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New transportation initiative in East Buffalo addresses existing issues

A new initiative is coming to East Buffalo. Community leaders are addressing transportation issues, and they want residents to be a part of the conversation.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A new initiative is coming to the East Side of Buffalo. Community leaders are stepping up to address transportation issues and they want residents to be a part of the conversations to fix the issues.

The tragic events the Tops on Jefferson Avenue shined a light on many disparities in East Buffalo. Transportation is one of them.

The new initiative is called Mobility Neighborhood Leadership Group. It was created by Open Buffalo, which is a non-profit that focuses on racial, economic, and ecological justice.

They teamed up with two community leaders in East Buffalo who already have many connections in that area. One of those community leaders is Shantelle Patton. Patton is an East Buffalo resident and also the creator of That Brown Bag Business Directory.

With this new initiative, Shantelle and her team want to hear from residents on what they want to see in their community.

"So right now, we are looking to see, does the community want more bikes in the community. Does the community want electric scooters? Are we looking to make agreements with Lyft and Uber to usher our residents, especially our seniors, around the area? It's going to be as a result of the data that we collect with this group and what these leaders that we are looking to recruit right now that will help us make a decision of what's best for the city and the people who live here," Patton said.

They are looking to recruit 25 community members to get their input. This is a 2.5-year project that will roll out in different phases.

The information session for the Open Buffalo's Mobility Neighborhood Leadership Group is on June 22 from 6-7 p.m. It will be at the Frank E Merriweather Jr. Library in Buffalo. The deadline to apply for this initiative is June 29th. There is a monthly stipend for those who apply and get accepted to the leadership group.

If you would like to apply to be a part of the leadership group, you can go to bit.ly/obmobility or call Open Buffalo at 716.243.8777 x105.

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