Mohammad S Hossain - Site report and Proposal

2021

Main Street, Buffalo, NY Adjacent to Theater District SITE REPORT MOHAMMAD S HOSSAIN

Table of Contents 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...............................................................................................................................1 2. HISTORY ........................................................................................................................................................2

Figure 2-1. Length of Main Street ................................................................................................................. 2 Figure 2-2. NFTA light rail fare zone............................................................................................................. 3 3. CURRENT CONDITIONS..............................................................................................................................4

Figure 3-1. Cracks and devout on Main Street ........................................................................................... 4 3.1 USER EXPERIENCE ............................................................................................................................................ 5 4. DESIGN PROBLEMS ....................................................................................................................................5 4.1 PROBLEMS WITH ROAD SHARING..................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 4-1. Cross section of Main Street near Theater district ................................................................. 6 4.2 HAZARDOUS BIKE LANE ................................................................................................................................... 7 4.3 LACK OF GREEN SPACE AND PUBLIC SITTING AREA ...................................................................................... 7 Figure 4-2. Image of Main Street showing the lack of green space and sitting space. ......................... 8 5. DESIGN SOLUTION ......................................................................................................................................8 5.1 SHIFTING THE METRO RAILS ............................................................................................................................ 8 Figure 5-1. Existing and Proposed Plan of NFTA Metro Rail .................................................................... 9 5.2 SHIFT PLACEMENT OF BIKE LANES .................................................................................................................. 9 Figure 5-2. 3D Cross section of Main Street near Theater district ......................................................... 10 5.3 GREENSPACE AND PUBLIC SEATING.............................................................................................................. 10 6. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................. 11 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................................................. 12

1. Executive Summary The objective of this report is to go in-depth with possible solutions to combat design problems that have been identified on Main Street adjacent to the Theater District located near downtown Buffalo, NY. This part of Main Street holds historical relevance and is popular among locals and visitors from around the entire country. As part of a popular place in the city of Buffalo, seeing crowds is a normal sight in this area. However, due to some problems in the design elements of Main Street, it fails to bring a strong sense of welcoming and belonging for its visitors.

This report begins by reviewing the history of Main Street and the area surrounding it that falls into the site. This also includes discussing downtown Buffalo losing its energetic atmosphere and the response from the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) committee in attempting to bring it back to its former glory. After having a better understanding of the pre-existing infrastructures, the report focuses on the current conditions of the street. It provides information on how the street is being utilized and what is now going on in the site. Next, the report identifies issues regarding this site and the utilization of the street ultimately leads towards design problems and how this has been affecting the street.

After identifying the problems with the current street design, the report proposes potential design solutions that try to combat the issues. The design solutions seek to combat placemaking in this particular location to provide a better sense of belonging, place and create a safer environment for all visitors. To help with this, the design solutions include shifting the plane of the NFTA Metro rails underground to clear up space above ground, adjusting in the placement of bike lanes to make biking safer and separate from oncoming traffic, and increasing the greenspace in this location by adding more public seating. These solutions are oriented towards both drivers and pedestrians; really anyone who comes across this street. They will help create a more welcoming and safer environment for anyone who takes part in any of the local amenities and activities in the Theater District or are simply biking or driving by.

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2. History Main street covers the entire length of Buffalo, NY starting from downtown Buffalo running all the way up to Rochester, NY. This makes Main street a significant street for the city.

The map in Figure 2-1 puts the street in perspective and provides a visual of its sense of scale. It is one of the oldest streets in the Western New York, and due to that Main Street itself carries substantial history.

Image gathered from Google map

Figure 2-1. Length of Main Street

Main street hosted some of the earliest businesses in Buffalo, dating back all the way to the eighteenth century. Now, not only is it one of the most commercial roads in Buffalo, but also in many other counties in Western New York.

Despite how it appears today, Main street was not always a paved commuter road. 150 years ago, before the age of the automobile, the street was not maintained as well as it is today. People had to face multiple problems traversing the street, such as dusty roads and slow-moving street traffic. However, the revitalization of Main Street brought about changes that made the street more user-friendly bringing back the beauty of Main Street and introducing design elements such as road sharing.

