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Thread: Spare us from “planners”

  1. #1
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    Spare us from “planners”

    I read the plan proposed in the shoe shine rag today for the area around Blvd Mall. You can tell the “planners” like Kulpa are running things because the article sings the praises of things like “rain gardens”. For those unitiated to the modern jargon of “planning” a “rain garden” is a new technique for controlling storm water runoff. Essentially, it’s a hole in the ground, lined with rocks and pretty flowers to make it look acceptable into which storm water runs and then sits until it slowly percolates into the ground. Those who have paid attention to land use disputes in Amherst have heard the “banana” crowd in Amherst whine for years about the clay soils in Amherst with their relative impermeability. Now, through the miracle of “planning” the impermeabilty issue has apparently magically vanished and “rain gardens” will solve our storm water runoff problems. Allow me to suggest an alternative name for “rain gardens”; I suggest we call them “mosquito maternity wards”. And Kulpa, again employing his magical powers as a “planner”, has divined the desires of future generations for “pedestrian spaces”. This is magical along the lines of Harry Potter type stuff, future generations aren’t even born yet, that’s what makes them future generations. And Kulpa has no better idea what they’ll want than you or I do. To the extent he pretends otherwise, he’s just another arrogant fraud.

  2. #2
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Allow me to suggest an alternative name for “rain gardens”; I suggest we call them “mosquito maternity wards”.
    They would have issues trying to pass stuff if they said it for what it is.

    "The NY Safety Act" should just be called "Gun Control Act"

    Etc

  3. #3
    Member leftWNYbecauseofBS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by grump View Post
    I read the plan proposed in the shoe shine rag today for the area around Blvd Mall. You can tell the “planners” like Kulpa are running things because the article sings the praises of things like “rain gardens”. For those unitiated to the modern jargon of “planning” a “rain garden” is a new technique for controlling storm water runoff. Essentially, it’s a hole in the ground, lined with rocks and pretty flowers to make it look acceptable into which storm water runs and then sits until it slowly percolates into the ground. Those who have paid attention to land use disputes in Amherst have heard the “banana” crowd in Amherst whine for years about the clay soils in Amherst with their relative impermeability. Now, through the miracle of “planning” the impermeabilty issue has apparently magically vanished and “rain gardens” will solve our storm water runoff problems. Allow me to suggest an alternative name for “rain gardens”; I suggest we call them “mosquito maternity wards”. And Kulpa, again employing his magical powers as a “planner”, has divined the desires of future generations for “pedestrian spaces”. This is magical along the lines of Harry Potter type stuff, future generations aren’t even born yet, that’s what makes them future generations. And Kulpa has no better idea what they’ll want than you or I do. To the extent he pretends otherwise, he’s just another arrogant fraud.
    Stormwater management is critical and a properly constructed and maintained rain gardern does not have mosquito issues. Now if you want to say they won't be built correctly or maintained...that's one thing. But the idea itself is the correct on. It's also a lot more technical than you describe or understand. Source: I live with someone who has extensive stormwater and soil toxicity industry experience in multiple municipalities.


    As for your itch with Kulpa, you're free to think what you want but there are some facts that you seem to want to ignore.

    1 - The neighborhood that includes and surrounds the mall was deemed eligible by the federal government for a new tax incentive meant to encourage investment in low-income communities. That means no matter how much you think of the area, the reality is it is on the decline or already there. Something needs to be done.

    2 - The mall is circling the drain. I pointed this out back in March of 2015 and there were idiots like Member 2358 who didn't see a problem. The boiling frog and all. The valuation of the property has been cut in half and that's after the previous cut when it was sold. You can bet your metamucil that they will be seeking a property tax reduction and it's going to sting.

    3 - Kulpa is an architect and urban planner. You may not like what he has to say but on this subject it his professional opinion. Kulpa is thinking about the kids in school right now not those in the senior center. I am pretty sure that's your disconnect.



    At the end of the day, something needs to happen at this site. This part of the town is already the worst part of the town. That's not an insult but just the reality. It's also the best opportunity for the town. For the kids in school right now.

    Amherst dropped the ball with how they leveraged UB. The northeast end of the campus could have been downtown Chapel Hill or Ann Arbor. But instead the leaders of the town took the lazy road and allowed crappy apartments and low density commercial. Mistakes were made.

