Tuesday, UB Green held an event that focused on the way people get around Buffalo. The organization's third and final event of the semester brought in a panel of local transportation experts to give their opinion on how Buffalo is taking steps towards a better transportation system.
"Buffalo's transportation system [will] help us rebuild our city and make it one of those destinations like … Minneapolis or Seattle where a lot of people [want] to move," said Kelly Dixon, Director of Community Relations and Development for the Center for Transportation Excellence.
Reframing transportation in Buffalo will require a collective effort. According to Jim Simon, Associate Environmental Director of UB Green, 40 percent of the trips Buffalonians make are within two miles of their homes. If people can start car-pooling, bicycling or even just walking those two miles, the city's carbon footprint can decrease greatly.
One program that has been helping reduce pollution in the city is Buffalo CarShare. Since its establishment in 2008, Buffalo CarShare has allowed people to use a vehicle when they need it, without having to purchase a car.
According to Creighton Randall, the Interim Executive Director for Buffalo CarShare, the average household spends a quarter of their income on transportation. This is a very cost effective alternative to owning a car.
Randall explained how the car share program is gaining attention throughout the country. San Francisco, Chicago, Vancouver and Cleveland are all cities that have their own car share programs.
"If it can work here, it can work anywhere," Randall said.
A major talking point at the event was how the Queen City has been in decline for the past 40 years. The speakers felt that the amount of wasted space in downtown Buffalo exemplifies the city's decline.
As discussed at the event, 52 percent of the space in downtown is designated for parking. Justin Booth, the Program Director for Green Options Buffalo, believes that the focus needs to be taken away from building more roads and parking lots and geared more toward creating a better quality of life in Buffalo.
"There's no study that shows that driving a car increases economic activity," Booth said.
Booth argues that quality of life is the most important thing that Buffalo city officials can focus on. Some city leaders have seen economic success by focusing their attention towards beautifying the city.
Adobe, a Seattle-based business, is one company that the panel brought up because it has taken steps towards promoting sustainable transportation. Adobe's front door faces a dirt-ridden bike path instead of the road, which encourages employees to bike into work instead of driving to save money and to be outside.
However, people do not think that a bike ride through downtown Buffalo would be as pleasant.
"We have to de-stigmatize [the idea that] bicycling is for the poor man," Booth said. "It's for everybody."
The experts stressed that in order to change opinions, there have to be people in power who hold key roles in improving Buffalo. For this reason, now might be the best time to work towards reducing Buffalo's carbon footprint.
"When our priority in our city is people and not automobiles; when our priority in the city is encouraging people to be in the city, and to enjoy the city – not to get out of here as quickly as possible, I think we're going to see a change in the city," Booth said.
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