Authorizes and regulates the operation of commercial vehicles directly engaged in a critical service business activity on state highways and parkways

Summary of provisions

This bill amends § 1621 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law to authorize limited access to the State's parkways by light duty commercial vehicles engaged directly in the performance of critical service business, i.e., improvement, repairs and maintenance of equipment or property of an electric corporation, gas corporation, combined electric and gas corporation, cable television company, telecommunication corporation, transportation corporation, or wireless communication service supplier.

Such access will only be allowed when:

*the vehicle is registered or leased to a critical service business; *the operator has in his or her possession a valid work order; *the vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 10,000 lbs.; *the vehicle meets the height restrictions for any such parkway; *the vehicle is operating with all external running lights on and an amber revolving light located on the roof of the vehicle is engaged; and *the vehicle is subject to an approved certificate of insurance.

Justification

The State's parkway system is comprised of a series of four-lane roads that were originally created to provide for a scenic route into and out of New York City. The first part of the system dates back to 1908. While many of these parkways were originally constructed by regional agencies, the vast majority are now overseen by State DOT.

Today, the parkways are functionally equivalent to freeways and expressways, but with a few nuances that distinguish them. For example, many do not have shoulders, creating a sense that the lanes are narrower; and they often meander on a less direct, but more scenic route with generally more curves than a modern expressway. Most importantly, these parkways were designed with low, often decorative overpasses that, by their very nature, excluded trucks, tractor trailers and large commercial vehicles. As a result, NYSDOT has, by regulation, banned commercial traffic from the parkways over which it has jurisdiction.

However, as transportation patterns and consumer tastes have evolved over the past 100 years, the traditional passenger: car has given way to pick-up trucks and SUVs registered for passenger use, creating something of an anomaly. Identical vehicles with commercial plates continue to be prohibited-while their passenger-plated counterparts continue to have unfettered access to the parkways. Thus, while the case for keeping trucks off of the parkways continues to constitute an engineering necessity, the absolute ban on light-duty "commercial vehicles" does not.

The real world impact of this regulation has been to force light duty vehicles, seeking to reach critical infrastructure for repairs or maintenance, on to local roads, adding hours of unnecessary travel time, slowing repairs, and, in some cases, threatening public safety. This is not only inefficient, but can be dangerous if the maintenance or repairs are of an urgent nature.

This measure addresses these issues by providing very limited exceptions to the commercial ban by allowing those vehicles, the weight and dimensions of which would allow them to be registered as passenger vehicles, and which are performing an essential function pursuant to a work order, to access the parkway system. The requirements for access are of such a nature as to provide for easy and adequate enforcement of the provisions.

Legislative history

New Bill

Fiscal implications

None

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately