Traffic Crazy

[Mr Concerned]

William - east of Transit - is getting crazier every day. The amount of near misses at Penora is staggering, and the lack of left turn arrows at Aurora St is insanity. Its bad enough William is just a 2 lane road with poor shoulders, but with all the development going on Transit Rd, why hasn't the obvious traffic situation been addressed??

[KMT]

Transit Road in general is a death trap from Broadway right through past Sheridan Drive. It has been a narrow little cowpath since I can remember, but I agree with you that it has gotten out of control.

I don't see how they could widen it for much of that stretch with all of the businesses and homes being as close to the road as they can get.

I haven't had the nerve to take William into Lancaster lately. The last time I took Harris Hill to Central, it took > 1/2 hour to get through the Walden area ( less than 1 mile) !!

[WNYresident]

Read the new story about walmart on speakupwny.com

[sbGUY27]

I say do not patron the place. Make the store unprofitable so that it leaves. When they leave make Wal-Mart responsible for knocking down the store.

[thenewdylan]

You people have been up in arms about WalMart for the past few years. Why is there nary a mention of Kohl's??
Supposedly, your opposition is NOT with the Walmart developer, and supposedly your opposition is NOT against Walmart itself.
Your true colors have come out.
We live in a free market. People are allowed to live where they want to live. Along with the increased population comes the need for increased services.
I'm sorry if Lancaster is not like it was in the good old days, but you, too, have the right to move.

[WNYresident]

NO this is different. Everyone has the right to move but then everyone has the right not to have thier homestead made unbearable also.

Issue with the towns around Buffalo is they allow spot zoning which developers use to profiteer from. They give "bribes" campagn dollars to the puppets on the towns boards to allow the zoning to happen. Most home owners do not have the cash to fight this with lawyers.

Look at amherst, lancaster, cheektowaga, these are not examples of progress.. These are examples of bad planning. WHen i bought my house i know there are other houses around me. If the house across the street was purchased and a new home was built i know i would have to live with that seeing i know this is a residentual area. Issue is when that home is purchased and a store is put up. That is not another home, that is a business. If i wanted to live in a business area i would of bought a home in a business area which i didnt. I have just as many rights to be where i am as others have to right to build. You don't expect me to screw with your livelyhood, don't screw with my quality of life where my home is.

See i think with a conscience where as the townboard members latly only think of themselves. Big difference.

[thenewdylan]

While I may sympathize with you for having a huge store built practically in your backyard, didn't you notice the big vacant piece of land on Transit Road when you moved there?? I know, that a large portion of it was zoned Res, but, still, had it never crossed your mind that the site would be developed?

Also, as far as your comment that you "think with a conscience", as opposed to the Town Board, please don't kid us. You, as well as everyone else in this community, have your own agenda, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that - it's called a democracy. Please don't make it as if you're fighting this fight for any altruistic reasons.

In addition, can you deny that if there was any other developer involved at this site, that you wouldnt be fighting it so much.

Don't get me wrong, I admire your fight, even if I don't agree with it.

[WNYresident]

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unregistered:
While I may sympathize with you for having a huge store built practically in your backyard, didn't you notice the big vacant piece of land on Transit Road when you moved there?? I know, that a large portion of it was zoned Res, but, still, had it never crossed your mind that the site would be developed?
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Yes more homes not a walmart or 24 hours business. That is why is was zoned Res, not commercial. I would expect a developer to put up more homes. I read the zoning. SAme goes for a home depot, a tops, who ever. Look how responsible wegmans seems to be verus tops. I dont know but I haven't seen a vacant wegmans when they upgrade, but boy look at the empty old tops around wny.


