Transit in Cheek to look like Transit in E Amherst?

[ReformWNY]

What do you all think?
Khols, Now target - then someone said Wal-mart or something... all in that small area of Transit in Cheektowaga.

Anyone notice that these stores are being crammed in over there instead of being inserted in the vast, undeveloped areas along Transit in West Seneca and Orchard Park?

What scares me for this area (and as a resident of that area in particular) is the way that Transit looks when you drive past Sheridan. Strip mall on top of Strip mall - and not the tiny" Master Pizza" strip malls. We're talking hardcore size, enormous things with huge parkinglots and one of every store.

The thing is, in Clarence and East Amherst, they have the greenspace to support it. You go 1/5th mile down any of those streets, and you're in a nice area with huge yards, and no noice, etc.

That area of Cheektowaga is ALREADY population dense...

Nothing good can come from this. It's the result of a non-active town board that sees only tax roles and TODAY, rather than what impact these moves can have on tomorrow - but more importantly, it stems from the Cheektowaga Residents that are asleep at the wheel, and let these things happen.

Thoughts?

[WestCoastPerspective]

If the zoning is there- you can't do much to stop it. You can delay a project (see Walmart at Transit/William), but most of these projects can be built as of right. So either you buy the property and keep as open-space, change the zoning to something other than commercial (good luck building houses or apartments along that strecth) or an overlay district that restricts store size. Try convincing Lancaster or Cheektowaga that commercial development is a bad thing. If there's any road that is ideal for it- its Transit.

[granpabob]

Orchard park has Milestrip, McKinley and Southwestern you have transit .where else in your town would you want those stores. you don't expect your towns people to drive all the way to Orchard Park or Amherst do you. transit road was built for commerce or maybe you would prefer George Urban or Lossen road

[LHardy]

NO MORE PROGRESS! NO MORE PROGRESS!
RAISE OUR TAXES! RAISE OUR TAXES!

Sheeesh!
You guys are amazing. Commercial traffic where it should be but it is a bad thing?
I remember when people use to hunt that section of Transit Rd.
Maybe we should allow that agian as well?
More good thinking from WNY.

[therising]

Reform - with all due respect, your logic is backwards.

You ask why they have to build large retail centers in areas that are already densely populated. Think about that for a minute.

I see traffic as progress. People are out shopping, working, spending money.

It's so ironic that we all hang our heads down becuase the population is shrinking, yet when we have to wait a few minutes at a traffic light, we blow a gasket.


Traffic = people
People = money

Move to Marilla if you don't like it.

[ReformWNY]

You guys are missing my point.

I'm not talking about Transit in Orchard Park or Clarence. Sure, you guys have your fair share of malls, and centers of commerce. But how much actual LAND do you have too? How much greenspace? how many people with 1 acre+ land plots for homes?

This is my point. OP and Clarence can take that and thrive on it because they can afford it - and because the residents dont' have to have it shoved in their face everywhere they go.

Cheektowaga is over 90% developed. Our homes are on top of each other compared to Clarence and OP - and how many 1 acre parcels are there around here?

I am all for commerce, but isn't Union, Walden, Harlem, etc enough? - This area of Transit is one of the last "nice" areas where people have a bit of room to breathe in Cheektowaga - and it's literally, our last spot. The Galleria Mall and area around it in itself generates more tax revenue than probably most anything in the area.

I wonder if you'll have the same comments in 20 years if Orchard Park allows free reign building across the entire town. Cheektowaga is slowly morphing from a suburb to a city if you haven't noticed, and so is Amherst.

Hardy - I am one of the most progressive and free thinking people on this message board, and I often differ with the public opinion. As I said above, you are missing my point... and you can't possibly see it, because YOUR town hasn't built itself out of existence. YOUR town can have the McKinley mall, etc because YOUR town also has farms, arcrage (sp?) and open spaces. We have... "Losson park "and that's about it. My concern lies most in "whacking" what is one of the last nice neighborhoods in Cheektowaga. What were the residents that lived off of Union road around Walden like 20 years ago? How has their life changed? You do know that people live on those streets off of Union by Pizza Hut, etc right? They once had a neighborhood like we have in the Transit/Losson/Como area. Now it's crushed by commercial commerce.

