Construction on Metro Rail began in 1979 and the line opened for regular service on May 20, 1985 following an opening ceremony on May 18. At the time of the start of construction, the line was intended to be the first line for an extensive system that would spread throughout the city and suburbs. However, during the construction of the line and afterward, Buffalos population declined significantly by approximately 55%, from around 580,000 in 1950 to about 261,000 in 2010 and the new lines ridership was much lower than originally anticipated. The cost of the urban section was so high that no funding was available to extend the lines into the suburbs, including the Amherst campus of the University at Buffalo. Efforts to obtain funding for feeder lines have met with little success. Before the Main Street pedestrian mall (that we all know and love) was constructed, there was a much, much more grand plan for the street. Concepts dating back to the early seventies called for covering 4 blocks of Main and several side streets with a glass roof supported by a futuristic space frame. The new enclosed heated and cooled street was going to be the focal point of WNY and would save downtown, or so they thought. A subway would have run directly under Main and would be open to the newly covered mall-street at certain locations creating a dynamic multi level space. Subway lines to Kenmore, Hamburg, and the airport would also have converged on Main Street. Writing available on the proposal indicates that officials were seriously working toward making a covered Main Street real. The detailed drawings and models show a highly thought out design. Building and business owners had signed off on the plan and even accommodations for fighting fires were worked out. I wonder if they considered the heating bill? Eventually the reality of paying for this mega-scheme hit home and officials scaled the idea back to the pedestrian mall with surface rail that exists now (which was even more scaled back as construction progressed).
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 17:19:49 +0000
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