Residents, business owners and visitors are weighing in on the future of Buffalo’s waterfront through a new state-led initiative called “Canalside: The Next Wave.”
Empire State Development is overseeing the strategic planning effort, with MKSK developing the strategy and Highland Planning leading public outreach and engagement.
Outreach coordinators held their third and final pop-up information and feedback session Oct. 1 at Seneca One Tower. Previous sessions were held at Sully’s at the marina and at Canalside’s Fall Fest in September.
Leanne Voit, practice lead at Highland Planning, says the sessions have been helpful in gauging what’s working now and what could be improved.
“It’s not just the companies and the property owners that are using these spaces,” she said. “It’s the residents. It’s the tourists. It’s people visiting, and it’s so important to really get buy-in from those people and the way you get buy-in from the people that are going to be using the spaces at the end of the day is to involve them throughout the entire process.”
Voit says the feedback has varied depending on how people use the waterfront. Boaters have asked for more public slips, while other visitors have called for more affordable dining, scheduled events and programming, clearer parking information and signage, and more year-round activities. She says residents have also offered differing views on future housing and development in the district.
According to Voit, close to 200 people participated across the three pop-up sessions. She said she did not yet have a total for responses to the paper and online surveys.
The online survey will remain open through November.
Two attendees at Thursday’s session shared some of the priorities they brought to the process.
Buffalo native Connie Ervin expressed concerns about making the waterfront more accessible to seniors and people with limited mobility.
“Being a senior, what I found is is there is not a lot of access points for people who have lower levels of mobility,” she said.
East Aurora resident Jan Barton said she wants to see Canalside remain a vibrant gathering place, with events that give people a reason to keep coming back.
“To me, the most important thing is to have entertainment and events at Canalside to keep that a vibrant area in the city where people can go, because just housing and restaurants isn’t enough. You need some reason to go,” she said.
Ervin also questioned whether ideas gathered through public-engagement efforts ultimately make it into finished plans.
“You give input, and you never see anything happen that surrounds the input that you’ve given,” Ervin said, although she added that skepticism shouldn’t keep people from participating.
“There’s strength in numbers, and what we do by not showing up is we give them the excuse nobody told me,” she said.
Organizers also anticipate holding two public meetings before the end of the year, when residents will be able to hear what planners have gathered and learn more about the direction of the strategy. A full strategy plan is expected in January.
