WHAT IS THE REGION CENTRAL INITIATIVE?
Region Central is a comprehensive, inclusive, and visionary effort to create a better future for all who live, work, play, and travel in the heart of the Buffalo Niagara region by reimagining mobility options within the Scajaquada Corridor.
+ Where is Region Central?
Region Central is the area centrally located within the Buffalo-Niagara Region that includes Delaware Park, Buffalo State College, Forest Lawn Cemetery, and numerous cultural institutions. Buffalo neighborhoods in this area include Black Rock, Delavan Grider, Elmwood Bidwell, Fillmore-Leroy, Grant-Amherst, Hamlin Park, Masten Park, Parkside, and Upper West Side.
Home to 84,000 people, or about a third of Buffalo’s residents, Region Central is a key economic driver for Buffalo Niagara, serving as a major education hub, a growing area of commerce, and a tourist destination. With Scajaquada Creek running through its center, Region Central links to important waterways across the region and the Great Lakes watershed.
+ A New Starting Point
Over the past two decades, efforts to address transportation and access needs in Region Central have focused narrowly on the Scajaquada Expressway (Route 198). The Region Central effort is a new starting point to holistically understand how we strengthen all of the community assets in the heart of Buffalo Niagara to create a safe, healthy, and equitable region for all.
The Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council (GBNRTC), the Metropolitan Planning Organization for Erie and Niagara Counties in New York, was requested by the Governor and the State Transportation Commissioner to take the lead to assess economic, land use, and mobility data, engage the public, and assemble future mobility scenarios for the region.
The Region Central effort continued the work of One Region Forward, an initiative to promote more sustainable forms of development in Erie and Niagara counties in land use, transportation, housing, energy and climate, access to food, and more. Read more about One Region Forward.
+ Current Status
The Region Central initiative was completed by GBNRTC as requested by New York State. Final documentation was compiled and presented to the State Commissioner of Transportation. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has committed to further study the future of the Scajaquada Expressway once the NYSDOT Queen City Forward EIS is complete. This NYSDOT led study will build upon the “Region Central” planning process completed by the GBNRTC led team. In the interim, the current geometric makeup of the corridor will remain in place, which includes the current 30 mph posted speed limit. The funding for the design and construction phases for this project will be included in the illustrative section of the TIP.
