Canal Side:

Citizen
Waterfront
Forum
City of Buffalo Public Opinion
Solicitation

Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning

Byron W. Brown, Mayor
Brendan R. Mehaffy, Esq., Executive Director
 Significant progress
has been made.
ž-Buffalonians have consistently demanded access to
the water.
ž-Federal, state, and local officials have responded
with new streets, public spaces, walking and cycling
paths.
ž-The waterfront is now more accessible than it has
been in decades.
ž- Canal Side infrastructure is nearly complete and
significant development-ready parcels are ready for
build-out.
 Mayor Brown issues
call for ideas.
ž- Mayor Byron W. Brown issued a call to the public
for ideas for the development of Canal Side on August
10, 2010, and the public came back with an
overwhelming response.
ž-Solicitations for public feedback from hundreds of
people were collected by e-mail, personal letters,
and the City’s 311 web form and call line.
RESPONSE TO
MAYOR’S CALL
856 people

1,757 ideas
311 Web Form was a huge success.
A wide range of responses emerged from across
the region and beyond.
What does the public
have to say?

?
 We have access to the water.

Now the public is demanding we take the

next step.
 The ideas from the public were wide
ranging, creative, and comprehensive, yet
prominent themes emerge that offer
direction on a course for action.
 As simply stated by one respondent,
“Buffalonians love to eat, drink, and be
entertained.”
1,757 ideas...
 STRONG PUBLIC
SUPPORT
National specialty restaurants and retail chains,
particularly those that are not yet located in the Buffalo
area.
The public overwhelmingly supports the waterfront’s
development as a setting for restaurants, coffee
houses, and bars.

Civic gathering places and access to the water have

widespread support.

There is a strong desire for recreational, leisure, and

sporting activities at the water’s edge.

There is a strong desire for museum and interpretive

experiences that relate strongly to Buffalo’s heritage,
culture, and Great Lakes/Erie Canal location.

The public stresses the importance of historical and

cultural authenticity in the waterfront’s build-out.
 LIMITED PUBLIC SUPPORT
There is only limited support for use of the water’s edge as an office
location, indicating a widespread preference for its development as a
“resort” or an “escape from the 9 to 5” destination.

While there was a call for local retailers, there was a greater call for
national retailers.

The public expressed some concern about environmental standards, but

did not express any concern for a living wage as a prerequisite to
waterfront development.
The common thread across all the responses is
a desire for the waterfront to become an
exciting urban place, where restaurants,
retail, entertainment, recreational activities,
and cultural and family destinations - in short,
“things to do” - are embedded into an
authentic, walkable district.
 The feedback from the public
reinforces many of the overriding goals
and objectives of the Canal Side Master
Plan.