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In the mid 20th century, the Bethlehem Steel company started their journey in Buffalo, NY. It rapidly went on to become one of the second largest steel companies in the whole nation. Due to this, it provided locals with jobs and helped Buffalo’s economy thrive. At its peak the company employed over 20,000 workers producing steel plates. This, however, came to an end in the 1980s due to overseas competition, surges in New York State taxes and stricter environmental regulations. Thus, big industry left Buffalo and ultimately caused an economic failure leading downtown Buffalo to lose a lot of its energetic atmosphere from the 1980s.

In response to this, the NFTA committee opened a light rail system whose goal was to connect downtown Buffalo with the suburb of Amherst, NY. The light rail system opened in two separate sections. The first section, which was above ground, opened in 1984 and the remaining underground section opened in 1986. After the opening of the light rail the system, upon completion, the rail system stretched 6.4 miles in length. The 1.14-mile rail above ground rail became a fare free zone and the rest, underground, was a self-service fare zone.

Figure 2-2 shows the fare zone of NFTA. As the light rail track runs for most of the length of Main Street it is a significant piece of infrastructure relevant to downtown buffalo.

Figure 2-2. NFTA light rail fare zone Image gathered from NFTA

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3. Current Conditions Main Street is a long stretch of road that begins in downtown Buffalo stretching all the way to Rochester, NY. Through the span of the road, the conditions in all its sections are not quite similar. In this report however, the main focus will be the part adjacent to the Theater District near downtown Buffalo.

The current conditions of this location of Main Street are moderate to fair. There are instances of cracks and divots on the street due to constant traffic from vehicles and the physical unevenness of the street due to the prevalence of the above-ground rails. The rail tracks emerge above ground at the Theater District on Main Street and because of this vehicular traffic has to share the street with the NFTA Metro rails.

Figure 3-1 provides an example of the current conditions of a segment of the street. As a vehicle is traversing the street, the combination of rails, cracks and potholes together may cause a rather bumpy experience for drivers and passengers and make the ride more uncomfortable.

Image taken by Mohammad Hossain

Figure 3-1. Cracks and devout on Main Street

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3.1 User Experience To the observer passing through Main Street adjacent to the Theater District, the overall experience has its benefits and drawbacks.

As part of the Theater District the location has multitude of amenities. Such includes theatres, cinema complex, local restaurants etc. This encourages people to visit the street and engage in various types of activities, thus making the street livelier and more open to attracting more users. This also helps to reduce the crime rates for this particular area compared to the rest of the city.

In terms of road utilization, there are multiple features that seek to encourage higher traffic flow and movement. Bike lanes are consistent, sidewalks remain relatively clean and there is off-road parking on both sides of the street. Despite this, traffic flow remains stagnant and slow-moving, and the report will discuss this further in the Design Problem section.

4. Design Problems In order to decipher the issues with the street design element, first we have to look at Main Street adjacent to the Theater District and how it is being utilized. Main Street is a major commercial street in Buffalo, thus has various forms of transportation sharing the street. Types of transportation includes personal vehicles, bikes, and the metro light rail.

As part of the Theater District this part of Main Street often stays crowded and includes locals, workers and tourists.

This part of Main Street is located close to downtown Buffalo which makes the street rather narrow as commercially utilized buildings are prioritized above the width of the street. This section of Main Street only has two lanes of traffic going both ways compared to North Buffalo where 4 lanes of traffic can be seen. However, here, with it being a narrow street, having historical relevance and popularity means seeing crowds and heavy traffic is a normal sight.

This section of the Main Street is also the entryway for the NFTA Metro rails to emerge above ground and because of this vehicular traffic has to share the street with the rails.

Having an above the ground rail track is a common sight in metro cities such as Toronto, Canada. As efficient as this may seem, there are still some issues with current design 5

elements that play a vital role in traffic flow and user experience. This section of the report will discuss the several issues regarding design problems in Main Street around Theater District.

