BUFFALO, N.Y. — The City of Buffalo is asking for the community's input on what changes they would like to see at Houghton Park.
And they plan to make it happen with a master plan study. Deputy Commissioner of Parks Andy Rabb said the City of Buffalo allocated $1.8 million to revitalize Houghton Park.
"You can't do any of those improvements without money. A portion of that money is going to the master plan process, and then what we have left over we'll use to implement a phase one," Rabb says.
Rabb says the last time the park underwent improvements was a decade ago. It is overrun with weeds, the hockey roller rink is left to rot, and garbage cans are knocked over.
"That's on us for every park. Parks are used. The best way to do that is to invest in improvements. The more a park is used generally, the lower the rates of vandalism we have," Rabb says.
Vandalism has become an issue at city parks, including Houghton. Rabb says some common things residents are asking for are improvements in lighting, entranceways, more paths, and better security. It's all the amenities neighbors want, as they say they love coming to the park.
However, until then, the city is moving ahead with its master plan survey.
"The preliminary meeting has already happened for the Houghton Park Master Plan. We're going to wait for some of these surveys to come back, and then we'll be meeting with the consultants on setting up another outreach meeting in a month or so," Rabb said.
You can find the Master Plan Survey here.