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unregistered:
Also, as far as your comment that you "think with a conscience", as opposed to the Town Board, please don't kid us. You, as well as everyone else in this community, have your own agenda, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that - it's called a democracy. Please don't make it as if you're fighting this fight for any altruistic reasons.
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I can acutally say you are wrong on that one. There are a lot of people like me that acutally are not self serving. You don't have a clue the amount of work my companies do for free when we can without any expectation of payback. I have enough money as it is, I have all the toys I want, and i acutally enjoy my job. I could easily be watching TV or sitting in my very nice yard instead of helping people put thier two cents on this site.


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unregistered:
In addition, can you deny that if there was any other developer involved at this site, that you wouldnt be fighting it so much.

Don't get me wrong, I admire your fight, even if I don't agree with it.
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What do you mean by this? So far there has only been residents involved in this site. That's about it. I admire any developer that looks at the community as a whole, not just a spot to profiteer from. People have to learn the definition of "progress" versus the definition of "change". To change something just to change it isn't progress. If the change isn't good, what was the point?

[Curmudgeon]

We all know that zoning can change at any time according to what a town board preceives what is in the towns best interest.
If you don't like that fact that someone elses property that lies close to your home may be rezoned into a wal-mart, buy it! Then YOU can decide what will be done with the land.

Every time people tell someone else what can be done with their property, they steal from the property owner. That's not right. That's why there was a giant blackout - nobody let the power companies build new lines for the last 30 years because people didn't want them "near" their homes. If you want to control property near you, buy it.

[thenewdylan]

You did not answer my question: If any other developer was behind this project, would you be making such an issue over it?? Your group has a way of taking personal/political/business vendettas way too far.
Case in point: Several weeks ago, there was an item in the "Sound off" Column of the Metro Community News, in which a caller said (I paraphrase): "Whats's with the stink at the composting site, etc etc etc..."also, what about the retention pond at Urbandale Plaza?"...............Two matters that are completely unrelated except for the fact that the same developer is involved in both.

Speaking of money (you brought it up, saying you have all the money you need), do you care to disclose who/what company has been funding the CATS group all these years?

[WNYresident]

Curm buddy: :)

If you don't like that fact that someone elses property that lies close to your home may be rezoned into a wal-mart, buy it!

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I would if the property effected me. But then again i'm not going to buy thier property to make them happy. I dont know why the group near this walmart in lancaster just doesn't buy the property as a group. IF that was going to be next to my house i would do my best to do so. I agree with you there. But as the zoning goes, you can't spot zone like that. You owned the property when it was zoned residential, you can't or shouldn't expect a spot zone so you can profit off of it. I agree with the "stealing" aspect to a point but now you putting a spin on it. HA!

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thenewdylan:

You did not answer my question: If any other developer was behind this project, would you be making such an issue over it?? Your group has a way of taking personal/political/business vendettas way too far.
Case in point: Several weeks ago, there was an item in the "Sound off" Column of the Metro Community News, in which a caller said (I paraphrase): "Whats's with the stink at the composting site, etc etc etc..."also, what about the retention pond at Urbandale Plaza?"...............Two matters that are completely unrelated except for the fact that the same developer is involved in both.

Speaking of money (you brought it up, saying you have all the money you need), do you care to disclose who/what company has been funding the CATS group all these years?


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Oh exactly who is the developer behind it? I dont know acutally. I'm looking at this as a community issue, not as a single issue. I look at the pecking order as residents first, local business second, outside companies third, politicians last. Thats how i look at it in my rule book. Whoa, my first rule. :) Didn't see that coming.

I'm not a part of "that" group acutally or who ever your refering to. . I never met that group if you are refering to the anti-walmart group. I have met just a few members at a board meeting when i wanted to see if the lancaster town board was as dis-respectful as everyone has told me they were to residents. They were correct. Being stern is one thing, being cold and dis-respectful is another.

As the composting site goes i dont know, people complain about buffalo crushed stone in my nieghborhood and honestly i haven't smelled the place once here or felt one vibration. I have been in my yard in all types of weather and never even knew where the quarry was in location by my house. It's less than a mile or two acutally. A lot of people complain how the blasting is ruining thier foundations but all in all i see cracks and issue everywhere, not just near buffalo crush stone. Some people focus too hard on items i think. They should focus thier efforts on what is really ruining WNY and it's not a composting site or a quarry. It's the small click of people running WNY into the ground with a high cost of doing everything.

