Scajaquada Corridor Coalition (SCC) Issues Statement in Response to New York State Supreme Court Decision on Kensington Expressway
BUFFALO, NY – For the last 20 years, the Scajaquada Corridor Coalition (SCC) has worked collaboratively with community members, institutions and New York State to achieve a community-supported and community-vetted plan for the future of the RT-198 Scajaquada Expressway.
The Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council’s (GBNRTC) ‘Region Central’ planning process, completed in June 2023, produced a plan that received the support of businesses, cultural and educational institutions, and surrounding residents. The next step for reconstructing the RT-198 Scajaquada Expressway is to begin a full environmental impact statement (EIS) based on the plan that GBNRTC produced.
After New York State Supreme Court Justice Emilio Colaiacovo’s decision to require a full EIS for the RT-33 Kensington Expressway reconstruction project, both the 198 and the 33 projects are now at the same stage of development.
The SCC fully supports the efforts of East Side residents to achieve a better process for the RT-33 project and engage in the same type of comprehensive planning that the GBNRTC has provided for the Scajaquada. We adamantly believe that each community has the right to have their voices heard and Region Central provides a model for that type of engagement.
Our community is united in an unprecedented opportunity to develop a project defined by its residents to achieve a united roadway that will:
Restore parks, parkways, waterways, places, and neighborhoods;
Enhance equity and inclusive economic development;
Improve health for surrounding residents;
Accommodate effective local and regional mobility; and
Provide a cost effective and fiscally sustainable and responsible solution.
As we have continued to observe the City of Rochester’s success, leading the effort to remove the Inner Loop expressway, there is now an opportunity for the City of Buffalo to step in and engage as the lead agency for both projects to deliver a plan that has community support.
The SCC is prepared to participate fully in a coordinated project to move this from planning to action for all our citizens and call for the creation of an advisory committee that can build community consensus for a project defined by residents of the City of Buffalo.