“City Of Lights” Design Wins Skyway Re-Imagining Competition

For years now, Buffalo has struggled with what to do with the Skyway that carries people in and out of the city.  Today, a winner was announced in a contest that set out to re-imagine what could happen with it.

At this point, thousands of people still use the Skyway every day to get in and out of the city.  But is it the best use of space in our growing city.  If we could move that traffic in a different way, would it make sense to get rid of it all together?

The competition began at the beginning of summer and set out to find a logical and creative use of the Skyway and the area around it.

The finalists were narrowed down to 16 and today, the top three were announced.

The $100,000 winner came from a group in Rochester, NY with an idea that suggested partially tearing the skyway down.  The part that remained would be a park called "Skypark" that would offer incredible views of the city and the waterfront.

This was the proposal according to WKBW:

• Team: SWBR, Fisher Associates and MRB Group
• Location: Rochester, N.Y.
• What would it include?: This proposal would remove the Skyway, including its access ramps, in order to re-purpose a piece of the Skyway high-level bridge. This would become the "SkyPark," giving Western New Yorkers views of the water and recreational amenities. This would create a new "Tifft Street Extension" connecting to I-190, as well as a new lift bridge at Michigan Avenue; and a new road connection between Ohio Street and Fuhrmann Boulevard.