Important Issues

Housing

Housing is a very important issue in the country, especially in Buffalo. A very simple way to fix this complicated problem is to build more housing, be it affordable, expensive, apartments. But this kind of housing won’t fix the problem by itself, zoning should be changed so other housing options such as duplex’s and triplex’s be built, which are good to help fill in empty spaces that won’t allow a single family home or apartment to be built due to size restrictions. I have talked to a few friends and they expressed interest in moving back to Buffalo to start families or start a new chapter in their lives, but the pricing of housing and the types of housing in town are the only things keeping them from moving. Old style townhouses that can be found in old villages and hamlets in Europe is a good start to fix housing. Allowing the development of more diverse housing options would lead to costs being cut on housing already in town and lead to a larger population without losing the small town feel.

A more pedestrian friendly city

When people are able to move more freely around their town or city, the happier they are. We need more ways for people to walk and bike to places around town. The redone path by Buffalo Lake and the narrowing of the road is a good start, but the bike paths that were put in could be improved upon, they are too small and give no protection from vehicles. There is now a discussion on what should be done with the road that is going through downtown, and that is very much a good next step, and we should encourage more projects like that for the town. One city made their entirety of downtown into a car free zone, spending hundreds of millions on the project, and within two years, they made the money back. I am not saying we do this for downtown Buffalo, but there are examples where doing more to make your spaces around town more livable and accessible brings both economic and societal benefits.

Third places

Now what is a third place? A third place is just the technical term for a place that you go to that isn’t your home (first place) and your work (second place). Buffalo used to have some interesting third places back in the day, and even when I was younger, but they seem to be dwindling by the year if they aren’t owned by a multi-billion dollar company. Buffalo Books and Coffee is a nice mix of book store and coffee shop/cafe, the Hayes’ Public House towards the lake is a nice drinking spot and BJ’s is a fun little deli in the perfect spot downtown. Parks are also considered third places, so Sturges Park and the park at Pulaski fill that niche. But more can be done, there should be more done to promote third places owned by local residents and expansions on the parks we have now. The old movie theater has been sitting in the same spot basically rotting and no one is buying it, which is a shame because I loved going there as a kid. Along with that, there should also be more done so kids and teens have places to hang out at where they aren’t harassed for “loitering” or not having any money so they aren’t hanging around in parking lots or spots they shouldn’t be.