold patch right there," he said.
Both Rogers and Ali say they're skeptical about the new announcements from city officials because they hear similar promises each year.
"That's in our nature to feel or to be skeptical," Rogers said. "I will be calling the 311 number until I see some improvement.