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    With all due respect Leftie, you know nothing about what I understand about rain gardens or storm water control. As a matter of fact the town already has a comprehensive storm water management law on its books. As for Kulpa, I don’t care if he’s an architect and planner or Queen of the May. He knows nothing about what unborn generations will want and if he says he does, which he certainly did, he’s full of crap. He’s free to guess, of course, but his guess is no better than yours or mine. He can think about kids in school right now but they’re an existing generation not a future one. Everyone knows the mall is circling the drain. Because the assessed valuation has been reduced they’ve got their tax reduction. They’ll pay the rate/thousand $ of assessed valuation which has already been reduced and the malls taxes will fall. If they want in on the $10 million program handed out by the regional development council they’d better crank up the graft machine in a hurry. It’s now administered by ESDC, which took over most of Cuomo’s “ economic development” programs when the indictments started flying 18 months or so ago.

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    Member leftWNYbecauseofBS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by grump View Post
    With all due respect Leftie, you know nothing about what I understand about rain gardens or storm water control. As a matter of fact the town already has a comprehensive storm water management law on its books.
    I made an inference based on your comments. Rain gardens and other tools are fantastic for stormwater systems as it reduces the pressure on the network and puts the costs to the property. Many towns are forcing such items on residential new construction and improvements that increase the surface area.

    Like I said before, if you want to talk about the 1,000 ways it could go wrong due to incompetence or corruption...you won't hear an argument from me.

    Quote Originally Posted by grump View Post
    As for Kulpa, I don’t care if he’s an architect and planner or Queen of the May. He knows nothing about what unborn generations will want and if he says he does, which he certainly did, he’s full of crap. He’s free to guess, of course, but his guess is no better than yours or mine.
    Sorry but I don't agree. Urban planners and architects can/do make mistakes but their opinions are absolutely more informed than you or I or anyone who has not gone through the formal training. I give respect to the title but that does not mean I agree with or don't question what they say.


    Quote Originally Posted by grump View Post
    Everyone knows the mall is circling the drain. Because the assessed valuation has been reduced they’ve got their tax reduction. They’ll pay the rate/thousand $ of assessed valuation which has already been reduced and the malls taxes will fall. If they want in on the $10 million program handed out by the regional development council they’d better crank up the graft machine in a hurry. It’s now administered by ESDC, which took over most of Cuomo’s “ economic development” programs when the indictments started flying 18 months or so ago.

    Not everyone knows the mall is circling the drain. I pointed out someone who didn't here and I have had conversations with others about the subject of malls who don't see it. It's a minority opinion for sure but it does exist.

    As for going after the grant....are you suggesting that they shouldn't or are you suggesting there are better options for the town? The money is going to be dished out regardless so it seems pretty silly not to go after grants. It's not like they are going to cut checks to taxpayers if they can't find anyone to take the money.

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    Leftie, I guess we just don’t agree on the issue of Kulpa’s fortune telling abilities. Exactly how many generations can he see into the future, I wonder. I actually gave serious consideration to studying urban planning some years ago but I must confess I don’t remember too many courses on predicting the future. Tell you what though, I think I’ll have him start picking my lotto numbers in the future just in case.

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    And I didn’t suggest that they shouldn’t apply for the grant. I simply pointed out that in the current ambiance in NYS decisions regarding the distribution of economic development dollars are made based on, shall we say, “novel” grounds. A prime criterion for success in the application process seems to be the number of 0000’s on one’s contribution check to the current administration. That this process has been transferred to ESDC tells me only that they’re not dumb enough to put it all on the office email for all the world to see. And I know you come back to town from time to time, so I’m certain that you’re aware that for much of the footprint of the mall on the NFB side, there already exist a number of storm water detention ponds that have been there for years. One can line them with pretty stones, throw in some plant species that soak up water and haul out the “newspeak” to call them “rain gardens” , I guess, but it’s not exactly new. And I’m all for permeable materials in parking lots (wait, I guess that assumes that soothsayer Kulpa might be wrong about everyone wanting to walk everywhere in the future) but these materials don’t always mesh well with the the harsh realities of snow plowing 5 months or more months of the year. For that matter, “pedestrian friendly” doesn’t always mesh well with harsh realities of wind driven snow 5 months of the year.
    Last edited by grump; June 2nd, 2018 at 07:35 AM.

