In an acknowledgment that rapid transit probably never will be extended to the Southtowns, the railroad right of way acquired 21 years ago to expand Metro Rail is going up for sale.

But a group of transit advocates has strongly objected, claiming the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority should hang on to every acre it owns in case rail extensions become more viable.

“The NFTA should continue to hold this right of way as an asset to provide future flexibility for transit to the Southtowns,” said Gladys Gifford, president of the Citizens Regional Transit Corp.

Because the authority aims to balance its books in a tough economic year with money from the sale, the transit advocates say the plan is shortsighted and robs future generations of what could prove to be an important means of transportation.

“Obviously, the NFTA is looking for ways to make money,” Gifford said, “but they should not jeopardize opportunities for future flexibility for light rail.”

The disputed route consists of 1.6 miles of former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western trackage purchased for $216,000 in 1988 from Conrail. Bids will be accepted until July 15 for the entire package of almost 36 acres, or individually on 12 parcels stretching from Moore to Smith streets east of downtown Buffalo.

The time was right for the sale, according to Lawrence M. Meckler, the NFTA’s executive director. The authority’s budget for next year, he noted, already anticipates receiving $1.2 million from the transaction.

With no fare increase planned and more declines in tax support predicted, Meckler pointed to the need to raise revenue by shedding surplus properties.

“We kind of ran out of cost-cutting. The state has not rushed to give us more operating assistance, and the sales tax and mortgage tax revenue has not gone up,” he said. “We’re just looking for ways to stay afloat here.”

In addition, Meckler said that a 2001 study of rail extension possibilities ranked the Southtowns option the least likely to be funded. While other potential expansion routes to Amherst and the Tonawandas ranked higher in priority, a lack of construction and operating funds also makes those routes doubtful any time soon.

“The 2001 study said [the Southtowns extension] has no likelihood of meeting federal thresholds for extension,” he said. “Rather than just sit on it, we saw an opportunity to sell it and balance our budget in a tough year.”

He said he expects the 2001 study to be updated soon, but still sees no change in the bleak outlook for the Southtowns route. He also said that if any new routes did extend toward the south, they most likely would follow the waterfront to serve development planned along the outer harbor.

In addition, he explained a 1.6 mile-line would be nowhere near long enough to benefit potential commuters in such places as Hamburg and Orchard Park. An additional right of way would have to be purchased, which is now financially unfeasible.

The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp.’s planning for any new crossing of the Buffalo River will accommodate rail, according to Ruth Keating, senior counsel and manager of real property for the NFTA.

“Everything changes, and it could change again,” she said. “But the focus now is along the water.”

None of this resonates with the transit advocates. They say the NFTA’s attempt to balance its books at the expense of future needs ignores what could lie ahead.

“If you’re talking waterfront, you’re talking about developers’ idea for what is mostly brown-fields,” Gifford said. “This corridor, however, has always had the potential to serve residences and businesses.

“We have to take a serious look,” she added, “before we throw out the baby with the bathwater.”