By Bridget Halloran
WEST SENECA — The crossing at Seneca Street and Ridge Road, near West Seneca West Senior High School, is getting $1.7 million in new sidewalks, curb ramps and crosswalks. The money comes from Washington, the announcement came from Albany, and the push started with a teenager and a petition.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the award on Oct. 14 as one of 35 projects sharing more than $97 million from the federal Transportation Alternatives Program, which the state Department of Transportation administers, according to the governor’s office. Western New York received $11.4 million: $7 million to the Town of Amherst for the Peanut Line trail, $2.7 million to the City of North Tonawanda for sidewalks around city schools, and $1.7 million to the Town of West Seneca.
What the announcement doesn’t say is when shovels go in the ground, what the town will have to pay, or who deserves the credit. That last question has become part of a political campaign.
A student’s petition
In 2024, then-West Seneca West student Richie Schack started a petition calling for safer conditions at the crossing. It drew more than 400 signatures, The West Seneca Bee reported. Mr. Schack has since graduated and now attends the University at Buffalo.
The danger hasn’t gone away. 7 News WKBW talked with students there. “You have to wait for the perfect time,” one said while waiting to cross.
Assemblyman Patrick Burke, a Buffalo Democrat, credited Mr. Schack in the governor’s release. “When West Seneca West student Richie Schack saw how dangerous it was for his classmates to cross Ridge Road, he didn’t wait for someone else to fix it. He organized his classmates, collected hundreds of signatures and brought the problem to me,” Mr. Burke said. “We brought local and state officials together, built support for a solution and took that case to Albany. Thanks to this investment, we’re making that intersection safer for generations of students to come.”
Two accounts of who got it done
The record shows more than one set of hands on the project. According to Mr. Burke’s office, the assemblyman convened representatives from Erie County, the town, the West Seneca Central School District, the state and GObike Buffalo in August 2024, WKBW reported. GObike funded a separate pedestrian safety study with money Mr. Burke secured, the Bee reported.
The town did its own work as well. The West Seneca Town Board funded a design study that the Bee described as essential to the competitive state application. A November 2024 engineering proposal addressed to Supervisor Gary Dickson and the board laid out possible changes, including extending the Seneca Street sidewalk toward the high school, WKBW reported.
Mr. Burke and Mr. Dickson, a Republican, are running against each other for the 142nd Assembly District seat on Nov. 3. Mr. Burke’s office has criticized Mr. Dickson for not working collaboratively with the assemblyman’s office and other partners, WKBW reported. Mr. Dickson disputes that, provided the station emails showing his office’s efforts to communicate with Mr. Burke’s office, and has said the town pursued the grant application.
Both things can be true. A grant like this typically needs a sponsor willing to apply and to pay its share, and it also helps to have state officials pulling in the same direction. For residents, the more useful questions are about what happens next.
What the town will owe
Under the program’s rules, the state pays up to 80% of eligible project costs, and the project sponsor must put up at least 20%, according to the governor’s release. Eligible costs can include design, right-of-way purchases, construction and inspection. Public reports haven’t said whether the $1.7 million is the full project cost or the federal share, or how much the town has set aside.
A construction timeline hasn’t been confirmed, WKBW reported.
State officials framed the program as a safety investment. “All New Yorkers deserve to have safe, reliable and accessible transportation networks in their communities and thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership we are making it happen,” said state Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez.
“New York State is committed to the goal of creating modern transportation systems that strengthen communities and help all users, not just motorists, get where they need to go safely and efficiently,” Ms. Hochul said.
Rep. Tim Kennedy said in the release that the projects “give Western New Yorkers more ways to get where they need to go.” “They make it easier for people to walk, bike, and enjoy the outdoors, giving us safer streets and stronger communities,” he said.
What we’re asking
The Buffalo Chronicle is asking Mr. Dickson’s office and Mr. Burke’s office about the town’s local share, the expected design and construction schedule, whether the work needs approvals for state-owned right-of-way, and what interim steps, such as signals or crossing guards, might come before the sidewalks do. We’ll update this story with their answers.
Until then, students at West Seneca West will keep waiting for the perfect time.
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