BUFFALO, N.Y. — Heavy equipment is moving in as Phase One of construction gets underway at Ralph Wilson Park in Buffalo.
Parts of the former LaSalle Park will remain open during this phase.
The splash pad, pool, skate park, and football fields will still be open during construction. They are also setting up a temporary dog park as construction starts.
"I just want to make sure expectations are realized that this will be a multi-year construction process for Ralph Wilson Park as a whole. Even though we're talking about Phase One, the public really won't see one phase start and end," says Andy Rabb, Deputy Commissioner of Public Works, Buffalo.
And Phase One of construction is expected to continue for all of 2024 with some work still potentially going on after that. It started Monday morning on the 4th Street side of the park with construction fencing going up for the temporary dog park.
"It is going to be a little bit of an inconvenience for some folks, you know, a major portion of the park is going to be closed for a prolonged period of time, but the light at the end of that tunnel, I think, is going to be worth it for everybody once we get through," said Andy Rabb.
The construction company, Gilbane, is moving in heavy equipment this week.
But one of the most significant changes, the new pedestrian bridge into the park, won't go up for about another year. Although, you will see a lot of excavation work starting soon, which is why they removed all of those trees.
"When you get into the park, there will be hills, there will be paths, there will be many more trees. So you can run without cars. You can walk without cars. There will be an access route for cars. There is going to be an amazing playground for our youngsters, concession stands. It's going to be a place when at points you're going to feel like you're in, completely covered in nature," explained Katie Campos, RWPC Executive Director.
The idea is for the park to be used year-round.