New York

[empirestate]

I am glad people still find it informative. I turned down an offer once to sell the domain name, so at least that's not for nothing. Unfortunately I really don't work on it anymore, except that I did finally compile the Nassau County highway listing a few years ago, thus filling probably the biggest outstanding informational hole on the site (I still haven't found a county highway map of any validity, so I made my own out of NYSDOT topo quads):
http://www.empirestateroads.com/cr/crnassau.html

Hmm... makes me wonder if I should create county/reference route lists after all.  Where did you go for county route data?  I imagine most of it can be found on the NYSDOT highway inventory.

That's where I've gotten it recently. But it used to all come, primarily, from the counties' own highway maps (which I had an ongoing, partially-completed goal to collect in person at the county highway office), and I find I miss the sense of authority that comes with using the info straight from the source instead of filtered through the state's databases. On the other hand, not all counties used to record their data with that much precision, so it's a balancing act.

(If you're interested in particulars, each county's sources are listed at the bottom of its page on my site.)

And I should probably add that I was always partial to J.P.'s site myself. :-)

[cl94]

I am glad people still find it informative. I turned down an offer once to sell the domain name, so at least that's not for nothing. Unfortunately I really don't work on it anymore, except that I did finally compile the Nassau County highway listing a few years ago, thus filling probably the biggest outstanding informational hole on the site (I still haven't found a county highway map of any validity, so I made my own out of NYSDOT topo quads):
http://www.empirestateroads.com/cr/crnassau.html

Hmm... makes me wonder if I should create county/reference route lists after all.  Where did you go for county route data?  I imagine most of it can be found on the NYSDOT highway inventory.

That's where I've gotten it recently. But it used to all come, primarily, from the counties' own highway maps (which I had an ongoing, partially-completed goal to collect in person at the county highway office), and I find I miss the sense of authority that comes with using the info straight from the source instead of filtered through the state's databases. On the other hand, not all counties used to record their data with that much precision, so it's a balancing act.

(If you're interested in particulars, each county's sources are listed at the bottom of its page on my site.)

And I should probably add that I was always partial to J.P.'s site myself. :-)

The University at Buffalo actually has both your site and J.P.'s linked on a library page ( http://library.buffalo.edu/maps/buffalo-wnymaps/location/wny-maps.html#reg )

[vdeane]

But not mine?  Someone needs to get them to update the list!

[Buffaboy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVvqhG4Mcyg
Downtown Utica to undergo a road diet. Thoughts?

[machias]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVvqhG4Mcyg
Downtown Utica to undergo a road diet. Thoughts?

I have been saying for a long time that they need to do exactly as they described in that news story and I plan on attending the public meetings. One of the biggest issues of downtown Utica is that it's not pedestrian friendly at all, especially since they pushed NY 5S through there as a boulevard (there are sections where it's three lanes in one direction and five in the other). Traffic frequently sails through there way above the posted speed limit. I welcome this approach. Good for region 2!

[Zeffy]

Feds tell New York City to remove iconic Times Square billboards or face funding cuts

You can call it a bureaucratic blunder ... or a Washington blooper.

But any way you slice it a move by the federal government to make the city remove Times Square's iconic billboards falls in the category of "whose bright idea is this?"

The feds say many of Times Square's huge and neon-lit billboards must come down or the city will lose about $90 million in federal highway money.

The edict comes from a 2012 law that makes Times Square an arterial route to the national highway system. And that puts it under the 1965 Highway Beautification Act, which limits signs to 1,200 square feet. It took the feds until now to realize that Times Square was included, Kramer reported.

My thoughts on this, are pretty plain and simple: bullshit. I would be disgusted if the federal government forced New York City to remove those billboards in Times Square. That's what practically makes it Times Square. I hope the City doesn't play ball with the feds. Sometimes the feds aren't in the right.

