Published: April 08, 2009 09:01 pm      

NIAGARA FALLS: Bridge demolition brings opportunity

LaSalle PRIDE believes site can be used for recreation

Point Avenue Bridge finally came crumbling down Wednesday afternoon.

After years of deteriorating, the original travel route from Cayuga Creek to Buffalo Avenue has been demolished, eliminating a safety hazard and opening up the possibility of more recreational opportunities in the LaSalle neighborhood.

KEK Excavators is removing approximately 30 tons of steel from the site after dismantling the old bridge, said owner Rudy Kent. The Palatine Bridge family business was hired by the city at a cost of $37,000 and has worked sporadically at the site over the past few weeks.

“This is a major achievement,” said city Construction Inspector Howard Skivington, who was overseeing work at the site Wednesday.

It’s also been a long time coming. Concerned residents have complained for years about the bridge’s condition, which consisted of rusted metal, missing chunks of concrete and exposed re-bar and utility lines. It had been the main route allowing cars to cross Cayuga Creek before the construction of the nearby Buffalo Avenue overpass off Cayuga Drive.

While Point Avenue Bridge has been closed to vehicle traffic for about 15 years, it had been used as a pedestrian pathway until recently. City officials first proposed using casino funds in 2003 to demolish and possibly construct a new bridge but the costs exceeded expectations.

Since there’s only about 40 homes on Point Avenue that have direct access to the bridge, members of LaSalle PRIDE are requesting the city not put up a new walkway and instead look into making environmental improvements at the site and establishing a recreational component connected to the creek.

“We have found no justifiable demand to replace this bridge as the Point Avenue foot traffic does not warrant as it has easy access to the adjacent Buffalo Avenue Bridge,” LaSalle PRIDE Chairwoman Brigitte Shackleton wrote in a letter to Mayor Paul Dyster.

Pointing out the city recently obtained ownership of a neighboring abandoned building at 8803 Buffalo Ave. through unpaid taxes, PRIDE members are proposing a study be done to determine the best use of the waterfront structure and the surrounding area. PRIDE member Ken Sherman said there’s several development possibilities at the site including dedicated parking for nearby businesses, a mini-park, a bike/canoe/kayak rental business for access to greenway or blueway trails, a canoe launch onto Cayuga Creek and a fishing pier.

In the letter to Dyster, PRIDE members urged the city to use greenway funds to hire a consultant and develop a best use plan for the 200 lineal feet of shoreline property along Buffalo Avenue, an area that includes the abandoned building, which most recently had been a pizza parlor.

City Senior Planner Thomas DeSantis said there’s no finalized plans for the site at this point but any future development would likely tie in with other improvements the city is making in the surrounding community along Cayuga Creek and at the old Century Club and Jayne Park. The second phase of a restoration study for Buffalo Avenue is expected to begin soon from the North Grand Island Bridge to Cayuga Drive and any work would mean cleaning up the area around the demolished bridge, he added.