One-way West Side street to revert to original brick

The brick is staying.

A one-way street on Buffalo’s West Side will revert back to the original brick road uncovered July 29 by city crews, officials announced Thursday.

The brick on Ardmore Place, behind Lafayette High School, has been preserved in good condition since being paved over in the 1960s.

Public Works Commissioner Steven Stepniak said engineers determined that there were no manhole covers or utilities running underneath the street, which was constructed in 1907.

With that test passed, layers of asphalt were stripped off to reveal the brick underneath.

Engineers ran water on the street to simulate flow and determined the brick was permeable enough to drain stormwater.

Mayor Byron W. Brown was joined by about 30 Ardmore residents at the announcement Thursday where he commended them for their cooperation in working with the city.

The majority of residents said they were in favor of keeping the brick, Brown said.

Money that was to used to pave Ardmore now will be used to lower driveways to fit the new grade of the street, said Stepniak.