Abinanti’s call for action follows an incident in which a truck slammed into the King Street overpass on the Hutchinson River Parkway in Westchester County.
“Must we wait for someone to get killed before the State takes common sense, effective action?” he asked.
To discourage trucks from entering the parkways, Abinanti repeatedly has urged the DOT to install height-restrictor bars across the entrances most frequently used by oversized trucks, and to review the entrances and signs.
Frustrated by the lack of a response, the assemblyman has proposed a law that would require the DOT to act.
Abinanti noted similar height barriers already are used to keep large and heavy vehicles out of parking lots and other low-ceiling structures. A similar physical device stretches across the northbound lanes of the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan.
In addition, height restrictors have been installed at roadway entrances and exits in the greater Boston area, he said.
“It’s time for ‘Boston-style’ height barriers in Westchester County – especially for those ramps where oversized trucks repeatedly enter,” said Abinanti. “If Massachusetts can get it right, why not New York?”
Abinanti first suggested installing physical warning devices to protect the Bronx River Parkway in 2001, when he was a county legislator.
“Trucks on parkways are a hazard not just to bridges but to passenger vehicles legally on the roads,” he said. “We need to communicate with truck drivers before they enter parkways.”
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