TONAWANDA, N.Y. — The NFTA and the Federal Transit Administration are wrapping up their current round of public comment sessions on a planned Metro Rail extension... to the U-B North Campus in Amherst. While a decision point is closer for the projected $1 billion project, 2 On Your Side found out there is still significant opposition with some favoring another transit option.
The Town of Tonawanda Supervisor Joseph Emminger puts it this way "I'm all for progress but I think this is not in the best interests of the Town of Tonawanda at this time."
Emminger says for years he and the town board have had concerns with residents about the push to build seven miles of new Metro-line tracks with some tunneling up to the UB North Campus which could be routed now along NFTA's preferred Niagara Falls Boulevard corridor. He added "They say they're not looking to do eminent domain. I think property values in all honesty - some of those properties on the boulevard - they're gonna lose some property value."
Tuesday afternoon a citizen group called Stop the Metro, which as previously reported also fears property impacts and residential disruption, gave the transit authority a two-thousand-signature and counting petition opposing the rail project Organizer Michael Nigrin.
"As the petition shows most residents of Erie and Niagara counties don't use public transportation. Improving bus service would be the least costly. would offer service to the greatest number of users"
Express or rapid bus service is actually the required alternative to the rail line extension which the NFTA must also consider.
"Bus rapid transit is actually very much like light rail except without a train. So it still is dedicated stations, dedicated right of way, still requires infrastructure, still requires signalization technologies," NFTA Metro Extension Project Manager Jeffery Amplement says.
The NFTA mentions the Minneapolis Light Rail system as a model for what they hope to do with their project here. And Amplement says they do acknowledge resident and town concerns. "That is the point of an environmental review process. Is to look at all the potential impacts of a project and develop mitigation measures where there are any adverse impacts. And that's what we're doing right now."
But still, there are claims of hidden interests involved from Supervisor Emminger. "I think they are looking to help perhaps some of the developers along the Amherst side. Which is fine and dandy but that doesn't help the town of Tonawanda."
So we asked Amplement, "What would you say to the Supervisor who says we also suspect this is being done to benefit the developers up in Amherst - more so than Tonawanda?"
We're not doing this to benefit anyone except the entire community. I mean that our mission as an organization is to enhance access. We've still got a lot of work to do. We're still a number of years away from having any shovels in the ground. We're having a final construction plan put together. So while we're doing this there is still a lot of opportunity for people to still participate and move forward."
Since the NFTA referred to the light rail system in Minneapolis, 2 On Your Side reviewed the operations of that system. Our sister station KARE 11 reported there have been significant cost overruns, delays, and routing issues with their underway 14-mile expansion to a suburban area.
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