After 20 years of threatening lifelong Buffalo residents with their “we are above the law” arrogance and powers of eminent domain – the great publicly funded, but not public, bridge authority has very little to show for $50 Million U.S. tax dollars it has foolishly spent trying to “expand” its bridge and U.S. plaza footprint.

Year 2009 and $50 Million U.S. tax dollars later – they have no land to expand their plaza, no bridge design to build their bridge, no “Record of Decision” to account for their multi-million dollar taxpayer paid Environmental Impact Study, no environmental review even started on the Canadian side — and now, of course, they no longer have the $650 Million (their estimate) to build, buy, condemn or bond their “Bridge-to-Nowhere.”

Talk about trying to “suck and blow” at the same time! The PBA has had 20 years and $50 Million of our dollars and there is less to show for it than when they started. It is well past time the political leadership put this rogue elephant back in its cage.

Traffic numbers have consistently declined since 2002. The PBA has already spent 60 million in plaza improvements by increasing the number of inspection booths, moving the location of the Duty Free store and shifting inspection operations over to Fort Erie. They have for years sent inspection related responsibilities off site without a hitch. That demonstrates that transportation facilitation doesn’t have to be located on the plaza.

In early 2000 the PBA defied a court order by jumping ship to Shared Border Management (what was the reason behind Sam Hoyt’s eminent domain legislation in 2004?). Then they pulled a bait and switch claiming SBM was dead and a new mandate from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2007 was “making” them build a 45 acre traditional truck plaza in Buffalo.

Yet to this day, the PBA refuses to turn over one document that supports the DHS argument. In fact, Ron Rienas has given a half dozen different scenarios as to why the rush to build a mega-truck plaza was so critical.

Does anyone remember the rush to build a Signature Bridge from 1999-2004? All those countless community workshops and jury design meetings. All that wasted time and money. SB was put on mothballs too. Now any mention of a bridge is nothing more than a mere whisper. We only here about a truck plaza.

Politicians and unions do get it. They think the public doesn’t. What we need is a get tough attitude like that of former Gov. Elliott Spitzer when he was Atty. General. He wasn’t afraid to nail authorities. That’s the kind of political will that will stop all this nonsense. Perhaps it will come from the Common Council since they have been bullied by Ron Rienas the longest.

The bloated days of authorities, bridge or otherwise is over. That message needs to be sent to every politician from Buffalo to Albany to Washington. Transportation projects can no longer be floated by taxpayers. If there is not a legitimate transparent need for a project – then don’t build it.

If political chronies need a job, they should learn how to get one the way the rest of us do.

The Niagara Region deserves an integrated transport crossing mixing rail, trucks, road and Niagara Falls Airport. Such a strategy would create thousands of jobs, promote industry and transportation in a low cost area with great energy assets. The PBA has never once considered any objective better than getting truck traffic on its way out of Buffalo.

Why unions and politicans don’t get this is a mystery. Too busy fussing about their next job, probably.

Does that mean that if the houses were put up for sale no one would buy them and restore them? How does Ron Reinas know these things?

Perhaps he means, “the PBA has absolutely no intent to restore and reoccupy houses immediately adjacent to a congested, poorly functioning plaza and it is irrelevant if the capacity expansion proceeds or not.”

Oh how weasel words from Ron pile up against this sordid project!

It’s good to see Ron acknowledge that the expansion may not proceed. I for one would be happy to buy one of the derelict properties at a fair market price. Interesting to see what price the PBA would ask.

Are the properties for sale, Ron?

He lectures the rest of us on how legal agreements still matter to some people, just not him. Has anyone ever counted the number of agreements, laws, regulations, jurisdictions, city & state governments and countries this guy says the bridge authority doesn’t have to recognize?

I think that when someone refuses to believe the reality of what is happening to to their bridge building schemes- it’s called denial.

Move the Trucks. Use the current bridge for cars and pedistrians only. Restore the land to Front Park. Fix the houses on Busti you destroyed. Repay neighboring residents for 20 years of lost housing value and respect the history. Build a multi-modal transportation corridor north of urban populated districts. Give us a globally competitive transportation system that moves frieght not just goods, via water, train, planes and trucks. The unions will have triple the jobs and the region will truly benefit economically.

Finally Rienas, If the public bridge authority can’t build an economically and globally competitive world-class system which enhances the surrounding territory, then pull the cord – but please stop whining!

The plans change day by day and the public doesn’t even get to know which plan is on the table at any given time.

What a bunch of baloney Rienas says about working with the community. He has no conscious as to what he and the PBA are doing to this neighborhood, the community at large or more importantly the health of our children. After all, he goes home to Port Colborne everyday!
As to coming to your own conclusions about the position of the residents:
I am not sure what you mean about this Rienas….
We know that those that want out are synonymous with either GREED or MOVE TO the SUBURBS. They might as well make a sign that says it and post it on their lawn!
Those that want to stay…are about COMMUNITY, HEALTH, PRESERVATION AND BUILDING A BETTER BUFFALO for everyone …a COMMITMENT TO BUFFALO’S PAST AND PRESENT!