BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission (MSAAHCC) is introducing its new community action plan.
National firm Moody Nolan, as well as community engagement, have been part of the development process.
Leaders say the plan will help guide the redevelopment of the corridor for the future. They say they want to identify short term and long term actions to create a unified tourism destination helping to strengthen the whole neighborhood and their cultural assets.
"Great things are happening in our corridor. This day has been a long time coming to the East Side of Buffalo in our great city. As a son of the city that I love emblematic of those historic neighborhood I grew up in that are connected to or near our heritage corridor, I am very proud to be a part of the effort," said Terry Alford, MASSHCC executive director.
The commission wants to further develop the corridor so they can welcome more private investments and increased visitorship to the area.
Some of the key findings from community feedback was a need for improved safety features including street lighting, improved pedestrian access, and wayfinding and signage including directions for visitors to historical markers around the corridor.
The community action plan took a year to put together and included six phases of work:
- Consensus building and stakeholder engagement program
- Project familiarization and scoping
- Best practices research
- Draft Strategic Action Plan
- Stakeholder and public review of draft Strategic Action Plan
- Finalize Strategic Action Plan.
Read the full plan here: