A Whopping One-Quarter Of Downtown Buffalo Made Up Of These

Buffalo has plenty of events that bring thousands of residents downtown throughout the year. Whether it’s a Sabres game at KeyBank Center in the winter or a concert at Canalside in the summer, the central area of the city often finds itself packed with people. 

The attractions downtown bring a decent economic boost to the city of Buffalo, as many visitors spend time before and after these events visiting local restaurants, bars, and other small businesses. 

Unfortunately, for locals who live in the suburbs or travelers from outside of Western New York, there’s one major pitfall that comes with the territory of visiting downtown Buffalo.

Parking In Downtown Buffalo

If you’re headed downtown for a concert, game, or festival, it’ll cost you. Street parking in the central downtown area, especially near KeyBank Center and Sahlen Field, is extremely limited, so visitors will more than likely have to shell out the money for a spot in a nearby parking lot or garage - which isn’t cheap. 

Companies like AllPro and Pay2Park may charge as much as $7 to $15 a day for their spots (a major expense for commuters who work downtown), and often even more for special events.

However, an interesting question was recently raised on the Buffalo subreddit: Would you be willing to pay more for parking or take public transportation if there were more things to do and see downtown?

More Than One-Fourth Of Downtown Buffalo Is Made Up Of Parking Lots

One local reddit user took a screenshot of a map shared by the Parking Reform Network (PRN) that 29% of the land in downtown Buffalo is occupied by parking areas. The amount of red displayed on the map is jarring, and frankly upsets a lot of Buffalo residents. 

29% of Downtown Buffalo is Parking
by inBuffalo

According to the PRN, a large amount of parking lots in a city’s downtown area limits residential and commercial growth. Instead of using resources to build up central Buffalo’s public transportation system, the area is gobbled up by parking lots that could otherwise be used for commercial real estate, housing, or other attractive destinations within the city. 

“Cities with high parking have ample land that could be devoted to building walkable neighborhoods, vibrant parks, or office districts.” - Parking Reform Network

Many Buffalo reddit users agreed, and cited examples of other cities where transportation is much more efficient. 

What do you think? Would you be willing to pay more money for less available parking if it meant a better Subway system and a more bustling and attractive downtown?

You can read more about Parking Reform Network’s initiative here.