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Thread: Spare us from “planners”

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by grump View Post
    Earlier in the thread I mentioned that I question the ability of Kulpa (or any planner for that matter) to predict future planning trends. A classic example of horrible planning that could’ve been light years worse is the Rte 33/Rte 198 mess. It is now pretty much universally recognized as a disaster that bisected and thereby weakened neighborhoods and helped expedite flight from the city. When it was first conceived it was part of a greater plan of hub and spoke expressways from downtown into the ‘burbs that would’ve carved pretty much all of Buffalo and the immediate suburbs into dozens and dozens of isolated block groups. Fortunately the funding dried up and the disaster was avoided. I’m told that the 990 and the LaSalle Expressway are vestigial appendages of the plan. At the time the planners were assuring WNY that future generations would be need and demand these interlocking expressways to move rapidly through the area. After all, they were planners and they knew future planning needs. NOT!! But, thanks to the prodigious “school desegregation” efforts of Judge Curtin & Eugene Reville and the damage wrought by NFTA and it’s stunningly failed subway, the city has been sufficiently denuded of population that one can still move rapidly through today, even on a mule.
    Funny that you'd use a mule speed reference in a comment that includes the Scajaquada. And speaking of speed, do the Amherst police even give a damn about how fast people drive on 990? Seriously, why not raise the limit to 70?

  2. #32
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    Member, last year I found myself on the 990 quite a lot. Seems that there were troopers there a lot and APD is on it a lot because they can jump on from Audubon. But people do speed. I’d raise it to 75 but then again I’ve always had a lead foot.

  3. #33
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    So when this thread first began one of the major problems confronting western New York wasn’t the lack of jobs (By the way, ESDC has solved the lack of jobs problem once and for all. It’s not lack of jobs now.

    Instead, we have a lack of workers. Ha, ha, hee, hee, ho, ho) or the crushing tax burden of the failing schools. No, it was the “emergency” on Niagara Falls Blvd caused by people wandering out into the road in the middle of the night at unlit, unsignaled sections and getting whacked. Everyone jumped on board, most of all Planner Kulpa who was chock full ideas. So almost a year later, we found out the other night thanks to the marvels of tv news that Kulpa and his band of screwballs on the town board have barely begun their end of the process and the folks on the Tonawanda side haven’t begun at all.

    But I understand why Kulpa’s having problems. When he spends what little time he is in town hall larding the town payroll with personal friends instead of doing the job he was elected to do things fall through the cracks. And as we all know, most of that problem was caused by careless pedestrians who continue to wander out into all sections of NFB, at all hours of the day, from Kenmore Ave to the county line. I never much cared for the comedian, Ron White, but he was right about one thing : You can’t fix stupid.

  4. #34
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    There'd not be the problems on NFB if there were roundabouts at Maple/Brighton, N & S Ellicott Creek, E Robinson, and Tonawanda Creek. Also, placement of HAWK signals every 1/8 mile or so might not be a bad idea.

    Seriously, InnKeepers Lane is the primary problem. Fix that first.

  5. #35
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    Is anyone in Amherst wondering why Planner Kulpa wants to give away the entire Northtown Recreation complex after the town spent millions developing it for Amherst residents. That’s what he’ll be able to do if the state legislature adopts his foolish policy recommendation and passes alienation legislation for the entire parcel. He can then give it to his friends in pieces or in one large transfer.

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by grump View Post
    Is anyone in Amherst wondering why Planner Kulpa wants to give away the entire Northtown Recreation complex after the town spent millions developing it for Amherst residents. That’s what he’ll be able to do if the state legislature adopts his foolish policy recommendation and passes alienation legislation for the entire parcel. He can then give it to his friends in pieces or in one large transfer.

    I have not been following this but there are two things I know:

    1 - I don't Mensch.

    2 - Unlocking the land between UB and Audubon from Maple to Millersport would bring a lot of value.


    Sadly, because WNY is WNY, you don't have too many dance partners to choose from.

  7. #37
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    Leftie, I believe the Mensch group is a group of local developers looking to develop the old Westwood site. Among them they have some experience. Do you really believe Planner Kulpa should be giving away millions of $$ in town financed recreational facilities to “unlock” the value of the land. Those facilities already bring in “unlocked” value and quite a bit of it.

  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by grump View Post
    Leftie, I believe the Mensch group is a group of local developers looking to develop the old Westwood site. Among them they have some experience. Do you really believe Planner Kulpa should be giving away millions of $$ in town financed recreational facilities to “unlock” the value of the land. Those facilities already bring in “unlocked” value and quite a bit of it.

    I think Mensch is going to back channel some sort of sweetheart deal that should have been better for the town. Right now they own Westwood and have a poor position. The can't develop as they want and desperately are looking to flip sites so that they are not in such a bind. Even still, the TOA is negotiating with them as if it's an even deal.

    The TOA should be putting the Northtown/Audubon/Gun Club opportunity out in the open for everyone. If Mensch wants to try and get the land via a swap..so be it. But if another developer wants to come in with cash or different terms, the town should listen to that as well.

    I also don't think Kulpa is 'giving away' the Northtown Center. I am pretty sure what is being discussed is the land where the softball/baseball fields are located. Those are not worth millions. But could be wrong there.

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by leftWNYbecauseofBS View Post
    I think Mensch is going to back channel some sort of sweetheart deal that should have been better for the town. Right now they own Westwood and have a poor position. The can't develop as they want and desperately are looking to flip sites so that they are not in such a bind. Even still, the TOA is negotiating with them as if it's an even deal.

    The TOA should be putting the Northtown/Audubon/Gun Club opportunity out in the open for everyone. If Mensch wants to try and get the land via a swap..so be it. But if another developer wants to come in with cash or different terms, the town should listen to that as well.

    I also don't think Kulpa is 'giving away' the Northtown Center. I am pretty sure what is being discussed is the land where the softball/baseball fields are located. Those are not worth millions. But could be wrong there.
    I believe the Town is stating that the Audubon property is more valuable than the Westwood property. I believe their assertion is misleading. Westwood's value is lower because of the action/inaction of the Town to facilitate it's (re-)development into something of value. The Town caused Westwood's value to diminish... they buckled to that Frankhauser nature lady. Westwood as a park = Opportunity lost.

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