[empirestate]

Feds tell New York City to remove iconic Times Square billboards or face funding cuts

My thoughts on this, are pretty plain and simple: bullshit. I would be disgusted if the federal government forced New York City to remove those billboards in Times Square. That's what practically makes it Times Square. I hope the City doesn't play ball with the feds. Sometimes the feds aren't in the right.

Of more concrete relevance than simple aversion to Federal involvement in the city's affairs is going to be the fact that city zoning ordinances actually establish minimum standards of size and illumination for advertising signs in Times Square. While Federal law would presumably trump city zoning, you can bet there are many millions of dollars' worth of private contracts and covenants in place among the "local" landowners that are based on these regulations. It would make a thorny thicket indeed for the Feds to untangle if they really want to pursue this.

[DeaconG]

How long have those billboards been there...since the late 1910s, early 20s? They want to remove nearly one hundred years of precedent just because?

Tell the feds to piss off.

[storm2k]

I'm fairly certain that the city will get a quick exemption for this and this nonsense will be forgotten. Love it or hate it, Times Square is a part of Americana at this point. I'm sure that they'll move on from this and the bonehead at the DOT will be a nice stern lecture about splitting hairs a bit too closely.

[cpzilliacus]

I have been saying for a long time that they need to do exactly as they described in that news story and I plan on attending the public meetings. One of the biggest issues of downtown Utica is that it's not pedestrian friendly at all, especially since they pushed NY 5S through there as a boulevard (there are sections where it's three lanes in one direction and five in the other). Traffic frequently sails through there way above the posted speed limit. I welcome this approach. Good for region 2!

Having only recently seen Utica with my own eyes (and sometimes skeptical of plans for road "diets"), I think this might be a good idea for the core area of Utica.  Struck me as peculiar that N.Y. 5S goes pretty quickly from being a freeway-class road east of town to an urban street, with relatively little in the way of warning to drivers.

Wonder why there was apparently no consideration given to a direct, high speed connection between 5S and the Thruway in Utica?

[empirestate]

I'm fairly certain that the city will get a quick exemption for this and this nonsense will be forgotten. Love it or hate it, Times Square is a part of Americana at this point. I'm sure that they'll move on from this and the bonehead at the DOT will be a nice stern lecture about splitting hairs a bit too closely.

Well yeah, the other thing is, it's a pretty enormous question from this report as to how much of a thing this actually is. There's only the briefest reference to an "edict" stemming from a 2012 law, but the source, content or motivation of that edict don't bear the slightest mention.

EDIT: Here's another, earlier article; again, there's vague mention of Federal "pressure" to remove billboards, but pretty much all the article goes into is how the recent inclusion of certain streets in the NHS happens to have the effect of making Times Square non-compliant with the Beautification Act, but it doesn't refer to any specific Federal action actually intended to bring it into compliance.

[machias]

I have been saying for a long time that they need to do exactly as they described in that news story and I plan on attending the public meetings. One of the biggest issues of downtown Utica is that it's not pedestrian friendly at all, especially since they pushed NY 5S through there as a boulevard (there are sections where it's three lanes in one direction and five in the other). Traffic frequently sails through there way above the posted speed limit. I welcome this approach. Good for region 2!

Having only recently seen Utica with my own eyes (and sometimes skeptical of plans for road "diets"), I think this might be a good idea for the core area of Utica.  Struck me as peculiar that N.Y. 5S goes pretty quickly from being a freeway-class road east of town to an urban street, with relatively little in the way of warning to drivers.

Wonder why there was apparently no consideration given to a direct, high speed connection between 5S and the Thruway in Utica?

There was a "phase 3" of the late 1980s MUD project (the project that reconfigured I-790) to connect the freeway end at Leland Ave to either Routes 5 or 5S near Dyke Rd. (sources differ as to whether it was 5 or 5S) but that phase of the project never came to fruition.

[Buffaboy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVvqhG4Mcyg
Downtown Utica to undergo a road diet. Thoughts?

