State Pols Call For Safety Study Of Southern State Parkway

Two local state politicians are calling on the Department of Transportation to look into the safety of the Southern State Parkway.

State Sen. John Brooks and Assemb. Michaelle Solages unveiled legislation this weekend in their respective houses to direct the DOT to perform a study on the condition and safety of the Southern State. According to the two, a fatality occurs every other month on the parkway, mainly due to old ramps and poor signage.

The legislation Brooks and Solages put forward seeks to identify solutions and correct these problems to prevent collisions and the instances of wrong-way drivers on the Southern State. The study would evaluate design and safety of entrance and exit ramps and the visibility of signage, while identifying federal funding that may be available for highway safety improvements.

“Far too many lives have been lost on the Southern State Parkway,” Brooks said. “The configuration of ramps and signs on the parkway pose a serious risk to drivers, and a study is needed in order to assess these problems so that we can modernize and upgrade the parkway.”

A 2016 study by the New York State Department of Transportation found that within a 5-year span, over 10,500 accidents occurred on the Southern State Parkway, more than 3,000 of which involved injury, and 32 fatal.

The design of the Southern State Parkway has remained largely unchanged since the first section of the parkway opened in 1927. Outdated engineering and configuration of entrance and exit ramps and their corresponding signage have made the Southern State Parkway one of the deadliest highways on Long Island.

“Many fatal accidents have occurred on the Southern State Parkway in Nassau and Suffolk counties due to its outdated engineering,” Solages said. “In order to increase driver safety and save lives, New York State must take a comprehensive approach to the Southern State parkway. This legislation addresses this issue by conducting a study with the intention of updating the design and configuration of signage.”

Photo: Sen. Brooks's Office