The Town of Amherst runs from the Buffalo city line near UB’s South Campus north to Tonawanda Creek, and from Niagara Falls Boulevard east to Transit Road. About 130,000 people live inside those lines, in a village, several hamlets and the neighborhoods around the University at Buffalo’s North Campus. So if you’re comparing physical therapists, Amherst, NY covers a lot of ground, and the trip to our only clinic, on Virginia Street in Buffalo, depends on which part of town you call home.
Five of those communities have pages of their own, with their own schools, roads and transit: Williamsville, East Amherst, Getzville, Snyder and Eggertsville. This page covers what the whole town shares, plus the stretches in between, such as the Audubon area along John James Audubon Parkway, North Bailey and the Tonawanda Creek side of town.
Four school districts inside one town line
Amherst Central carries the town’s name, but it covers only the southwest corner, built around Eggertsville and Snyder. Both its high school and its middle school are in Snyder. The largest share of the town belongs to Williamsville Central, whose 40 square miles also take in parts of Clarence and Cheektowaga and whose three high schools are Williamsville East, North and South. Sweet Home Central covers the northwest, including UB’s North Campus, along with part of the Town of Tonawanda, and Sweet Home High School sits on Sweet Home Road. A narrow strip along Transit Road, in the southeast, falls in Clarence Central.
Don’t count on a mailing address to settle the question. The Amherst Central streets guide lists streets with Williamsville (14221) and Cheektowaga (14225) mailing addresses, so check with the district itself if you’re unsure.
Whichever district your athlete plays for, the questions after an injury tend to be the same: when it’s safe to go back, and how to keep it from happening again. That is the heart of our sports physical therapy: strength first, then control, then the sprinting, cutting or skating the sport demands, with a return plan the athlete and the family both understand.
Millersport, the 290 and the Kensington
From the middle of town, the quickest route usually follows Millersport Highway to the Youngmann (I-290), takes a short run on the Thruway, then picks up the Kensington Expressway (Route 33), which has a Medical Campus exit at Locust Street before it ends downtown. That’s about 15 miles and 24 minutes without traffic. The southwest corner is closer: Eggertsville and Snyder are about 15 minutes out, while East Amherst runs about 25. Allow extra time at rush hour on the 290 and the 33.
By bus and Metro Rail
Several NFTA routes cross Amherst and finish at University Station on Main Street, where the Metro Rail begins and NFTA keeps a Park and Ride. Ride the train seven stops toward downtown, get off at Allen/Medical Campus, and you’re roughly a four-minute walk from our door.
- Route 44 Lockport stops at the UB North Flint Loop and runs down Millersport Highway.
- Route 34 Niagara Falls Blvd follows the western town line, by way of the Boulevard Mall.
- Routes 47 Wehrle, 48 Williamsville and 49 East Amherst start at Eastern Hills Mall and reach University Station by way of Main Street, Harlem Road, Wehrle Drive, Sheridan Drive or Maple Road.
Timetables change, so check NFTA’s current schedules before you count on a connection.
North Campus to the medical corridor
UB’s North Campus, with its residence halls, Student Union and athletic venues, sits in Amherst. The university’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences moved to its Downtown Campus in 2017, into Buffalo’s medical corridor, and our clinic is a short walk from it, on Virginia Street near Allentown. If your week already includes the Downtown Campus, or your surgeon practices on the Medical Campus, physical therapy can ride along on trips you’re making anyway. That matters most in the early weeks after an operation, when rehab visits come close together.
Rinks, trailways and the Canalway
A few Amherst facilities, and the physical demands that come with them:
- Ice. The town’s Northtown Center offers year-round skating on three NHL rinks and one Olympic-size rink. Skating and hockey ask a lot of the hips, groin and knees, and falls on the ice can land hard on a shoulder or wrist.
- Trails. Cyclists and runners use the Ellicott Creek Trailway, with an entrance at North Forest and Maple Roads, and the Canalway Trail at Amherst Veterans Canal Park off Tonawanda Creek Road. Bassett Park on Klein Road adds cross-country ski and mountain bike trails, and Walton Woods has a paved, marked trailway and a lake. Running and cycling problems often follow a quick jump in distance or pace.
- Golf. The town runs public golf courses, and a stiff back or a sore shoulder can cut a round short.
- Staying strong. The Amherst Center for Senior Services on John James Audubon Parkway offers fitness and yoga classes and a weight room, and our Keep It Going program is another way to keep exercising once a course of physical therapy ends.
If a fall leaves you unable to bear weight, or a joint looks out of place, get medical care first. Physical therapy doesn’t replace a diagnosis.
Physical therapists Amherst, NY commuters can see before work
The evaluation that starts your care is one-on-one with an owner: Dr. Will Tso, PT, DPT, Cert. MDT or Dr. Ryan Mitchell, PT, DPT, who both finished their DPTs at Daemen in 2014. McKenzie certification is Will’s credential, and the method is Ryan’s main approach too. Its emphasis on exercises you can do on your own can mean fewer trips down the 290. Between visits, remote therapeutic monitoring through the Medbridge GO app lets us follow your home program, which helps when you live at the far end of town. Doors open at 7 AM from Tuesday to Friday, early enough to fit a visit ahead of a downtown workday.
Plans of care often start at two or three visits a week. If you’re coming from the north end of Amherst, look at your calendar before the first appointment and favor days when you’re already heading toward the city.
Phone (716) 332-4838 to set up a first visit around your commute, whether it starts in the Audubon area, out on Tonawanda Creek Road or near North Campus.