I have been saying for a long time that they need to do exactly as they described in that news story and I plan on attending the public meetings. One of the biggest issues of downtown Utica is that it's not pedestrian friendly at all, especially since they pushed NY 5S through there as a boulevard (there are sections where it's three lanes in one direction and five in the other). Traffic frequently sails through there way above the posted speed limit. I welcome this approach. Good for region 2!

Well I will tell you my experiences with the Bagg's Sq. area from October.

Coming from Union Station, I wanted to walk to the bus terminal to go to my university. There are bushes that create a blind spot from cars rushing westward on Oriskany St, so if I wasn't careful I could've been roadkill. Fortunately I timed things right to cross across. Plus, the Genesee St bridge bypasses that area where there are businesses coming out of the ground (Utica Roasters, Tailor and Cook). The city should look to Buffalo to see how to redo that area.

If the Utica planners wanted to put NY 5S through Utica as a highway, it should've been submerged like the Inner Loop. Not at grade!!!

Also I was on the Thruway today coming home for the summer. I'll post later with thoughts, questions and notes about things I saw.

Edit: and quickly, I know people love to disagree with this but I still think there should be an exit at Judd Rd.

I have been saying for a long time that they need to do exactly as they described in that news story and I plan on attending the public meetings. One of the biggest issues of downtown Utica is that it's not pedestrian friendly at all, especially since they pushed NY 5S through there as a boulevard (there are sections where it's three lanes in one direction and five in the other). Traffic frequently sails through there way above the posted speed limit. I welcome this approach. Good for region 2!

Having only recently seen Utica with my own eyes (and sometimes skeptical of plans for road "diets"), I think this might be a good idea for the core area of Utica.  Struck me as peculiar that N.Y. 5S goes pretty quickly from being a freeway-class road east of town to an urban street, with relatively little in the way of warning to drivers.

Wonder why there was apparently no consideration given to a direct, high speed connection between 5S and the Thruway in Utica?

There was a "phase 3" of the late 1980s MUD project (the project that reconfigured I-790) to connect the freeway end at Leland Ave to either Routes 5 or 5S near Dyke Rd. (sources differ as to whether it was 5 or 5S) but that phase of the project never came to fruition.

Edit 2: I made a post a few pages back either here or on the NYST thread with my vision for how to reconfigure the NY5S thing.

[cpzilliacus]

I'm fairly certain that the city will get a quick exemption for this and this nonsense will be forgotten. Love it or hate it, Times Square is a part of Americana at this point. I'm sure that they'll move on from this and the bonehead at the DOT will be a nice stern lecture about splitting hairs a bit too closely.

CityLab.com: No, the Feds Are Not Requiring Times Square to Remove Its Billboards - But why are Broadway and 7th Avenue now classified as national highways?

[empirestate]

I'm fairly certain that the city will get a quick exemption for this and this nonsense will be forgotten. Love it or hate it, Times Square is a part of Americana at this point. I'm sure that they'll move on from this and the bonehead at the DOT will be a nice stern lecture about splitting hairs a bit too closely.

CityLab.com: No, the Feds Are Not Requiring Times Square to Remove Its Billboards - But why are Broadway and 7th Avenue now classified as national highways?

As I suspected.

[Duke87]

In other news, the 3rd Ave exit right before the Whitestone Bridge has just reopened at some point within the last 24 hours. I was by there at about 1:30 AM last night and it was closed. A couple hours ago I was tipped off by Roadgeek_Adam that it had reopened and my girlfriend and I just went on a quick excursion to see for ourselves. It's open!

[Buffaboy]

cl94, do you have any idea on what is going on with US 62 in Hamburg? It looks like a mill and overlay, but it also looks like a road diet is in progress. They are adding grates and aprons as well. But at the moment, I'm pissed off because my windshield is cracked!!!

[cl94]

cl94, do you have any idea on what is going on with US 62 in Hamburg? It looks like a mill and overlay, but it also looks like a road diet is in progress. They are adding grates and aprons as well. But at the moment, I'm pissed off because my windshield is cracked!!!

