Coles makes some good points. The light rail should reach out to the
suburbs as a regional light rail system (i.e. to Amherst, Hamburgh,
Cheektowaga, Grand Island, Niagara Falls, etc....). But, should UB be the
first stop or just a spur from job centers? Coles is also correct that
there is more demand for light rail, but the NFTA still uses the airport to
subsidize the train and expanding service would depend on deep federal and
state subsidies, as well as a new fare structure (i.e. much higher fares
for some and lower fares for others (i.e. a means test for fairs or
subsidized fares for the poor). The biggest obstacle to expanding public
transportation is fears of the poor in the suburbs, so there is also a need
for lots of education.
Coles misses one major thing. UB is not an urban campus by any measure.
There are campuses around the country that are designated as the "urban"
university in their state's systems. UB is not the "urban" campus. I
believe Buffalo State has that designation in the SUNY system, so the real
missed opportunity has been with development and expansion of Buffalo State
(likewise with the numerous other private universities and colleges in the
city proper). At this point, UB is a different animal, operating under the
model of a big state school. Rather than splitting UB up into 2, 3, or even
4 remote and disconnected campuses, UB would do better to build out the
main campus in Amherst let Buffalo State expand in the city. Right now UB
has spread its resources too thin, and many of its academic units (outside
of medicine) are slipping behind due to annual budget cuts imposed
internally to subsidize the medical school. If it continues along that
path, UB will be a mediocre school with no campus center and no connection
on campus, let along to the broader community.
Eds and Meds |
by Robert T. Coles |
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Your article, “Eds and Meds” (Artvoice v7n25) again points to the gigantic failure of locating the largest unit of the State University of New York in Amherst, 15 miles from downtown Buffalo, New York State’s second largest city, where most of the cultural and architectural treasures of Western New York exist, which belies the point made by former UB President William Greiner in his new book, Location, Location, Location. In 1966, the Committee for an Urban University, which I chaired, stated that there was nothing of the size and magnitude to energize Buffalo and its lagging development than to put the University in downtown Buffalo.
The total investment in the Amherst campus and its surrounds including the university, the infrastructure and the private development today is probably $3 billion, all of which could have gone into the city, yet the students are isolated from Buffalo and its resources that could enhance their urban experience. Although some have suggested that the campus be converted to a minimum security prison, and rebuilding the university in downtown Buffalo, that idea is not feasible. However, there are things that could be done to integrate the university and the city.
There is a billion dollar golden thread under Main Street that extends over six miles from downtown Buffalo to the University of Buffalo’s South Campus. It is the light rail transit line, the first new line developed in the country. It was supposed to connect the Amherst campus to downtown Buffalo. With the cost of gasoline rising, and with ridership up on the light rail transit line and public transit all over the country, now is the time to complete the line which would connect the university to the city, and, equally important, connect the city to the university.
President John B. Simpson agrees that every great city has a great university. In his 20/20 plan, he proposes adding 10,000 new students and 750 new faculty. Why not locate those students and faculty in Buffalo near the Buffalo Metrorail rapid transit stations, where abundant land exists due to disinvestment in a city whose population has shrunk from 600,000 to approximately 250,000, smaller than it was in 1900, in 50 years, rather than on the Amherst campus, so that the students have access to the city of Buffalo and its rich cultural treasures as well as Amherst.
Yes, Buffalo needs the University, but the University also needs Buffalo.
Robert T. Coles, Architect
Buffalo
Artvoice reserves the right to edit letters for content and length. Shorter letters have a better chance at being published in their entirety. Please include your name, hometown, and contact number. E-mail letters to: editorial@artvoice.com or write to: Artvoice Letters, 810 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202
Reader Comments
WNYMind 26 Jun 2008, 13:15
Frederick Harriman 26 Jun 2008, 21:26
I hope that readers will realize that some people in Buffalo do have open
minds. Mr. Coles is one of them, I hope more will join him. Mr. Coles was
in on the planning of the rapid transit system, and knows that rapid
transit does not have to be as expensive as it was made to be in order to
adapt itself to many closed minds at the time. It does not have to be
underground (it was put there because of irrational fears of an "elevated
structure" that some thought would be "dirty" and "attract crime" like the
El in Chicago. ...attract crime...? Oh well, what's done is done, but
something less expensive can still be built to connect the two campuses
(although abandoning the Amherst campus and putting all classrooms up and
down Main St. sounds OK to me, if not a prison, maybe Amherst could be a
research or industrial park). Something less expensive could be run out to
the airport too. Please, Buffalo, go visit DC or Portland OR and see how it
can work!! Thanks to Mr. Coles for continuing to fight the good fight.
WNYMind
27 Jun 2008, 23:41
You're half right. Light rail can be much less expensive, above ground, and
regional. In addition to the cities you mentioned one can look at: Denver,
St. Louis, etc... etc.... But you are wrong to fixate on the UB north campus. There is no justification for closing the main campus of the university. A regional rail system isn't a line that just serves a college students and the needs of a university, and most people in Buffalo have no need to ever visit UB (regardless of where it is located). A train connects people to jobs, commercial areas, and recreational opportunities. The fixation on UB is a little boring and sad at this point. It is also destructive and derails any legitimate discussion of light rail. If a regional light rail system was in place that never stopped at UB, it would still be great, UB could link to it using busses, especially if a new line ran up Niagara Falls Blvd. from the last stop on Main and Bailey all the way to North Tonawanda. Incidentally, the main students who benefit from the current light rail system are high school age BPS students, who use the train to get to and from school. Imagine the savings that we would all get in property taxes if a regional rail system allowed all the school kids to go to school on public transportation making the cost of school busses obsolete for all the high schools. Leave a Comment:
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