I dont know who funds CATS. Is that the short hand for the anti-walmart group? I do know the developers involved in lancaster are not following code set in law and do not follow procedure for items. THat alone is enough to stop them. Since when is anyone above the law? The town board turns a blind eye to allow them to continue thier ways. So even if we do not argue if a walmart should go here or there or what ever, point being all developers follow the same rules as everyone else. Fair answer?

I will admit though i'm funing the cost of this site and the only group i am associated with is the "WNY residents". We should not even have politicial parties anymore seeing the cronies are jumping back and forth between them anyhow. I wonder if i could start a party called "wny residents of nys".

Me again

[thenewdylan]

Gotta call it a nite after this.
Anyway, CATS was a typo...should've been CARS (citizens against retail sprawl)....i didn't know that you run this site, i just assumed that you were one of the CARS/anti-development/anti-politician group.

One other thing, though......Earlier on you compared Wegman's to Top's, saying how Wegman's is much more responsible. You make a good point, in that Wegman's is still a Rochester-based, family-run business. However, you missed a Big point: Wegmans owns their real estate, Top's does not. Top's does not own all those vacant stores you see, a developer does. Albeit, they are eyesores, but look a it from the developer's point of view:

My tenant (ie Tops) says they need a larger store, and their lease is coming up for renewal. Who can blame me for accomodating my tenant AND providing the community with a newer, larger store! Eventually, someone will lease the vacant building. In the meantime, if anone thinks it's an eyesore, i would be happy to sell it to them.

Later,

[WNYresident]

OH CARS! not CATS... though you meant "Cats against tupperware saucers". ;)

>>>
Who can blame me for accomodating my tenant AND providing the community with a newer, larger store!
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See i said "Responsible developers". A developer can knock down the old vacant store adn rebuild like wegmans does.

Now just a thought, does that developer pay full taxes on those vacant buildings or do town boards give them tax breaks for those eye sores? If htey pay ful taxes we can't complain too much but if they don't, then the town boards are as unresonsible as the developers. If we gotta look at those vacant building then at least let us generate the taxes.

[thenewdylan]

Sorry it too me so long to get back to you on this, but I hadn't been on here since the last nite I posted:

Regarding RE taxes for vacant stores: At times, developers do get the taxes reduced. However, you can't blame the Town Boards; this falls into the assessor's lap.
As far as leaving stores vacant: Trust me, developers do not like to see properties left vacant, however WNY is not exactly a boom area, and supply often outweighs demand. Check out the work that is currently being done at the old Top's in Depew. It's gutted now, but in a few mos. it will be a class A office building (not exactly an eyesore).
Wegmans closed their Sheridan Drive store last year when they demolished it and built a new one. The only reason they closed for those several months was because they already owned the land and decided that it would be less costly to shut down for a while, than to go buy new land. Even so, when they closed the local residents were understandably very upset.
Seems like it's not easy to please everyone.

[WNYresident]

Seems like it's not easy to please everyone.

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See he knows the answer. In WNY we are always trying to please everyone it seems in politics. Maybe we should just try to please the middle instead of the special interest groups.

Balance.

[thenewdylan]

This has nothing to do w/ special interest groups.
How would you handle this supermarket scenario?

You can either:
a) tear down the building, closing it for a few months and tick off the local people (especially seniors)
or
b) Build a new site and leave the vacant one sitting there till you get a tenant (in which case you'll tick off local people who consider it an eyesore).

What woud you do?

[WNYresident]

A.

The outcome is shortterm where as the old vacant building can sit for years. I bet if you told those seniors we'll close that building and you might never get another store if no one rents it.

I for one would put up with the inconvience knowing it's for the good of the community versus an eye sore that sites for years on years...