Website says simple mill-and-fill. I'll ask around the office on Tuesday. One of my bosses at the MPO probably knows if there's a road diet going on over there. I wouldn't be shocked if a diet is part of it. Rest of US 62 has either been dieted or never had 4 lanes to begin with. Judging by the peak hour diagram at the NY 179 intersection, a diet certainly wouldn't hurt things. See here for more peak hour diagrams and the like.

On somewhat-related note, the road diet of Delaware Avenue may be extended north (the already-dieted section is being counted next week to see if it's working as intended) and a diet is planned for Niagara Street (NY 266) (we're doing counts over there this summer to see if there's an LOS reduction with fewer through lanes. I hope I'm not one of the people assigned over there because the neighborhood is quite horrible). I'm pretty sure that the part of Broadway west of US 62 that hasn't been dieted is also on the list when it gets resurfaced in the relatively near future. All of these diets include bike lanes.

[Buffaboy]

cl94, do you have any idea on what is going on with US 62 in Hamburg? It looks like a mill and overlay, but it also looks like a road diet is in progress. They are adding grates and aprons as well. But at the moment, I'm pissed off because my windshield is cracked!!!

Website says simple mill-and-fill. I'll ask around the office on Tuesday. One of my bosses at the MPO probably knows if there's a road diet going on over there. I wouldn't be shocked if a diet is part of it. Rest of US 62 has either been dieted or never had 4 lanes to begin with. Judging by the peak hour diagram at the NY 179 intersection, a diet certainly wouldn't hurt things. See here for more peak hour diagrams and the like.

On somewhat-related note, the road diet of Delaware Avenue may be extended north (the already-dieted section is being counted next week to see if it's working as intended) and a diet is planned for Niagara Street (NY 266) (we're doing counts over there this summer to see if there's an LOS reduction with fewer through lanes. I hope I'm not one of the people assigned over there because the neighborhood is quite horrible). I'm pretty sure that the part of Broadway west of US 62 that hasn't been dieted is also on the list when it gets resurfaced in the relatively near future. All of these diets include bike lanes.

Speaking of counters, I went over some on Rt. 75 earlier today, though I could never see a diet happening on that road.

While we're on the topic of Hamburg, will CR 204 McKinley Pkwy ever get resurfaced or widened? I don't think I've ever seen it with fresh asphalt.

[cl94]

cl94, do you have any idea on what is going on with US 62 in Hamburg? It looks like a mill and overlay, but it also looks like a road diet is in progress. They are adding grates and aprons as well. But at the moment, I'm pissed off because my windshield is cracked!!!

Website says simple mill-and-fill. I'll ask around the office on Tuesday. One of my bosses at the MPO probably knows if there's a road diet going on over there. I wouldn't be shocked if a diet is part of it. Rest of US 62 has either been dieted or never had 4 lanes to begin with. Judging by the peak hour diagram at the NY 179 intersection, a diet certainly wouldn't hurt things. See here for more peak hour diagrams and the like.

On somewhat-related note, the road diet of Delaware Avenue may be extended north (the already-dieted section is being counted next week to see if it's working as intended) and a diet is planned for Niagara Street (NY 266) (we're doing counts over there this summer to see if there's an LOS reduction with fewer through lanes. I hope I'm not one of the people assigned over there because the neighborhood is quite horrible). I'm pretty sure that the part of Broadway west of US 62 that hasn't been dieted is also on the list when it gets resurfaced in the relatively near future. All of these diets include bike lanes.

Speaking of counters, I went over some on Rt. 75 earlier today, though I could never see a diet happening on that road.

While we're on the topic of Hamburg, will CR 204 McKinley Pkwy ever get resurfaced or widened? I don't think I've ever seen it with fresh asphalt.

I'm talking about human counters with Jamar TDCs. Only way to get counts at intersections. NY 75 is not getting a diet.

