The below article of a couple of weeks back (sorry for the delay) relates to the viaducts as part of a bigger plan..This is out of the Jamestown (NY) Post Journal, 6/16/08:.....
City development officials will need the cooperation of the Western New York-Pennsylvania Railroad and the Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority as they undertake one of the most significant economic development initiatives on the drawing board for Jamestown.
Railroad officials toured part of the Chadakoin River waterfront and the area surrounding the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Station on Monday to get an idea of the projects being pursued and the myriad of issues that still need to be worked out with the city.
Though the relationship between the city and the railroad has in the past been strained, city officials said they walked away feeling good about the dialogue that took place Monday and hopeful the railroad will be a willing partner as the city continues to implement the Urban Design Plan.
‘‘I think it went very well,’’ said Greg Lindquist, Greater Jamestown Empire Zone coordinator. ‘‘I think both the railroad authority and the short line itself were very receptive to what we’d like to see down there.’’
One of the major problems facing Jamestown, according to the city’s Urban Design Plan, is the fact that one of its best resources — the Chadakoin River waterfront — remains untapped. In addition, there is little connection between the north and south sides of the city except for the antiquated Washington Street bridge and traffic-heavy Brooklyn Squarem, as steep hills, the river and the railroad tracks lie in between.
‘‘One of the overriding concepts within the plan itself is stitching the community back together,’’ Bill Rice, the city’s principal planner, told railroad officials during a short meeting preceding the tour. He also said the area between North Main Street and the Samuel A. Carlson Generating Station has the ‘‘most potential for bringing (the city) back together.’’
Projects in the works that are meant to remedy these problems include the ongoing renovation of the historic Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Station; the ongoing development of the Riverwalk; and several proposals to better connect both sides of the valley and the Riverwalk.
Other projects the Urban Design Plan recommends include an assortment of waterfront attractions like water activities in the reservoir behind the Warner Dam; one or two pedestrian bridges linking both sides of the Chadakoin River; and more expansive park space along the riverfront.
There are a myriad of issues city officials must work before most of the projects included in the Urban Design Plan can be implemented. This includes ownership issues among the various individuals, businesses and entities that own property along the riverfront, according to Rice and Lindquist.
In addition, there are significant safety and liability issues that must be overcome if the area is to be developed, since the Western New York-Pennsylvania Railroad runs right through the middle. In fact, William Burt — railroad president, chief executive officer and chairman — had to give a brief safety lecture to all those assembled Monday before they could begin walking along the railroad tracks in order to comply with federal regulations that reportedly carry with them a $22,000 fine for non-compliance.
According to railroad officials, a solution as simple as a chain-link fence could resolve many of the safety issues behind the railroad station, though a lot depends on a city’s proposal to establish a coal processing system on that side of the river that would allow coal for the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities to be transported by rail, unloaded and transported across the river via conveyer.
‘‘I think a lot of it is going to hinge on what the BPU is going to want to do with unloading coal,’’ Burt said, noting the preferred arrangement would have the unloading system south of the railroad tracks.
The Urban Design Plan calls for a bridge out the back of the railroad station, over the railroad tracks and down to the Riverwalk. The plan also calls for a stair tower off the Washington Street bridge. Both would provide a quick connection between the downtown area and the riverfront, but both concepts are being put off for the time being, according to Lindquist. Instead, the new Washington Street bridge the state Department of Transportation plans to build and the off-ramps on the other side will provide that connection, at least temporarily.
‘‘I’m not saying that may not be sometime in the future,’’ Lindquist said. ‘‘But for the time being, more due to financial constraints than anything else, the Washington Street bridge — the reconstruction of that — will be utilized as the north-south connection.’’
Meanwhile, city officials continue to struggle with the second phase of the Riverwalk project — which would extend the trail from the reservoir to the area around McCrea Point — due to a myriad of land ownership issues along the waterfront.
‘‘We do have issues with land ownership,’’ Rice said. ‘‘Phase 2 has been difficult since I’ve been here, and that’s 10 years.’’
Some have expressed interest in establishing a passenger train route between Jamestown and Buffalo, but it will be difficult, according to Burt. For one thing, the agreement hammered out when the Western New York-Pennsylvania Railroad leased the railroad tracks from its previous owner, Norfolk Southern, requires a $100 million liability insurance policy if the railroad were to operate a passenger operation. That would cost approximately $300,000 a year, according to Burt.
‘‘I’m not saying it’s impossible,’’ Burt said. ‘‘But the insurance requirement in the lease provisions is very severe in respect to that.’’
