The New York State Department of Transportation has released a preliminary scoping document that rejects the first-, second-, and third-place prizewinners in Governor Cuomo's "Aim for the Sky" competition to develop new plans for the Skyway corridor. In fact, DOT rejected all 16 of the contest's finalists, and every single concept in its public comment phase that called for retaining any part of the Skyway between Tifft Street, south of the Buffalo River, and Church Street in downtown Buffalo. The Campaign for Greater Buffalo had submitted comments in favor of its "Cloudwalk"  proposal (then called Skywalk).

Not only did DOT refused to even consider anything that did not reduce the 3-mile length of the Skyway complex to bare earth, thereby washing its hands of any expense of actively remedying the damage its road has inflicted on Buffalo for 60 years or leaving the region with the makings of a spectacular bike-and-walkway, it also made matching or enhancing automobile speed, comfort, and convenience above all else non-negotiable. It therefore was left with two alternatives which it conceived itself outside of the public competition and public comments.

This cannot stand. At a cost of at least $600,000,000, DOT would build at least three new interchanges, a new two-mile elevated roadway through South Buffalo, three bridges, and expansions of four existing Thruway interchanges, including lengthening merge lanes to 2,000 feet—effectively adding another lane to the Thruway between Clinton Street and Elm Street. Time to contact Governor Cuomo.  SHARE THIS POST FAR AND WIDE, RIGHT NOW.