Slaughter Delivers $20.2 Million for the 28^th District in Transportation Projects

Rep. Slaughter Joins Mayor Johnson, Rochester Community

Leaders at Press Conference to Announce Funding

Washington, DC - Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-Fairport), Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee, held a press conference this morning with Mayor Bill Johnson, Councilman Adam McFadden, University of Rochester's President Joel Seligman, and Sector 4 Community Development Corporation Chairman Dana Miller.

At the event, they announced that Rep. Slaughter secured a record $20.2M in the TEA-LU bill for the 28^th District.  $6.5 million of that total is for Monroe County projects, including $5.1 of which will be spent for City redevelopment efforts. 

The featured project at the event, $400,000.00 in funding for the Brooks Landing Project, is part of an $18M public/privately financed redevelopment that involves the construction of an 80-room hotel on the west side of the Genesee River, across from the University of Rochester.

It also calls for the construction of a 20,000 to 25,000-square-foot mixed-use development building.  The U of R would be an anchor tenant in that building.  In addition, the construction of a new public pedestrian promenade on the waterfront will link to the existing river trail system and a new boat landing for Erie Canal tourists. The promenade will also connect to the intersection of Brooks Avenue and Genesee Street.  In this respect, the project is integral to the City's larger efforts to redevelopment the Genesee River and surrounding areas. 

Summaries and Contacts for projects included in House TEA-LU bill

Total - $20,237,600.

$1.6 Million

Michigan Avenue Corridor: This funding will restore the historic Michigan Avenue Preservation District on Buffalo's east side.  The funding can be used for facade improvements at the historic Michigan Street Baptist Church and "streetscaping"- refurbishing the streets, facades, curbs, and lighting in the area.

$1.2 Million

Heritage Heights Development: This funding will be used to improve the access roads including Fillmore Avenue and Humboldt Parkway to enable this restoration effort in what was once one of Buffalo's most productive working neighborhoods. Heritage Heights is a phased development project to provide an area for office, light industrial, domestic and cross border distribution, commercial or warehousing facilities.

$3.2 Million

Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus: This funding will be used to finish the transportation enhancements at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, which is the center of the region's health care and life science research and one of the region's major strategic investment areas.

$320,000

Two Mile Creek Culvert and Bridge in the City of Tonawanda: This project will reconstruct a culvert/bridge that crosses Two Mile Creek approximately 50 feet from where it flows into the Niagara River in Tonawanda.  The project will improve a section of Niagara Street, which is a major transportation link between I-190 and I-290, a truck and tour bus route and a pedestrian crossing from Veterans Park to the Riverwalk.

$836,000

Intermodal Center Parking Facility: This project will be located at Canisius College as part of the proposed new Science Center.

$1.92 Million

Rochester Southeast Inner Loop Improvement project (Raised Inner Loop). This funding will pay for design and environmental work on the Inner Loop from Clinton Avenue to East Main Street in Rochester.  The City of Rochester plans to raise parts of the highway and change its alignment in an effort to connect Center City with adjacent neighborhoods and make more property usable.

$1.2 Million

Erie Canal Aqueduct in Rochester. This funding will go toward the design and construction of an enhancement project within the Erie Canal Aqueduct in downtown Rochester.  The project is expected to attract an average 2,000 visitors per week, thus strengthening tourism and overall downtown economic development.  The project will help tourist and locals alike to better understand the role of the Erie Canal and later the subway in the nation's and the City's historic development.

$400,000

Brooks Landing Redevelopment Project: As part of the $18 million development project, the funding secured will be applied to reconstructing South Plymouth Avenue to enhance vehicle and pedestrian access between the neighborhood and the public waterfront.  Enhancements include road width changes; the addition of parking spaces; pedestrian trail access, including access to the State-wide Historic Erie Canal Trail and Genesee Greenway Trail; way-finding signage; kiosks; and public art.

$1.6 Million

University Avenue and the ARTWalk project: The project consists of the reconstruction of University Avenue from Goodman Street to Union Street, including the extension of the ARTWalk project along University Avenue.  The ARTWalk II project would also include the extension of the ARTWalk north and south of University Avenue on Goodman Street to connect to the Village Gate arts complex and to the Rochester Museum and Science Center.

$720,000

Monroe County Intelligent Transportation System (ITS): This funding will almost complete this traffic management project, which will focus on expressway routes that experience diverted traffic during incidents on the expressway, as well as high volume arterial routes that regularly experience congestion.

$720,000

Lincoln Road: Funding will be used for construction and reconstruction work on Monroe County's Lincoln Road from Commercial Street to Route 31F in East Rochester.

$1.84 Million

Pathway in Niagara County: This funding will construct a bicycle/pedestrian off road scenic pathway from the City of Niagara Falls to Lewiston along the Niagara Gorge. The pathway link should be a major feature of a regional recreation and tourism activity center which links Niagara Falls with Artpark, a revitalized Town and Village of Lewiston, Joseph B. Davis State Park, Youngstown and Historic Old Fort Niagara.

$4,681,600 

Niagara Falls, NY Relocation, Development, and Enhancement of Niagara Falls International Railway Station/Intermodal Transportation Center: This funding will complete Phase II, the Railway component, of the project before the final building construction phase.  The project includes a Customs and Immigration inspection facility, which will be part of the proposed Amtrak passenger terminal.  U.S. officials will be able to more efficiently inspect Amtrak passengers who cross the U.S.-Canadian border on the NYS Empire Corridor/Amtrak's Maple Leaf Service to Toronto. The project aims to reduce the current delays at the border, which in turn will increase ridership and revenue.

In addition, the new train station will be more centrally located in Niagara Falls to assist in revitalizing Main Street and will be more accessible to citizens and businesses.