Culture
CityLab Daily: A Struggling Metro System’s Big, Vague, Self-Destructive Idea
Also: Let’s rethink what a “bike lane” is, and using city hall as a homeless shelter.
Keep up with the most pressing, interesting, and important city stories of the day. Sign up for the CityLab Daily newsletter here.
A Buffalo shuffle? Since opening in 1985, Buffalo’s Metro Rail has underperformed as a transit system, becoming a local punchline for limited service that fell short of its early ambitions. But it sure looks cool: The Niagara Frontier Transit Authority built a network of strikingly modern underground stations complemented by public art. With its colorful steel sculptures, neon tubes, and edgy architecture, it’s an “underrated artistic triumph,” says CityLab’s Mark Byrnes.