It's been said that Lockport residents can get to downtown Buffalo in 13 minutes flat (with flat…read morebeing the operative word, because Western NY really is, isn't it). That would never be possible if it were not for the Lockport Expressway, also known as I-990, also known as the "Road To Redemption", or "The Way, The Truth, and The Light." It's a very pretty road, not pretty in a Jessica Alba way, but pretty in a Molly Ringwald way. You can do up to 110mph on this road, but not legally. Legally you are restricted to 65mph, and when it is icy and snowy, I recommend going even more slowerererer. Each day 990 cars travel up and down it, and most of them live in Lockport (which got its name from what you should do if you live in a high crime area... Lock all Ports of entry to your house). This is where the number "990" came from. It is in no way related to the "99 position". The only reason this road loses a star is because it's a highway that never reached its full potential. It does speed the journey from the Northtowns to Lockport, and even from the rest of WNY to Lockport depending upon where you are coming from, but so few people use this road, that it seems lonely. What's more, it winds a lot, so while it is the fastest way to Lockport in terms of speed, it is a couple of extra miles to some of the less windy routes, and by windy I mean shaking it like a proverbial salt shaker all over the suburban terrain, rather than the Chicago elements battering you from between the Willis and John Hancock Tower. And if the John Hancock Tower is ever taken down brick by brick and rebuilt at the North end of this highway, then we will have to change the name of the town from Lockport to John Hancockport.

I drive this highway a few times a month. Sometimes from UB to the 290, perhaps a mile or so…read more Other times from UB back onto Millersport closer to Lockport. I like this road because it's well maintained. It doesn't seem heavily traveled either, making for easy rides. All in all, for a very short highway, it's a pleasant ride.

Similar to Buffalo in some ways, Black Rock has a pretty good history. The name alone came from the…read moreremoval of black limestone, along the Niagara river to make the canal. Black Rock was also, burned to the ground by the British in 1812. There's so much more to learn from visiting this neighborhood, checkout the Buffalo history museum for more. For me, I come to Black rock neighborhood to walk the canal trail. Also for the restaurants such as Waxlight, and the other stores/restaurants in the Chandler building. Further down the street, there's breweries and other restaurants as well.

Growing up in Buffalo you often heard of a few areas - Allentown, Riverside, Blackrock to name a…read morefew. I didn't spend much time in any of them when I was young. My school was in my neighborhood and my sports activities (outside of school) were in the suburbs. So I didn't know much about these areas. As I grew older, I had friends who lived in Allentown, and I went to bars/restaurants on Elmwood. When I came home to visit after college I started to branch out to other areas as stores and bars opened in them, or they had parks I was cycling to. That's how I first discovered Blackrock - I would go to the parks on the water, and Blackrock was part of the route. The name came from a large black rock that once sat in the harbor there. They blasted that away as they were building the Erie Canal, the rock was in the way. But the name stuck. Blackrock was its own town for a while, but Buffalo annexed but eventually. As Buffalo grew it just made sense. Rich Products made its home here, and still is located in Blackrock. There are some fabulous old houses as well. It is also home to some great places to eat these days, Sun Burmese being one. Some of the many great churches in Buffalo are in this are as well. 1996

Driving from Buffalo to Niagara Falls you can take a few routes. One takes you across Grand…read moreIsland, and then along the Niagara River on the Robert Moses Parkway. Named after Robert Moses, a very influential architect at one time, this road was originally planned to be much longer than its current +-18.5 miles. Its no longer continuous either, part was taken down to restore access to Niagara Falls Park. The road runs along the river for much of its route, making for a pretty drive. however, it separates the people from river access, resulting in a current movement to take down the road and restore it all to a public park with easier access. That process has stared and parts of the road are no longer accessible, with traffic be rerouted through the town of Niagara Falls. But the part that is still open is a long, flat, pretty way to get to Niagara falls or the Rainbow Bridge. Its also got some places along the way where you can pull over and look at some of the birds on the river or the ice flowing along it in the winter. Those stops are very pretty. There are some benches, and on a nice day its a nice walk along the river. 4 stars, all the potholes have been fixed so the ride is smooth. Its a nice road to drive. Its a nice scenic route along the water. Get there now, before its gone.

The Rubber Moses Parkway is not as safe as other highways, because it's made of rubber instead of…read moreasphalt. Okay, no, I can't back that up. But that would be super funny if it were the case, wouldn't it? I use this road on a regular basis, whenever I go to Niagara Falls which is maybe once every couple of months - I live 30 mins from it. I used to live closer. It's my fave way, not just the fastest way, because it goes right along the water. It's a great road. This highway is a very underrated road, that goes right along the river from the foot of the bridge to Grand Island, all the way into the heart of the Falls, and drops you off right next to the waterfalls (or rather, next to the overpriced parking lots for the waterfalls). It's also the quickest way to get from Grand Island (or anywhere in WNY really) to the Rainbow Bridge. For the views alone, this road simply has to score 5 stars. Be careful though - there are often cops along here.

