11 November 2004
Citizens for Regional Transit
Rally to Expand Metro Rail
Thursday, November 18th, 12:00 noon
Main and Church Streets, Downtown Buffalo
On Thursday, November 18th, 2004, concerned citizens will gather at the Metro Rail Station on the corner of Main and Church Streets in downtown Buffalo to express their support for an expanded Metro Rail, connecting downtown and the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. The event culminates a successful petition drive in which more than 10,000 Western New York Residents have called on the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) to make a public commitment, by the end of 2004, to building the light rail extension.
Beginning at noon, the rally will include speakers: Honorable Antoine Thompson, Masten District City Councilmember, Lara McDade, President of the League of Women Voters Buffalo-Niagara; George Grasser, President of Partners for a Livable WNY; Russell Pawlak, President of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation; and Carla Thomas, Chief of Staff for the Honorable Crystal Peoples of the 141st New York State Assembly District. The rally will then proceed to the NFTA building where the signed petitions will be presented to NFTA officials.
“Wherever we go, we find that people are eager to support Metro Rail Expansion,” says Alvin J. Schuster, chairman of the petition drive. The rally will give people a chance to tell the NFTA directly that they overwhelming support the planned airport extension which would run above ground on former rail right-of-ways mostly owned by public agencies, reducing the need for land acquisition or eminent domain proceedings. The proposed extension would connect the recently modernized airport with the existing Metro Rail in downtown Buffalo.
An expanded Metro Rail would increase mobility for all area residents and provide access to jobs, for suburban residents to the city and for urban residents to the suburbs. By providing an alternative for commuters, a reduction of peak-hour traffic congestion could be accomplished, along with a decreased dependence on imported petroleum and a drop in pollution levels. The investment in infrastructure would also serve as a stimulus to the local economy. It has been estimated, for example, that construction dollars are circulated 25 times within the area economy through the multiplier effect. The expansion would also serve as a means to direct future development and contain costly urban sprawl by reaching the emerging office community east of downtown, the Central Terminal, the Galleria Mall, and the airport before terminating at a Park-and-Ride lot on Transit Road near the Thruway.
Citizens for Regional Transit is a grassroots organization which seeks to educate the public, public officials, their authorities and agencies in the Buffalo-Niagara region about the benefits of a comprehensive transportation system and actively advocates for the expansion of Metro Rail to the suburbs.
Citizens Regional Transit Corporation
P.O. Box 1186 Buffalo, NY 14231-1186
716-836-2825 http://www.citizenstransit.com
Copyright 2004 by Buffalo Report, Inc.