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Editorial
Decorative lights right move for Harlem
Residents and business leaders in the area near Harlem Road, Kensington Avenue and Cleveland Drive scored a victory last week when the Cheektowaga Town Board agreed to pay nearly $138,000 for decorative street lights to accommodate Harlem Road reconstruction.
The lights were backed by community leaders and government representatives following several meetings, but the possibility that the town would not be reimbursed by New York State had placed the lights in jeopardy. The money will be well spent, even if the grant- confirmed last week by Assemblyman Paul Tokasz- that will reimburse the town hadn't materialized.
A study commissioned by the towns of Cheektowaga and Amherst indicated that the Harlem business corridor could support an additional 218,300 square feet of retail development with the potential of up to $842 million in retail spending. Even if the corridor brought in onetenth of that potential, it would be worth the $138,000 for the lights because the sales taxes and jobs generated by additional business would quickly offset the town's cost.
It was pointed out by detractors that the new lights will not eliminate 48 wooden utility poles that stand along the west side of Harlem Road. True, the poles support cable, electricity and phone lines. Considering that cable and telephone companies are expanding their services and trying to take customers from each other, they likely aren't going to agree to bury their wires together.
Still, the decorative lights have the ability to support signs such as street identifiers and traffic devices including stop signs, school crossings, speed limits, highway markers and parking notices. This could eliminate up to 65 separate sign poles between the Kensington Expressway and Wehrle Drive.
The Harlem-Kensington-Cleveland business and community associations share a common goal of transforming Harlem Road into a business strip similar to those found along Elmwood and Hertel avenues in Buffalo and along Main Street in Williamsville and Clarence Center. They also hope that the landscaping will allow Harlem Road to stand out from the other business strips, and street lights are only part of an overall package that includes traffic roundabouts, decorative sidewalks and tree-lined streets.
Is this goal farfetched? Absolutely not. Community leaders have worked on a multi-year plan for this neighborhood's successful future. A little boost from their town in return will prove to be a wise investment.
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