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    Kulpa’s gonna have his hands full of “ planning” over the next several months. Remember the night and day coverage a couple weeks back on a local news channel that purports to “hold people in power accountable” about a woman killed by a car on Niagara Falls Blvd. (on the holding the powerful accountable issue, set aside for a minute the fact that more people have been murdered in Buffalo this year than have been fatally hit by cars on that section of the Blvd in the last 5 years combined and the murders barely merit a mention on that station). Kulpa has announced that they’re going to come up with a “plan” to do something about NFB and the plan will involve meetings with “stakeholders”. I’m sure everyone knows who stakeholders are...they’re the group allowed to participate in the plan because they’re on board with, and support, the pre ordained decision. Of course the meetings will take some time. The goal is to have plan by July 2019! A crisis indeed! Into the bargain , the state, whose road it actually is already has a study underway.

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    Can you point to any groups, regardless of size, that have voiced concerns about issues or requested to participate in the process that have been shut out by Kulpa?

    Look, WNY is about as small time as it comes. A story of 'concerned residents' makes the 11 news it's so small. I am sure if you could get 10 people together you would be able to get a sit down meeting. If you didn't, I am sure one of the local news stations would have no issue running a story on that and put it on the 5, 6 and 11 news.

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    Leftie, I don’t believe they’ve started the planning for the blvd yet. And if a majority of the board isn’t involved in the meetings, then the meetings are not subject to the notice requirements of the open meetings law. And then of course there are the meetings that take place in private & outside the public meetings where decisions are really made while the public meetings are a showcase for public officials. So there’s that.

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    What’s all the planning going to do when pedestrians continue to cross busy streets outside of crosswalks? Many of these accidents occurred as pedestrians were cutting across the street, not too smart. Let’s throw millions at it so we can all feel good about it until the next one gets whacked, or maybe lower the speed limit in response to an accident that was caused by a drowsy driver, makes even more sense.

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    Dan, just this morning at 8 am I witnessed just what you are saying at the corner of Yale and NFB. Woman crossing from Amherst side, dressed for work & portfolio in hand, to get to the NFTA bus stop on the Tonawanda side. The bus stop is about 50 yards south of NFB & Yale at a signaled intersection of NFB and, I believe, Decatur Ave in Tonawanda. Instead of walking the 50 or so yards to the signaled intersection which she had to do anyhow to reach the bus stop, and crossing at the signaled intersection, out she wanders into traffic from Yale into the Blvd. She got caught in the middle, traffic whizzing by in both direction, until 2 school buses, running in parallel on the south bound lane of NFB, slowed significantly and held up following traffic so she could cross. You can’t plan for stupid or lazy.

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    Member sharky's Avatar
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    have any of the NFB pedestrians hit in the last few years been at a proper crosswalk and crossing with the signal?
    I see the idiots all the time. On Millersport too. Too lazy to walk a little farther to the intersection and they are standing in the turning lane
    Vote for freedom, not political parties.
    Politicians need to cut spending

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    Quote Originally Posted by grump View Post
    Dan, just this morning at 8 am I witnessed just what you are saying at the corner of Yale and NFB. Woman crossing from Amherst side, dressed for work & portfolio in hand, to get to the NFTA bus stop on the Tonawanda side. The bus stop is about 50 yards south of NFB & Yale at a signaled intersection of NFB and, I believe, Decatur Ave in Tonawanda. Instead of walking the 50 or so yards to the signaled intersection which she had to do anyhow to reach the bus stop, and crossing at the signaled intersection, out she wanders into traffic from Yale into the Blvd. She got caught in the middle, traffic whizzing by in both direction, until 2 school buses, running in parallel on the south bound lane of NFB, slowed significantly and held up following traffic so she could cross. You can’t plan for stupid or lazy.
    You can't fix stupid but you can plan for it and around it. Wouldn't moving the southbound stop to the south corner of Decatur & NFB solve the issue? Same thing with moving the one before it to where the crosswalk from Longmeadow crosses?

    It seems to me the location of the stops are arbitrary.

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    Quote Originally Posted by leftWNYbecauseofBS View Post
    You can't fix stupid but you can plan for it and around it. Wouldn't moving the southbound stop to the south corner of Decatur & NFB solve the issue? Same thing with moving the one before it to where the crosswalk from Longmeadow crosses?

    It seems to me the location of the stops are arbitrary.
    Two comments. 1) There already is a set of traffic lights at NFB & Longmeadow. 2) I'm not experienced or educated enough to understand why, but there is a disproportionate incident of failure to stop for the red light northbound. I can only speculate that it might have something (I know not what) to do with visibility of the light. Sun?, Grade?, Angle?, Distance perception?, Glare? I dunno.

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