Aim for the Sky: Planning/Design Competition in Buffalo, NY for the Buffalo Skyway Corridor

New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is inviting teams of designers, planners, and economists to compete in setting forth their ideas for a future vision for the Buffalo Skyway Corridor in Buffalo, NY.  For more than six decades, the Buffalo Skyway Corridor (NYS Route 5) has occupied a four-mile long swath of land along the City of Buffalo’s waterfront, containing a four-lane, limited-access expressway elevated on an earthen berm, connecting to a 110-foot-high bridge crossing over the federally-regulated shipping channel of the Buffalo River, ultimately connecting with both the elevated I-190 expressway and downtown Buffalo.

Once a link for industrial traffic, the corridor has evolved to involve primarily recreational uses focused on its waterfront location. Since these changes have occurred, “what to do with the Buffalo Skyway” is an ongoing point of discussion, mostly focusing on its removal and replacement of its traffic capacity somewhere else, all with no clear sense of what the ultimate objective of a “Skyway removal” even is.

The desired outcome of the Competition—a future vision of a re-imagined waterfront that yields measurable community benefits that outweigh its costs—could ultimately set the stage for required state/federal documentation and impact analyses of alternatives on how to achieve the vision.  The winning submission receives $100,000, with prizes of $50,000 and $25,000 for second and third place submissions.

The Competition involves a two-part submission.  Part 1 – an online form, plus attachments, are due June 28, 2019. Up to 20 submissions will be invited to submit Part 2, involving a full technical proposal.