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Panepinto pressing for DOT action on Scajaquada Expressway

File photo

With the future of the Scajaquada Expressway studied for years, State Senator Mark Panepinto says it's time for the State Department of Transportation to make a decision.

What has changed was the death of three-year-old Maksym Sugorovskiy when a car came of the road and into Delaware Park. Then, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered permanent guardrails and a speed reduction.

"My assessment would be that from Grant to Agassiz Circle we should make it greener, we should reduce the lanes, maybe throw a traffic circle in there because that's the original design of Olmsted," Panepinto said.

"In the Agassiz Circle portion by Medaille, by the park, up to Grant Street, that's the area that we're talking about."

Panepinto says if DOT wants the speed limit between Grant and the Thruway Niagara Section raised to 40-miles an hour, he could go along with that as well as raising the speed on the short section between Agassiz and the Kensington.

The Buffalo Democrat says there is no excuse for delaying action because the studies are done.

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.