Signs Banning Commercial Vehicles On Onondaga Parkway Going Up

ALBANY, NY (11/30/2011)(readMedia)-- New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald today announced that installation has begun on the highway signs that will implement a commercial vehicle ban along Onondaga Lake Parkway – Route 370 – between I-81 and the Village of Liverpool. The ban is intended to reduce over-height vehicle crashes into the low CSX railroad bridge over the Parkway.

"Prohibiting commercial vehicles from Onondaga Lake Parkway helps keep over-height vehicles off of the Parkway, ensuring that they don't accidentally strike the low railroad bridge over the highway," Commissioner McDonald. "This restriction, in combination with other recent safety enhancements, makes travel safer for all Parkway motorists."

The commercial vehicle exclusion becomes effective when the last sign panel is installed. The work is scheduled to be completed by Friday, December 9. Signs advising motorists of the ban are being placed at all approaches to the Parkway, including I-81 and Park Street in the City of Syracuse, and Oswego Street in the Village of Liverpool. Commercial vehicle drivers are being directed to use Old Liverpool Road as a bypass.

The one exception to the ban is for commercial vehicles less than 10 feet, 9 inches high that must use the Parkway for the delivery or pick-up of merchandise or other property along the Parkway between I-81 and the Village of Liverpool. Those vehicles will be allowed to travel the highway.

The commercial vehicle exclusion is a result of traffic analysis, meetings with local officials and a public comment period. The ban is in addition to a variety of steps NYSDOT has taken to improve traffic safety on the Parkway and ensure that drivers of over-height vehicles are aware of the CSX bridge and avoid it.

Most notably, an over-height vehicle detection system went into operation on the Parkway earlier this month. The system is designed to provide an additional warning to drivers of vehicles whose height exceeds 11 feet. If an over-height vehicle interrupts the system's laser beams while passing over pavement detectors, electronic roadside dynamic message signs flash a message to the vehicle driver to stop in advance of the CSX bridge ahead.

The system also automatically sends a message to NYSDOT's Traffic Management Center, which then notifies Onondaga County's 911 center so law enforcement can be sent to assist the driver in turning around.

Since last fall, NYSDOT has taken a variety of steps to improve traffic safety on the Parkway and ensure that the drivers of over-height vehicles are aware of the CSX bridge:

• Improved signage was installed on I-81 and other area roads directing travelers to the bus and train station;
• A 30 mile-per-hour speed limit was extended from the Village of Liverpool 900 feet to the east to slow traffic near various park entrances;
• Electronic signs showing vehicular speeds have been used at different locations to discourage aggressive driving;
• Local police agencies, including the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department, have stepped up traffic enforcement on the highway at NYSDOT's request;
• Centerline rumble strips, or audible roadway delineators, were installed in May between the eastbound and westbound lanes to alert drivers when they are in danger of crossing into the opposing highway travel lane;
• NYSDOT crews early this spring removed brush and trees to make the bridge and the signs leading up to it more visible. There are seven signs eastbound and 13 signs westbound that warn of the low bridge and its 10-foot-nine-inch clearance, including three in each direction within three-quarters of a mile of the bridge, three of them with flashing beacons;
• "Low Bridge Ahead" pavement markings were installed in May in advance of the CSX bridge in both directions to augment the many highway signs; and
• A closed-circuit camera was installed to feed into the regional Traffic Management Center to monitor activities near the bridge.

A double-decker coach bus crashed into the CSX railroad bridge in September 2010, killing four people and injuring others. The driver has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.

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