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Home > Leadership > Mayor > Archive Press Releases > 2007 Archives > June 2007 > Mayor Brown Calls for Peace Bridge Construction

Mayor Brown Calls for Peace Bridge Construction

Source/Contact
Office of the Mayor
Peter K. Cutler
Director of Communications
716-851-4841

In absence of Shared Border Management, Mayor reiterates importance of neighborhood redevelopment and economic development along with new bridge

BUFFALO – Mayor Byron W. Brown today reemphasized his demand that the Peace Bridge redevelopment project move forward, but that it also account for redevelopment and economic development opportunities in adjacent city neighborhoods.

“With Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff’s visit to Buffalo and his subsequent confirmation that the prospect of Shared Border Management is not a good option for the Peace Bridge, the time is right to commence with building the new Peace Bridge as quickly as possible,” said Mayor Brown. “But as the project now moves forward, the pending Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) must account for the redevelopment of city neighborhoods that will border what has been described as a traditional plaza.”

Mayor Brown noted that the proposed Peace Bridge project, without Shared Border Management, will have an entirely different impact on the City of Buffalo.  The Brown Administration has always supported the creation of a buffer between a “traditional plaza” and the surrounding neighborhood, which could have been avoided through a Shared Border Management-oriented design, but is now the likely option in the wake of Secretary Chertoff’s decision.

“Secretary Chertoff’s statement that Shared Border Management is an unlikely option now, and certainly not an option for the foreseeable future, undercut new bridge design possibilities that would have had a positive impact on the adjacent city neighborhoods,” said Mayor Brown. “Now, with the EIS almost ready for submission for public discussion, the future bridge and plaza design must account for neighborhood redevelopment and economic development.”

Mayor Brown expressed his support of Congressman Brian Higgins’s (NY-27) call for an immediate expedited process in constructing a new Peace Bridge, which will support and enhance the flow of goods and people between the United States and Canada.

“I agree with Congressman Higgins that we must now move forward, take advantage of the opportunity to upgrade this critically important border crossing and ensure that the new Peace Bridge serves as an important economic catalyst for the City, the region and our two nations,” stated Mayor Brown.