Erie County DPW is really bad about keeping PSIs/PCIs at a reasonable level. They're just getting to some stuff up north that has been a mess since I moved here in 2007. Bowen Road has gotten little more than a couple crappy overlays and much of the surface consists of cold-mix pothole fill. Tonawanda Creek Road has been closed because it's been falling into the creek for a decade with a reopening not occurring until at least 2018. Goodrich Road will supposedly be redone this year, but I'm not holding my breath. Hell, even their reconstruction projects have had crappy results. The surface of the reconstructed North French and Robinson Roads corridor is already seeing distress and that was completed last fall. William Street in Lancaster, reconstructed top-down 5 years ago, is in similar shape to parallel US 20, which hasn't been resurfaced in 15 years (IINM).

Basically, Erie County maintains too much mileage, so nothing gets done when it should be done and a highway has to have devolved to gravel before they'll even touch it. McKinley Parkway, while not nice, is a hell of a lot better than most county-maintained roads here. We probably have quite a while before that'll be redone. To give you an idea, they just redid Losson Road in Cheektowaga last year. The bumps could destroy your suspension and some of the cracks and holes could swallow a small child. It was significantly worse than McKinley Parkway is now. Of course, I could be wrong, but this is Erie County we're talking about and road maintenance is not a top priority.

[Buffaboy]

cl94, do you have any idea on what is going on with US 62 in Hamburg? It looks like a mill and overlay, but it also looks like a road diet is in progress. They are adding grates and aprons as well. But at the moment, I'm pissed off because my windshield is cracked!!!

Website says simple mill-and-fill. I'll ask around the office on Tuesday. One of my bosses at the MPO probably knows if there's a road diet going on over there. I wouldn't be shocked if a diet is part of it. Rest of US 62 has either been dieted or never had 4 lanes to begin with. Judging by the peak hour diagram at the NY 179 intersection, a diet certainly wouldn't hurt things. See here for more peak hour diagrams and the like.

On somewhat-related note, the road diet of Delaware Avenue may be extended north (the already-dieted section is being counted next week to see if it's working as intended) and a diet is planned for Niagara Street (NY 266) (we're doing counts over there this summer to see if there's an LOS reduction with fewer through lanes. I hope I'm not one of the people assigned over there because the neighborhood is quite horrible). I'm pretty sure that the part of Broadway west of US 62 that hasn't been dieted is also on the list when it gets resurfaced in the relatively near future. All of these diets include bike lanes.

Speaking of counters, I went over some on Rt. 75 earlier today, though I could never see a diet happening on that road.

While we're on the topic of Hamburg, will CR 204 McKinley Pkwy ever get resurfaced or widened? I don't think I've ever seen it with fresh asphalt.

I'm talking about human counters with Jamar TDCs. Only way to get counts at intersections. NY 75 is not getting a diet.

Erie County DPW is really bad about keeping PSIs/PCIs at a reasonable level. They're just getting to some stuff up north that has been a mess since I moved here in 2007. Bowen Road has gotten little more than a couple crappy overlays and much of the surface consists of cold-mix pothole fill. Tonawanda Creek Road has been closed because it's been falling into the creek for a decade with a reopening not occurring until at least 2018. Goodrich Road will supposedly be redone this year, but I'm not holding my breath. Hell, even their reconstruction projects have had crappy results. The surface of the reconstructed North French and Robinson Roads corridor is already seeing distress and that was completed last fall. William Street in Lancaster, reconstructed top-down 5 years ago, is in similar shape to parallel US 20, which hasn't been resurfaced in 15 years (IINM).

Basically, Erie County maintains too much mileage, so nothing gets done when it should be done and a highway has to have devolved to gravel before they'll even touch it. McKinley Parkway, while not nice, is a hell of a lot better than most county-maintained roads here. We probably have quite a while before that'll be redone. To give you an idea, they just redid Losson Road in Cheektowaga last year. The bumps could destroy your suspension and some of the cracks and holes could swallow a small child. It was significantly worse than McKinley Parkway is now. Of course, I could be wrong, but this is Erie County we're talking about and road maintenance is not a top priority.