I will admit that when I used to cross over the border and hit Niagara Falls, I didn't stop. I…read moreended up visiting other cities, such as Buffalo, Erie, Columbus, and Philadelphia. Maybe it's because I'm used to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Canadians will say that it's the nicer Falls, with the floral clock, Skylon Tower, Hershey's, Fallsview Casino and Hotel, and more. The Falls on this side of the border are equally as stunning. What is cool about the Rainbow Bridge that connects Canada and the United States, you can cross in a vehicle or on foot, as long as you have proper documentation. It's cool. If I did the latter at Emerson-Pembina (Manitoba-North Dakota) border, I'd probably get a bunch of nasty stares! I recently stayed in Niagara Falls, NY. It was mainly because hotel prices were cheaper than in Buffalo. I'm glad that I did. The Courtyard hotel that I stayed at used to be a chocolate factory. One of the reasons why I loved staying there was because it had reminders of its past in the form of a mini museum. It was a gem of a find. This tourist enjoyed learning about the area quietly. Nearby was Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino. I used to work in the gaming industry and only heard about casino locations. It was cool driving back to the hotel at night and passing by this casino that had coloured lights illuminating the place. The Courtyard hotel where I was staying at seemed to be having an exterior lights dual with this casino. If you're a Canadian yearning for your favourite American items, you don't need to hit Buffalo. Niagara Falls is where you want to be. Trader Joe's. Ollie's. Wegmans. Tops. Duff's. Dunkin'. Olive Garden. It's a shorter distance to get your shopping and food fixes. I was only in the area for just under two days. Locals were so nice and friendly. They made my short stay enjoyable and memorable. I particularly liked dropping by Crush It Nutrition to get shakes and teas with no to low sugar. I thought that I either wouldn't be able to find such a place or would need to venture into Buffalo. I was grateful to have found this studio within a ten-minute drive from my hotel. It also helped that the owner was nice and chatty. I like when I make travel plans, and end up making a lot of fond memories and gaining an appreciation for a city that I took for granted. It was cool figuring Niagara Falls out for a brief time. It has left me wanting to go back to discover it some more. (157)

It's very pretty in the winter because the mist freezes over and everything is frosted over. You…read morefeel like you're inside a snow globe.

Not to be confused with Gapes Circle which I think is the name of one of Barbie's movies…read more What I particularly like about this circle though is that it has my beloved hair salon right on it so I come here a lot and it's just a great thing to have in every city should have them at every intersection should have them let's be honest. Can't think so it's cuz you don't know what I know. One of the many spectacular Circles of Buffalo, this one is close to the park and the lakes and getting on the 198. Located in Buffalo - which is a very unique and special City in the sense of having all of these wonderful gorgeous spacious big wide green traffic circles all over the center of town. Yes they can be tricky to drive around if you're not used to it but if you grew up in Europe, then it makes perfect sense. The circles of Buffalo are nothing short of beautiful and extremely unique to the city because let's face it - most cities don't have anything like this and it makes the town unique end they should really put these at every intersection everywhere in the country because then the whole country would be more smooth - as long as I and I don't have to educate all these awful drivers on how to actually drive around roundabouts. Even the Buffalo drivers don't really know and they actually live among some of the greatest ones in the country.

Buffalo is a city with lots of traffic circles. Many other cities in the US don't have any at all,…read morebut Europe has them all over the place. Most of Buffalos came from Olmsted's park system design, they were a part of the whole plan. Gates Circle is at the foot of Chapin Parkway, and Delaware and Lexington both go around the circle. EB Green finished the design the circle, at the request of Mrs Charles Pardee, who lived in the area. He envisioned the fountain, benches, greenery etc. Its rumored there is a "whisper gallery" as well, but I don't know if that's true. Ive never tried that for myself. This past year its been the site of more than a few car accidents. Seems most have been at night, and some involved excessive speed. Its too bad, as its now closed to all while its being rebuilt from one of those accidents. BUt prior to this years accidents, its been a nice oasis in the middle of lots of traffic. A beautioful site when the flowers are in bllom and the foundation is spouting. 1877

This is my favorite bridge crossing between Ontario & New York. They do a stellar job in…read moremaintaining the bridge and its associated buildings. It's always a pleasure to cross at Queenston-Lewiston.

I commute between Toronto and Rochester frequently. Out of the 3 bridges, I find the…read moreQueenston-Lewiston bridge to be the most direct path between I-90 and QEW. The otherbridges seem more circuitous. Of course it depends on your final destination. The Peace Bridge is closest to downtown Buffalo and the Rainbow Bridge is closest to the casinos. But I feel like if you're driving to Toronto, the Queenston-Lewiston is the shortest distance. One thing to keep in mind, if you're a Nexus user, is that the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge lacks a dedicated Nexus lane from Canada to the United States, but does have a NEXUS lane for travel into Canada. It also has a newly renovated Duty Free store. Also the bridge permits no pedestrians.

I love visiting LoverMan in Grand Island. Small and peaceful. Not much traffic except for the…read morebridge.... Still not bad! It's an old place. Everything looks older I still prefer to stay here then the city! And it's so close to Canada. Although, I wouldn't stay here if you're visiting as a tourist. Come on...live a little!

What can I say... its a tiny little island that you drive through to get to niagara. It seems a…read morelittle run down, I guess that's the effect of being an inbetween instead of the destination.

It's a bigger bridge than the North Grand Island Bridge, and looks lovely at night. Just be very…read morecareful; the drivers drive very fast on this bridge, so if you like a slow drive, you'll probably be pushed right off the bridge. I am shocked why both south/north bridges haven't experienced more accidents. This bridge is closer to Beaver Island State Park at the south end of Grand Island.

Very similar to the Grand Island North bridge , connecting the Niagara falls area and Buffalo…read more Again you get a great view of the river, where you will see many boaters and jet sky's on the good weather days.