Rochester is well on its way towards completing a project that Buffalo is still dreaming of tackling. The city’s partial removal of its Inner Loop is akin to Buffalo’s restoration of Humboldt Parkway. CityLab has posted on Rochester’s bold act to remove roadway that tore apart urban neighborhoods for decades. The decision to right this wrong was also decades in the making, with many residents thinking that they would never live to see the day. That’s the same way that numerous Buffalonians feel today – will be ever see the day that “The Scar” is healed?

Fortunately, we can now look at Rochester as another shining example of stitching a city back together by removing the highways that continue to tear them apart. Seeing such an inspirational project underway so close to home should give us all hope that these types of significant transportation trends will start to take hold in Buffalo. We have been entertaining these discussions for years. It’s time to get serious about Buffalo’s own dreams and desires to remove the freeways and highways that continue to wreak havoc upon its parks, neighborhoods and waterfront.

Congratulations to Rochester for leading the way when it comes to regional urbanist transportation initiatives. Let’s hope that Buffalo’s own politicians get the wake up call sooner rather than later.

Hat tip to Lorne Opler, who points out that the CityLab photos look identical to Route 33 that destroyed historic Humboldt Parkway