Council pushes Central Terminal for high-speed rail
By Brian Meyer
Buffalo News – News Staff Reporter
July 21, 2009, 3:27 PM
Claiming state transportation officials have struck a “nasty blow” to Buffalo’s distressed East Side, the Common Council wants decision-makers to reconsider the Central Terminal as a hub for a proposed high-speed rail line.
The Council today unanimously reaffirmed its support of a plan to use the long-vacant train station as a regional hub if New York receives stimulus funds to build high-speed rail.
Last week, Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, who heads the Upstate New York Caucus, said the Central Terminal is ill-suited to become a rail hub again. The group has made bringing high-speed rail to Western and Central New York a top priority.
Council President David A. Franczyk said the station was ruled out based on flawed information supplied by the state Department of Transportation. Franczyk said the officials referred to problems that would occur as a result of freight tracks located at the northwest corner of the terminal. There are no tracks in that spot, Franczyk insisted.
“This seems fishy to me,” he said. “Where’s the study?
Franczyk said he would hate to think that some officials have a “hidden agenda” for ruling out the Central Terminal as a focal point for high-speed rail.
“It just doesn’t pass the smell test for me,” the Council president said.
The Council will invite state officials and representatives from Slaughter’s office to attend an upcoming meeting where the possible reuse of the massive Art Deco landmark on Paderewski Drive will be discussed. Officials from the Central Terminal Restoration Corp., the nonprofit group that is working to revitalize the facility, will also be invited to a meeting of the Council’s Transportation Committee.
East Side activists have been working for years to find new uses for the 523,000-square-foot terminal. Studies have found that demolishing the complex would cost between $10 million and $20 million, and some believe the remaining land would be virtually worthless.
bmeyer@buffnews.com