A new bike and pedestrian ferry is coming to Canalside in downtown Buffalo. Assemblyman Sean Ryan announced plans for the water taxi on Tuesday.
The ferry service would travel from Canalside to the First Buffalo River Marina for six months out of the year on the waterfront. It would make trips across the Buffalo River three times every hour and will have the capacity to transport 50 people and bicycles for a cost of $2.
Ryan says currently, the only way to get to the outer harbor is by motor vehicle on the Skyway. He says the ferry will provide the connectivity the Buffalo waterfront needs to grow.
“We found a way to weave these two communities together,” said Ryan. “We want to make so it’s part of this experience that if you’re down here having your ice cream cone that you can walk out the historic Buffalo light house and be back here in 20 minutes.”
The New York State Power Authority is funding the cost of engineering for the project and the Empire State Development Corporation has agreed to fund a portion of the project.
Ryan says when complete, there will be a bike racks available for people to dock bicycles, as well as a place to rent bikes on the outer harbor.
“There’s going to be some light construction. We have to make sure that the landing here is handicap accessible to make sure that we can get down the ramps. On the other side that’s not ready to be a ferry landing. So, we have fix the grate on that side to make sure we can get on the ferry and out of the ferry very easy, but also tome make it accessible for people with mobility impairments,” said Ryan.
ESD Regional President Sam Hoyt says plans are still in the works to create a bridge between the inner and outer harbors.
“We’re at the mid-stage of an [Environmental Impact Study] EIS. We have had public meetings, we’ve had discussions about the possible locations for the bridge, but in the end the money hasn’t been identified. Because it has to be a bridge that allows for shipping boats to pass under it and big sail boats it has to be a lift bridge or a bridge that allows for them to pass, and that’s big bucks. It’s expected that any new bridge would be between the $100 million to $125 million range. So, I don’t think you’ll see any action on a new bridge imminently.”
Hoyt says until the bridge plans are more concrete the ferry is a great plan to create connectivity on the waterfront. Ryan adds that if a bridge is created the ferry boat would continue to operate.
Construction on the project is expected to begin by next spring and be up and running by June 2015.