If this "progress" does to this neighborhood what it did to Walden and Union - tell me - where in Cheektowaga would you want to live? What would be "the nice area" of town? You can't sell a home on Kensington for 3/4 what you paid for it - There are 5 for sale right now. Cleve Hill has gone "down hill" - My parents lived off of William St all their lives and crime, etc has gotten out of hand already... Harlem and Walden/Genesee has become an extension of the City of Buffalo... so tell me. What's left for Cheektowaga that already hasn't been demeaned, devalued, and overrun because of poor planning?

People dont' buy homes because they can see the neon glow of Target and Wallmart from their yards. They buy them to raise families in a good community.

[granpabob]

aren't most of those stores on the Lancaster side of the street.
I know wegmans is on the cheektowaga side ,just seems like Lancaster is building transit to save its residents homes

[therising]

Cheektowaga is over 90% developed. Our homes are on top of each other compared to Clarence and OP - and how many 1 acre parcels are there around here?

Bingo! This, coupled with the fact that Lancaster has seen a housing growth (of higher-income families) is precisely the reason the Big Box retailers are locating there.

The retailers want people to be nearby. With people, comes traffic.

[WNYresident]

What were the residents that lived off of Union road around Walden like 20 years ago? How has their life changed? You do know that people live on those streets off of Union by Pizza Hut, etc right? They once had a neighborhood like we have in the Transit/Losson/Como area. Now it's crushed by commercial commerce.

Reform? The superivisor and townboard don't care. They just want revenue! How do you explain the salaries and overtime that seem abnormally abundant. Then when it's questioned they do the best really not to confront the situation.

You know what Channel 2 should do for laughs and giggles. Do a little survey and see how many "relatives" in general work within the town. Then look through some of the organizations and look how some of the employees are related.

You know what I thought was odd. I may be TOTALLY wrong but a flyer came across my desk for the "cheektowaga developement agency" ..

Resource Personnel

Jerome Gabryszak

Director of Community Development Town of Cheektowaga

Is this person related to Gabby the Superivisor?

I mean the guy might be totally qualified for this but it seems odd.

[Night Owl]

What scares me for this area (and as a resident of that area in particular) is the way that Transit looks when you drive past Sheridan. Strip mall on top of Strip mall - and not the tiny" Master Pizza" strip malls. We're talking hardcore size, enormous things with huge parkinglots and one of every store.

It's called sprawl. Suburbanites wanted it, now you got it. Get used to it, keep taking away from Buffalo means more and more of it. I am all for "City of Cheektowaga" and "Town of Buffalo".

It will be good for a suburban area carry the weight of the County Seat for a while. We'll let Cheektowaga Town Hall be the new County Hall.

[WNYresident]

Originally posted by Night Owl
It's called sprawl. Suburbanites wanted it, now you got it. Get used to it, keep taking away from Buffalo means more and more of it. I am all for "City of Cheektowaga" and "Town of Buffalo".

It will be good for a suburban area carry the weight of the County Seat for a while. We'll let Cheektowaga Town Hall be the new County Hall.

See you are wrong nightowl. Suburbanites wanted thier homes and yards not stripmalls. See the Townboards gave away thier precious land with tax incentives. I dont exactly know why a group of people would sell thier town out. WHen they change zoning to something it wasn't it was done for a reason. Usually not in the best interest of the original town residents.

[Night Owl]

See you are wrong nightowl. Suburbanites wanted thier homes and yards not stripmalls.

Then why does the whole town keep allowing it to happen?

Whatever. At least I know I don't tell you people how to vote in your elections. Maybe if you spent a little more time monitoring your supervisor, and less time debating over the next mayor of Buffalo, this sprawl issue would be the least of your worries.

How does the saying go - be careful in what you ask for... because you just might get it!

[ReformWNY]

/yawn.
If you want to hijack a thread to push your negative agenda, you could do better than that.

[Night Owl]

Does the truth hurt ReformWNY? Cheektowagians welcomed new development 15 years ago with open arms of the Galleria Mall, now there's no stopping it and you say I have I negative agenda? Cheektowaga got exactly what it wanted. Yeah politicains in Cheek who keep the commercial zoning going! Your supervisor will win next election!

[y2000]

Originally posted by Night Owl
It's called sprawl. Suburbanites wanted it, now you got it. Get used to it, keep taking away from Buffalo means more and more of it. I am all for "City of Cheektowaga" and "Town of Buffalo".

It will be good for a suburban area carry the weight of the County Seat for a while. We'll let Cheektowaga Town Hall be the new County Hall.

Then everyone will want to get away and Buffalo will be the best place to go. I like the idea. Serves them all for leaving.