Grant St. crosswalk project still grounded

By Mike Chiari and Tim Daniels
Bengal News Reporters
 Imagine you have spent nearly two years on a project to give your community a much-needed facelift in anticipation of a major conference in your city. You have bought the supplies, you have an army of volunteers ready to help and you have laid out your plans for everyone to see.
 But no matter how deliberate your approach is, the project cannot seem to break through all the governmental red tape.
 You now know the frustration of Cornelia Dohse-Peck and other local activists as they hope to improve the look of the West Side by painting crosswalks at five Grant Street intersections before the National Preservation Conference visits in October.
 “It seems that there is no process in place to approve such a project of public art in the City of Buffalo,” Dohse-Peck said.
 She said the group has met with Councilman David Rivera, whose district covers the Grant Street locations hoped to be used for this project, as well as representatives from the Department of Public Works and the Buffalo Arts Commission.
 Kirk Laubenstein, legislative assistant to Councilman Rivera, said his office has been in contact with the Department of Public Works on a regular basis about the project.
 “[The Department of Public Works] said they needed to talk to the state Department of Transportation. They were worried it might be too slippery depending on paint you use,” Laubenstein said. “The public works folks wanted to do a test run in a parking lot, but that hasn't worked out.”
 Susan Surdej, assistant to the regional director of the state DOT, said she is not involved in the project.
 “I have checked with various departments within the DOT, and nobody has any information on this project,” she said. “New York State DOT has ownership and maintenance jurisdiction for state highways only. Grant Street is not a state highway and therefore, New York State DOT would not be involved in issues on that road, including street art.”
 Laubenstein said the Arts Commission has signed off on the project, so the fate of the crosswalks lies completely in the hands of the Department of Public Works.
 The project, which is called “Art on Grant,” has several goals, one of which is making the area more vibrant, which Dohse-Peck believes will have many benefits to the community.
 “We believe that an orderly-looking and beautiful street sends the message that residents care,” she said. “That real or perceived care makes criminals leery of being watched so they end up moving their criminal operations somewhere else, usually into areas which look and feel blighted.”
 Dohse-Peck said although pavement painting has been done in cities such as Minneapolis and Portland, Ore., it has not been done in this area before, so if this project gets approved it would make Grant Street unique.

Art is being considered for the Grant-Letchworth intersection

 The goal is for the project to be approved and completed before mid-October when the National Preservation Conference will be held in Buffalo. The conference is run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has the motto, “Helping people protect, enhance, and enjoy the places that matter to them.”
 Lori Feinman, director of the National Preservation Conference, said they appreciate the additional hype the project has generated for the conference as well as the improvements that are attempting to be made to the area.
 “We love it. Any kind of exposure that we can get to reach into local communities to make them aware of the importance of preservation is great for us,” she said. “A lot of times in a city like Buffalo, people very much appreciate their local history and their local preservation, and we try to expose them to preservation on a national scale. This is a great opportunity for us to reach into new audiences that aren't familiar with the trust.”

National Preservation Conference Director Lori Feinman on coming to Buffalo:



Dohse-Peck and Laubenstein both said they are hopeful the project will eventually be approved. Dohse-Peck said they are planning on June 5 to paint the “pilot” crosswalks at the Grant and Auburn intersection.
 “All the city has to do is give the ‘OK’ and reroute the Sunday traffic for a day,” she said.
 Department of Public Works commissioner Steve Stepniak referred Bengal News to traffic engineer Eric Schmarder for comment on the project. Schmarder did not return Bengal News' attempts for comment.

Edited by Mike Meiler and Samantha Murphy