4.1 Problems with Road Sharing One of the major issues this street has is a road sharing system with multiple form of transportation. The Theater District is the entryway for the NFTA metro system’s aboveground tracks; thus, it shares the same road with vehicular traffic. This is problem because the track and the road sit on the same plane. This poses the question: “who does this street really belong to, vehicles or rails?” because as one form of traffic is utilizing the street, it prevents all other types of traffic use the road. Due to that, it often creates traffic jam as one another passes through. This road sharing system also increases the possibility of accident occurrence from having a miscommunication between vehicles and the light rail. Figure 4-1, a cross section of the street, puts in a perspective of the design problem.

Cross section created by Mohammad Hossain

Figure 4-1. Cross section of Main Street near Theater district

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4.2 Hazardous Bike Lane The pre-existing infrastructure of Main Street includes bike lanes on either side of the street. This is a positive characteristic of this part of Main Street as it welcomes bikers to utilize the street. However, is not quite safe for bikers to ride their bikes here. The design element that causes this hazardous situation is implementing bike lanes close to the rails.

The bike lane on Main Street is uncomfortably close to the rail system; thus, any sudden movement from the lane could possibly cause a fatal accident. Due to that, despite of having bike lanes, it discourages users from actually using the bike lanes. Figure 4-1 portrays the design fault in the hazardous bike lanes regarding this site. It is a cross section of the street showing the proximity of bike lanes to oncoming and outgoing traffic and why some may be discouraged from using the bike lanes that were originally implemented for their benefit.

4.3 Lack of Green Space and Public Sitting Area With more people in the area, more green space and sitting area is necessary to create a greater sense of place. This section of the Main Street already holds few pre-existing sitting areas and green space. This won’t be an issue if this part of Main Street was located somewhere else in the city that is more secluded or has less users. However, the section of Main Street this report is focusing on is the part adjacent to the Theater District.

This area is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the City of Buffalo. Due to that the city could expect a substantial number of crowds around this neighborhood. However, the area does not offer a sufficient amount of seating and green space to accommodate the number of visitors it receives. This discourages visitors from possibly coming back, if for example, they were from another city or state by reducing its sense of belonging. If some visitor does not feel a proper sense of place in an area they visit, they may not want to come back and may discourage their friends and family from visiting the place as well.

It thus also reduces the likelihood of attracting more visitors in the future by making it less welcoming.

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Image taken by Mohammad Hossain

Figure 4-2. Image of Main Street showing the lack of green space and sitting space.

5. Design Solution This part of Main Street has couple of design problems which makes it an unpleasant and somewhat hazardous experience for the users. Researching the problems identified with Main Street brought several solutions into fruition that can help us address the various design problems. From the Design Problem section, some of the main problems that were identified are road sharing, hazardous bike lane, and lack of green space along with sitting areas. Due to that, Main Street in this location loses its welcoming atmosphere and its sense of belonging.

5.1 Shifting the Metro Rails Road sharing presents several issues regarding driver safety and traffic flow. By multiple forms of transportation sharing a single road, when, for example, a train is arriving,

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vehicles must stop. This causes a hindrance in the flow of traffic, meaning traffic is slowed down abruptly. Having rails on the surface of the road itself also increases the likelihood of potential accidents through miscommunication from the rail system and the vehicle operators.

Shifting the plane where the rails reside to an underground tunnel system is one solution to combat these issues all with one change. As mentioned earlier the NFTA metro rail is divided into two different types of plane, underground and above ground. In the preexisting infrastructure the above-ground rail track is 1.14 miles, and the rest of the 5.26 miles long tracks sits underground. This means the majority of the rails are already underground, and this solution would be extending the current 5.26 miles that is are already underground. This will ensure the safety of the road users by now shifting the purpose of Main Street near the Theater District to accommodate vehicular traffic primarily. It will also make the space more open and usable for not only drivers, but pedestrians and bikers as well.

Existing site

Proposed plan

Cross section created by Mohammad Hossain

Figure 5-1. Existing and Proposed Plan of NFTA Metro Rail

5.2 Shift Placement of Bike lanes The pre-existing infrastructure of this section of Main Street already holds bike lanes in both sides of the street. It is not necessarily welcoming or safe for bikers to bike on these lanes because on this section of Main Street, they reside uncomfortably close to the rail tracks. This brings to rise safety concerns for bikers because any sudden movement from the lane can lead to a fatal accident. For this reason, bikers find themselves avoiding the unwelcoming street rather than actually utilizing it.