It sounds like the county has a bias against the northtowns

But in all seriousness, between the snow that pummels the roads every winter, a federal government tied in a knot with every big county in the country begging for money and a state that is trying to balance between a renaissance and bankruptcy, it doesn't add up well for the county. Then you have TIGER grants which aren't put to good use as well. I'm not studying to be a politician though.

[Alps]

cl94, do you have any idea on what is going on with US 62 in Hamburg? It looks like a mill and overlay, but it also looks like a road diet is in progress. They are adding grates and aprons as well. But at the moment, I'm pissed off because my windshield is cracked!!!

Website says simple mill-and-fill. I'll ask around the office on Tuesday. One of my bosses at the MPO probably knows if there's a road diet going on over there. I wouldn't be shocked if a diet is part of it. Rest of US 62 has either been dieted or never had 4 lanes to begin with. Judging by the peak hour diagram at the NY 179 intersection, a diet certainly wouldn't hurt things. See here for more peak hour diagrams and the like.

On somewhat-related note, the road diet of Delaware Avenue may be extended north (the already-dieted section is being counted next week to see if it's working as intended) and a diet is planned for Niagara Street (NY 266) (we're doing counts over there this summer to see if there's an LOS reduction with fewer through lanes. I hope I'm not one of the people assigned over there because the neighborhood is quite horrible). I'm pretty sure that the part of Broadway west of US 62 that hasn't been dieted is also on the list when it gets resurfaced in the relatively near future. All of these diets include bike lanes.

Speaking of counters, I went over some on Rt. 75 earlier today, though I could never see a diet happening on that road.

While we're on the topic of Hamburg, will CR 204 McKinley Pkwy ever get resurfaced or widened? I don't think I've ever seen it with fresh asphalt.

I'm talking about human counters with Jamar TDCs. Only way to get counts at intersections. NY 75 is not getting a diet.

False. Camera technology can track vehicle paths.

[cl94]

cl94, do you have any idea on what is going on with US 62 in Hamburg? It looks like a mill and overlay, but it also looks like a road diet is in progress. They are adding grates and aprons as well. But at the moment, I'm pissed off because my windshield is cracked!!!

Website says simple mill-and-fill. I'll ask around the office on Tuesday. One of my bosses at the MPO probably knows if there's a road diet going on over there. I wouldn't be shocked if a diet is part of it. Rest of US 62 has either been dieted or never had 4 lanes to begin with. Judging by the peak hour diagram at the NY 179 intersection, a diet certainly wouldn't hurt things. See here for more peak hour diagrams and the like.

On somewhat-related note, the road diet of Delaware Avenue may be extended north (the already-dieted section is being counted next week to see if it's working as intended) and a diet is planned for Niagara Street (NY 266) (we're doing counts over there this summer to see if there's an LOS reduction with fewer through lanes. I hope I'm not one of the people assigned over there because the neighborhood is quite horrible). I'm pretty sure that the part of Broadway west of US 62 that hasn't been dieted is also on the list when it gets resurfaced in the relatively near future. All of these diets include bike lanes.

Speaking of counters, I went over some on Rt. 75 earlier today, though I could never see a diet happening on that road.

While we're on the topic of Hamburg, will CR 204 McKinley Pkwy ever get resurfaced or widened? I don't think I've ever seen it with fresh asphalt.

I'm talking about human counters with Jamar TDCs. Only way to get counts at intersections. NY 75 is not getting a diet.

False. Camera technology can track vehicle paths.

I probably should have phrased it differently. It's not cost-effective to install the cameras is most cases.

[froggie]

The camera installations that I'm aware of are temporary, not permanent....and used for origin-destination studies.  That's probably along the lines of what Alps was alluding to.

[cl94]

The camera installations that I'm aware of are temporary, not permanent....and used for origin-destination studies.  That's probably along the lines of what Alps was alluding to.

True. I don't want to give the MPO any ideas, though. Traffic counting is the only thing remotely related to transportation in Buffalo that hires student interns and doesn't involve bridge design and the University has enough trouble as it is trying to expand the transportation program.