Summer 1992 Table of Contents
Coalition, Citizens Group Mobilize to Block Parking Lots in Delaware Park
It was the old Hobson's choice trick: to have the people accept a bad plan, give
them an even worse alternative so they accept the first idea. But the people are
not buying it in Delaware Park.
The Interim Report on the Ring Road Circulation Options for the Delaware Park Master
Plan was prepared for the Department of Community Development by Wendell Design.
The report presented two alternatives. Option One called for closing the ring road
to cars, but to make up for lost parking spaces by expanding two existing parking
areas at Amherst Street and Agassiz Circle and creating a new parking lot off of
Nottingham Terrace, east of Delaware Avenue.
Option Two would have limited car access between Jewett Parkway and Colvin Avenue
and kept the ban on cars from Meadow Road to Agassiz Circle. The parking area north
of the zoo along Crandall Drive would have doubled in size.
Two public meetings were held to discuss the options. The first, on Feb. 20, was
asked for by the Parkside Community Association. The second, on March 4, was arranged
by Delaware District Council member Al Coppolla as chair of the Council's Legislation
Committee, which reviews Council action on Delaware Park. Preservation Coalition
member Tim Tielman presented the Preservation Coalition's view at both meetings.
Tielman explained to Parkside residents at their February meeting that they didn't
have to settle for either option, and that indeed, the Preservation Coalition considered
neither acceptable. Tielman faulted the assumptions of the proposals and suggested
a number of alternatives, including the placement of simple gates to control traffic
at varying points and times. Tielman added that the only master plan the Coalition
supports is the plan of the "master," Frederick Law Olmsted, and that all
park planning must work toward re-establishing the Olmsted design and not merely
redesign the park based on existing ahistorical conditions. The Preservation Coalition
and the Concerned Citizens for Delaware Park, a new group formed after the parking
controversy became public, emphatically were against any new parking lots in the
park. While some of those present sought accommodation for the automobile, the majority
were against taking any more green space for cars.
The Legislative Committee meeting, held in the Elmwood-Franklin School two weeks
later, showed that a clear consensus had developed among all groups and individuals
against new or expanded lots in the park. The Buffalo Friends of Olmsted Parks, originally
supportive of Option Two, announced its opposition to both options. The Concerned
Citizens group was responsible for a large and vocal turnout of residents opposed
to both options.
The message, relayed by Councilmember Coppolla and planning department personnel
present, was clear: Go back to the drawing board. Expanded parking in Delaware Park
is unacceptable.
The final draft of the report is due out the week of July 20. Further public hearings
and meetings will be held, at dates to be determined.