The Buffalo News

GOOD BRIDGE CHOICES . . .

Published on March 9, 2000
© The Buffalo News Inc.

Let's be clear about this: The recommendation for a twin-arch bridge across the Niagara River that connects to a new plaza north of the current one is a huge improvement over the original companion span proposed by the Peace Bridge Authority. But it's still second-best.

The option of a majestic cable-stay bridge that connects to a new northern plaza combines the aesthetics this community deserves with the practicality necessary to capture the economic benefits of increased truck traffic. And it does that while restoring Front Park and freeing the lower West Side from the intrusive effects of smoke-belching rigs rumbling through the neighborhood. As anyone who has taken advantage of the University at Buffalo's open invitation to view 3-D animated computer simulations of competing proposals can attest, the stunning cable-stayed design would be a testimonial to a region that still believes its best days lie ahead of it. Also, the option of the cable-stayed bridge connecting to a new plaza can be done for $10 million less than the recommended design, according to the engineers.

Opponents of the cable-stayed design point to problems, particularly the difficulty of connecting the bridge with the Canadian plaza. But that's why God created human ingenuity. Given the boost such a bridge would give to the community, it's worth trying to solve those problems.

The Public Consensus Review Panel now will review the recommendation for the twin-arch made by a well-credentialed international group of engineering firms. If it rejects the recommendation, it will explain why and announce which design it thinks should have been picked. But whatever the review panel decides, there already has been a victory of process.

The Peace Bridge debate has involved an entire binational community, developed models for public involvement in future major-project decisions and triggered the formation of groups of young and aggressively involved residents who have staked a claim to the shaping of Buffalo's future.

There also is a victory for aesthetics here. The concept recommended by the engineers features two graceful arches instead of an earlier twin-span proposal whose highlight was a mismatch of an arch alongside the current Parker Truss. The revised twin-arch design is neither the ugly embarrassment that was the original design nor the strikingly dramatic single-span concept favored by this newspaper and other community members. But it's a design all sides should be able to accept as a major improvement.

In addition, there are ways to increase the dramatic effects of the revised twin-arch, such as lights or a striking memorial at mid-span, where the borders of Canada and America meet over the Niagara River. Such a monument, particularly if there was public input, could engage the community and give it a theme to get behind.

It's important, meanwhile, to recognize the other major change recommended by the engineering review panel, one with even more significant impacts on both the bridge system and Buffalo's West Side. In addition to abandoning the ungainly Parker Truss of the existing Peace Bridge in favor of matching graceful arches, the engineers envision a new and larger American plaza north of the current one.

A northern plaza would reinvent the relationship between the city and its border crossing. The change would ease congestion on the U.S. side, while allowing complete restoration of the Olmsted-designed Front Park and perhaps the old Fort Porter area now covered by the existing plaza.

That is much more expensive than plans to use and improve the current plaza, and it would entail more neighborhood disruption. But both the authority and the community forces now involved in the review panel should find a way to make the idea work.

The Peace Bridge Authority remains anxious to get this project done. The community wants it done right. Despite our preference for the cable-stayed option, we fully recognize that the graceful twin-arch design meets both those objectives. One way or the other, it's time to move on.

A cable-stayed bridge, above, connecting to a new northern plaza would provide a majestic symbol for Buffalo. A graceful twin-arch design, below, which engineers have recommended to the Public Consensus Review Panel, also would connect to a new northern plaza.

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