Canal Side: Citizen Waterfront ForumCity of Buffalo Public Opinion Solicitation

Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning

Byron W. Brown, Mayor Brendan R. Mehaffy, Esq., Executive Director

Significant progress has been

made.� - Buffalonians have consistently demanded access to the water.

� - Federal, state, and local officials have responded with new streets, public spaces, walking and cycling paths.

� - The waterfront is now more accessible than it has been in decades.

� - Canal Side infrastructure is nearly complete and significant development-ready parcels are ready for build-out.

Mayor Brown issues call for

ideas.� - Mayor Byron W. Brown issued a call to the public for ideas for the development of Canal Side on August 10, 2010, and the public came back with an overwhelming response.

� - Solicitations for public feedback from hundreds of people were collected by e-mail, personal letters, and the City’s 311 web form and call line.

856 people

1,757 ideas

RESPONSE TO MAYOR’S CALL

311 Web Form was a huge success.

A wide range of responses emerged from across the region and beyond.

?

What does the public have to say?

We have access to the water.

Now the public is demanding we take the next step.

The ideas from the public were wide ranging, creative, and comprehensive,

yet prominent themes emerge that offer direction on a course for action.

As simply stated by one respondent, “Buffalonians love to eat, drink, and

be entertained.”

1,757 ideas...

The public stresses the importance of historical and cultural authenticity in the waterfront’s build-out.

STRONG PUBLIC SUPPORT

National specialty restaurants and retail chains, particularly those that are not yet located in the Buffalo area.

There is a strong desire for recreational, leisure, and sporting activities at the water’s edge.

Civic gathering places and access to the water have widespread support.

There is a strong desire for museum and interpretive experiences that relate strongly to Buffalo’s heritage, culture, and Great Lakes/Erie Canal location.

The public overwhelmingly supports the waterfront’s development as a setting for restaurants, coffee houses, and bars.

The public expressed some concern about environmental standards, but did not express any concern for a living wage as a prerequisite to waterfront development.

There is only limited support for use of the water’s edge as an office location, indicating a widespread preference for its development as a “resort” or an “escape from the 9 to 5” destination.While there was a call for local retailers, there was a greater call for national retailers.

LIMITED PUBLIC SUPPORT

The common thread across all the responses is a desire for the waterfront to become an exciting urban place, where

restaurants, retail, entertainment, recreational activities, and cultural and family destinations - in short, “things to do” - are embedded into an authentic,

walkable district.

The feedback from the public reinforces many of the overriding goals and objectives of the Canal

Side Master Plan.