Progress Along Main Street

It’s been a little while since I last updated on East Aurora Main Street construction. I’m not sure where the schedule stands now, as the NY DOT expects construction to be completed in Spring 2010, but months ago I’d heard estimates of it being done by next month.

Regardless, good progress is being made. Today the circle was getting its top coat of blacktop, as has the rest of Main Street up to the circle. Stripes were being painted on Main Street, and it appears that a center lane for left turns will help improve traffic flow—or at least now we won’t have to pull off that infamous NY-driver move of passing on the right!

The new sidewalks are a pleasure to any pedestrian, especially those of us weary of rough temporary pavement and/or mud. In the evening looking west down Main, one can enjoy the sunset and watch the Victorian-era street lamps switch on along dramatic parallel lines that make up the new roadway and sidewalks. This time of year it’s especially pretty, as Main is flanked by golden, orange, and red maples. Sidewalks have also been extended beyond their old terminus, passing the former Pizza Hut and heading west out 20A toward the EA Post Office.

My apologies in advance that the photos are going to mess up the formatting of this post. Pictures and Blogger don’t seem to mix real well, and I don’t feel like setting up a Flickr gallery for just four pix.

Main Street looking westNew CVS

East Main

The Circle

August 23, Construction Updates

Been a while since I updated on the changes around East Aurora, and our new village is coming along nicely:

Brick work is being laid along the commerical district of East Main Street. I'm not just referring to the old bricks that used to pave the area under the viaduct at Main and Riley/Elm. These are installed in an ornamental design along the sidewalk, while the entire road is being paved in new bricks. Some are not level with the others and one has to wonder how road salt and snow plows are going to effect this construction. I'm sure it's all thought out, though. While definitly expensive, the brickwork does add a classy touch to our revamped village.

The new CVS store is emerging quickly from the rubble of what was Napa Auto Parts at the corner of Main and Route 16. It's amazing how fast they're getting this place up, but then again, it appears crews are working even on Sundays, as the photo attests. I usually take my construction update photos on Sunday or after hours, as construction crews seem a little camera unfriendly.

The circle is no longer a mud pit, but in fact has been repaved and has a flagstone sidewalk around it. Especially attractive to avid pedestrians, such as myself, is the island and crosswalks created for easily crossing both lanes of roundabout traffic. It makes the task much easier and safer. The photo below of the circle is a composite of two seperate shots stitched together to allow for a wider view.

(Click photos for a larger look)

East Aurora Update

Here in East Aurora, Vidler’s has been one of several defining icons of the village. The red-and-white awnings, and of course, Mr. Ed Vidler’s “Vidler on the Roof” advertising gimmick have been long known staples of East Aurora.

So when I read about a permanent “Ed” about to take residence on the five-and-dime’s roof, I thought it was downright creepy. A larger-than-life 81-year old man smiling, gazing down on Main Street patrons.

This past weekend, as I browsed the sidewalk sale in our rapidly progressing reconstructed village, I got my first glimpse of the statue. I suppose it’s not as creepy as it looked in the original Buffalo News article, and it does add sort of a whimsical touch. What kind of shoes is Ed wearing anyway? The artist who fashioned this thing says he put painstaking work into the shoes. Is that a botched New Balance logo? Or perhaps some yet-unheard-of brand of orthopedics that Mr. Vidler wears since the shopkeeper is (presumably) on his feet most of the day?

One last EA update: Napa Auto Parts, the blue fixture at corner of Main and Olean for as long as I remember, tumbled down on Saturday. Crews are clearing what remains, making way for a new CVS store. It’s about time CVS got its act together. Rite Aid gave us a modern-style drug store way back in 1996—or was 1997? Around that time. Eckerd bailed out of its little asbestos-laced bungalow a few years back. (Then Eckerd became Rite Aid, and now we have two Rite Aids—across the street from each other.) Now if only we could get a Walgreens.







Demolition crews make way for a new CVS