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One of the solutions to combat this is shifting the placement of the bike lanes with the parked car lane. Figure 5-2 is a graphic demonstrating this solution; the bike lanes will be placed on the right side of the parked car lanes both sides of the road. As we are shifting the lane the parking lane will act as a divider between the bikers and oncoming motorists.

Due to this shift in orientation, it will lessen the chances of bikers getting hit from oncoming traffic. This will ensure the safety of the biker.

3D Cross section created by Mohammad Hossain

Figure 5-2. 3D Cross section of Main Street near Theater district

5.3 Greenspace and Public Seating This section of Main street already holds pre-existing greenspace and public seating.

However, as it is adjacent to the Theater District, seeing crowds and tourists is a common sight. The pre-existing infrastructure does not have enough greenspace to accommodate the numbers of people that Theater District could expect on a productive day. With more people in the area, more green space and sitting areas are necessary to create a greater sense of place.

The solution to address the problems will be the addition of more greenspace and public sittings. Figure 5-2 demonstrates an addition of more greenspace and this is seen placed 10

next to the updated bike lanes. This will ensure a form of shade in a sunny day and will provide fresher air in the neighborhood. Additionally, the area would now gain greater appeal due to the greenspace adding to create a greater sense of place.

Part of the solution also includes increase in public sittings. Figure 5-2 shows benches placed in multiple location all throughout the Theater District. They are placed adjacent to trees and other greenspace. This adds to an individual’s sense of place and make them feel more belonging to the area and will provide a resting place for people to enjoy their moments while visiting the area. This will show an increase in the number of visitors at this location which will also help the local economy grow.

6. Conclusion Main Street Adjacent to the Theater District offers various types of activities and carries substantial amounts of history that encourages visitors to explore the location and have a pleasant time while there. Upon examining the current conditions of this site, various types of design problems were identified including road sharing, safety concerns for bikers, and the lack of greenspace and public seating. This imposed the question of belonging in that space. The design solutions tried to address them by shifting the above-ground plane of the NFTA Metro rails near downtown underground, changing the placement of bike lanes, and increasing the amount of greenspace and public seating.

By implementing the design solutions, the area will offer a greater sense of place and belonging. Thus, visitors may want to come back and may encourage their friends and family to visit as well. The people who visit the area will have a more enjoyable time with the new environment. Main Street is a prime spot for urban designers to create a safer environment for street users and bring back the liveliness that once dominated the area of and surrounding downtown Buffalo.

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Bibliography Bardenett, T. (2020, may 21). The Buffalo METRO: FINISHING Phase One. Retrieved April 19, 2021. Retrieved from The Buffalo METRO: http://www.thomasbardenett.com/blog/2020/5/4/the-buffalo-metro-finishing phase-one Buffalo History. (2021, april 19). Retrieved from https://buffaloah.com/h/bflohist2.html Buffalo photo blog. (2021, april 19). Retrieved from Buffalo theatre district. (n.d.): https://buffalophotoblog.com/buffalo-theatre-district Buffalo Stories. (2021, april 19). Retrieved from Main Street: http://blog.buffalostories.com/tag/main-street/ Christopher, M. (2019, December 10). Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna Plant. Retrieved from ABANDONED AMERICA: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/lackawannasteel#:~:text=Around%20the%20turn%20of%20the,materials%20via%20the%20 Great%20Lakes.

City of Buffalo NFTA. (2009). Retrieved from CITY OF BUFFALO MAIN STREET MULTI-MODAL ACCESS AND REVITALIZATION PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: https://www.nfta.com/media/53flcfof/cobmulti-modal-access.pdf Queenseyes. (2021, april 19). Buffalo Rising. Retrieved from Buffalo's history documented along Main Street Sidewalks. : https://www.buffalorising.com/2019/07/buffalos-history-documented-along-mainstreet-sidewalks/

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