Boat Parking Options Williamsville, Amhurst, Clarence? (Buffalo, Amherst: fit in, for sale, rental)

[Mark Komo]

Hello all, will be moving to beautiful buffalo.

Been sending the missus on some house hunting, and although finding some nice places, I am really suprised to find garages aren't very large. When its a two car, its two cars and thats it.

As a wannabe professional walleye fisherman, my boat comes with me. There seems to be a TON of restrictions, ie, city can restrict, subdivision can restrict, and now I hear, builder may restrict on title. This applies to boats parked in driveways.

Now I understand it can be an eyesore. And the last thing I want to do is get the new neighbors griping, but I doubt a 20 foot walleye boat will fit in any garage.

I can deal with storage, but I am an old school type. I like my stuff nearby. Outta site, outta mind I figure. Some guys build stuff in the garage, I putter around the boat.

One place the wife really liked was in ransom oaks. Not a bad place at all. But when the boat thing came up, I heard the subdivision restricted. So, not a big fan.

Any suggestions?

PS if you're a walleye fisherman selling your house give a hollar.
PSS We have a sole bedroom dedicated to yarn and knitting. So, the fishing is gonna continue.

[CAugust]

Williamsville is tough - I KNOW it - one of my neighbors blew in our own neighbor for having a fishing boat on the property and another down the way blew in his own neighbor b/c when he is not working in the winter his larger company truck cannot be parked outside - its a nightmare. Some neighbors dont care and you are fine - I actually had another neighbor blow a neighbor for putting the garbage out prior to 6pm ..............

[Canerican]

Originally Posted by CAugust

I actually had another neighbor blow a neighbor for putting the garbage out prior to 6pm

Had that happen to us. Next time I think they said it would be a $50 fine.

Williamsville is totally ridicules with regulations. I'm sure you need some sort of permit to park it in your own garage. I'm not sure if I'm joking or not

I know that there are boat storage places. I think that the Yellow Pages might be your friend on this one.

[BuffaloTransplant]

May I suggest a large lot in Lancaster or Alden where you will probably be able to put up a pole barn? You'd need to apply for a variance to do it ( the normal limit is 750 feet, but I know someone whose is 2 story and 3 cars wide) -- if you can't see them from the road, no one seems to care and many are around... you might just find a house for sale with a pole barn. [Also, there are large rental garages on Erie St. near Cemetery in lancaster which might just take boats.]

[Mark Komo]

Thanks for the tips folks. Yep, it would be nice to store the boat on site. I am not about to give up fishing. There are tradeoffs too. if we get out farther, like clarence, then my goal of using public transportation is by the wayside. I have to travel downtown to work.

[Canerican]

Let me tell you, if you live outside of Buffalo you probably can't use public transit. I live in Amherst and have never heard of using public transportation out here. It's not like Chicago where businesspeople take the subway, in Buffalo the people you will see on the train 75% of the time are rowdy teenagers and welfare recipients.

[mycrows]

Originally Posted by Canerican

Let me tell you, if you live outside of Buffalo you probably can't use public transit. I live in Amherst and have never heard of using public transportation out here. It's not like Chicago where businesspeople take the subway, in Buffalo the people you will see on the train 75% of the time are rowdy teenagers and welfare recipients.

Suburbanites in Chicago do not typically take "the subway" to work downtown, either. They have a system of light rail to serve businesspeople in the suburbs which is completely separate from the city's public transportation. An analogue in Buffalo would be the express buses from the burbs to downtown. Some people do take them, for sure, but they are pretty inconvenient. Many will run only a few times per day. Not a great option.

However, if you're talking about specifically the Amherst area, the dream of using public transportation is not so farfetched. Maybe none of Canerican's friends take public transportation, but I can assure you that many Amherst residents do. Eggertsville residents have access to the University metro station, and many other people park and ride at the LaSalle St Station. The train leads right downtown and it beats the **** out of paying to park near your office. Runs frequently, too. During rush hour, you will see plenty of college students, professionals and blue collar workers on the train with you. On off hours, more teens and somewhat shady characters.

The Buffalo metro is somewhat similar to the Oak Park branch of Chicago's Green Line, or maybe more accurately, the Forest Park branch of Chicago's Blue Line. Similar demographics, runs from downtown to (roughly) the city line, kind of underused except during rush hour. Although, for some reason here in Buffalo we run the train above ground (on the street) in downtown and underground through the less densely populated neighborhoods towards the city line. Anyway, if you would feel comfortable commuting on those Chicago lines (as many people do) you'll have no problem using Buffalo's Metro. And unlike those trains, the Buffalo Metro doesn't go through any bad neighborhoods, just along their edges. So you're fine to get off at any stop you like.

But, you may find that driving is so easy in Buffalo compared to Chicago (the Kensington is nothing like the Eisenhower) that you decide to eschew public transportation here after all. Most people do.

[mikesuicide]

as far a the parking the boat is concerned, try the southtowns such as Hamburg, Orchard Park, Blasedel and the like, they are closer to the water and more likely to be understanding. As far as the Public transportaion thing is concerned there are two major points. 1) they have park and ride locations where you can drive your car to a lot a few miles from your house and use public transportation 2) We don't have traffic. You can get 10 miles in 15 to 20 minutes in the worst of our traffic condtitions. I would consider spending my public transportation money on a monthly spot in one of our many parking lots and ramps downtown.

[Mark Komo]

I will vouch for the traffic. I stayed in what I think was williamsville, off transit and main. Bus stop right across from the motel, and even better, Buffalo Brewpub about 100 feet north. (BTW had a couple of great pints there and some great meals. Get this, sauteed liver and onions one day.. and Fried Bologna sandwich the next...WOW...both great.)

The bus was cheap, fast and clean. Lots of regulars ride the bus. So, very friendly. they even had a cake celebration the week before for a person that retired. You dont see that on a bus in chicago.

Bus took me to the airport too, for $2. My last week in Buffalo was very enjoyable, no stress, very mellow, very friendly. And your right about hamburg. They have their own boat harbor and a beach. Family likes that part. Taxes arent too bad, but how are the schools? Decent I hope. Looking at grammar and middle school.

One last comment. Whats will all the popcorn ceilings? Seems to be a popular feature at least in some of the homes we looked at.

[drjackal31]

Hamburg Schools are good. Business First listed them at number 13 our of 97 wgrz.com | Buffalo, NY | Williamsville Tops Business First School Rankings. I went to hamburg school district and I have a good education, of course I cared and tried. Hamburg has two school districts, hamburg and frontier.

As for popcorn ceilings, It's an older style (60's-70's) and a lot of buildings here are older. I believe it is as simple as that. Also popcorn ceilings covered up bad workmanship. For a good price on a house removing them is an option, just be careful because many old ceilings will have asbestos in them.