An in depth, cover story in the Buffalo New York weekly Artvoice suggests that an existing but little known & underutilized bike path between Buffalo's Tifft Farms and Riverside Park could be the key to revitalizing Buffalo's forsaken waterfront (which is described in the story as "Overgrown, unkempt, difficult to access, strewn with garbage. Invisible. Confusing. Divorced from the city and its people by highways, industrial infrastructure and chain-link fences").

Local activist Jay McCarthy proposes the creation of microparks catering to specific interests (such as dog lovers, skateboarders, inline skaters, fishermen, etc.). Costs to build such parks would be minimal and microparks face smaller hurdles than large projects (such as the long stalled but recently funded Buffalo Niagara Greenway). The microparks combined with a bike/ped bridge at a critical choke point and tieing the bike path to the Buffalo Niagara Greenway folks will make the path an important asset in the revitalization of Buffalo.

By the way, I rode on this bike path. The route was confusing and the environs were scary; however, the Erie Basin Marina and Riverside Park (near Niagara Falls) are quite pretty. Clean up the mess in between and it would be a gem of a ride.