It is sad and there is the legit concern of jumping that curb but I am really curious how the speed of the road doesn’t come with a certain level of barrier requirements for this type of thing. This could happen anywhere and don’t think this is a good reason to reduce the speed limit but I am sure with the people in that area, they are going to want it pulled out and turned into a bike path or some other alternative transportation method road to get rid of cars all together.
I’m pretty sure the banking on that turn is sloped outward too. I feel like when I drive that section, my car wants to go off the road because it’s sloped the wrong way…kind of like a few local off ramps too…
Turning the 198 into a tunnel from Parkside to Elmwood would be a perfect solution, except you have to pay for it. You’re talking at least a billion for a project like that, probably well over.
Way more, you’d most likely need two 24’+ tunnels for miles. Buffalo doesn’t have the money for that.
but think of the save cost in road salt, of course offset by the massive cost of drainage for a tunnel as well as re routing everything that runs underground … i don’t know if a billion would do it. Sounds like something buffalo might do.
But main street’s still all cracked and broken…
Exactly, and that is what pisses me off here…put a guard rail up there, and it is no more dangerous than any other road…but I get it, punish everyone now, right?
I hope everyone can agree that guardrails are a no-brianer.
I moved into Buffalo six months ago, and now take the 198 every day. 30mph this morning sucked. No-one seems to know how to use lanes and drive on it anyway, so maybe 40 or 45 would actually make sense. 30mph is just silly. I hope it’s temporary and all of this talk of removing the expressway stops.
Sorry mom, the mob has spoken
Monorail!
Monorail!
Monorail!
I can’t hear you!!!
Oh look, more radical laws based on outliner events.
Seems on par with Andy’s style.
This.state.is.fucked.
I’m surprised so many people are upset by him making this change. Is changing the speed limit down to 30 really going to affect people that much? Are you going be affected by the 30 seconds longer it will take you to pass through this area? Is your need to get somewhere more important than lives of people who are trying to enjoy the park?
Or is this just another opportunity to claim that Andy is eroding your rights as a citizen? I’m not a fan of Cuomo by any means, but I honestly have no problem with him writing that letter to the DOT Commish and demanding something be done.
http://jalopnik.com/how-one-street-shows-what-goes-wrong-when-we-mess-with-1707534253 (stolen from someone else’s facebook share)
The first article in this thread can be used to show what happens when you raise the speed limit from 40 MPH to 55 MPH without doing any research about it. The 198 was originally built to have a speed limit of 40 MPH.
I’m just worried that they’ll add some fucked up traffic light scheme. If they do that, it’s really going to cut off people living in the area. People also are clamoring to pull the 33 from the city. If they did my commute would double, easily, maybe triple. That’d be a quick way to get me out into the suburbs.
Remember all the solutions for old people driving through the front of stores and restaurants?
And this is typical Buffalo. We finally are building up downtown and trying to get more people into the city but to help that, we are going to pull the 33 and now screw up the 198.
Can someone fall off the Skyway so we can get that damn thing taken down and a real bridge built?
I can respect that, but honestly you’re the first person to post a decent response to why you’re concerned. Most people are just piggy backing off the safe act to badger Cuomo. I think what he did was the right thing. Slow things down until they can figure out a solution that is smart and logical, instead of making an even more rash decision on this. When I moved from my car to my truck, I really noticed how much faster people drive. Either that or my Silverado just takes so long to get up to speed, but people are constantly passing me and tailgating.
I notice that people are always just in so much of a rush that whenever I see accidents on the road now, I can almost always assume it was because they were just driving too fast and/or not paying attention.
I still stick by my Tunnel idea…that state will find a way to spend $1 Billion dollars on this no matter what, they might as well do it the right way. They won’t though, it will turn into another Peace Bridge and Williamsville Tolls project.
The problem people have is the knee jerk reaction when you have no facts, especially ones that might not even help. We don’t know how fast the guy was going or if a lower speed limit would have made any difference. Yet we’ll throw up an arbitrary 30mph limit, and probably generate a bunch of revenue off it with speeding tickets, because it will play well with the people screaming for “change that will make them safer”. If you want to have an immediate response at least do one that we know would help; drop some cement barriers between the 198 and the park. It would take a day max and would be the last time a car made it from the 198 to the park.
It’s like how right after Sandy Hook my kid’s school started locking the doors for after school pickup. The doors made entirely out of glass. Let’s make everyone feel safe because a guy in CT shot his way through a locked door and killed a bunch of kids. Let me repeat that last part… THE GUNMAN SHOT HIS WAY THROUGH A LOCKED SECURITY DOOR. But yeah, everyone is safe now at this Williamsville school because all the parents have to stand outside and wait for some unarmed 100lb teachers aid to open a glass door that anyone could kick their way through in 2 seconds.
I wouldn’t say this is a “knee jerk reaction” when they have been studying this road for many years.
From 2007:
4 of the 5 alternatives included lowering the speed limit to between 30-45 MPH.
And there was also this:
Enforcement will not be relied upon as a primary way to influence traffic speeds. Speed reduction
through geometric design and roadside character is preferred.
Also this, which I think is what @newman was referring to, partially anyways:
Pedestrian safety and vehicular flow at proposed roundabouts was cited as potential items of concern.
These will be examined as part of the alternative development and traffic analysis process
They even referenced closing it on a Sunday:
A reference was made to discussion during the EPP suggesting that the expressway be closed on a
Sunday to “see where traffic goes”. Though they involve a lot of work and coordination, short term
closures of a portion of the roadway might be considered for future cultural or recreational special
events. Examples cited included closures of the Inner Loop in downtown Rochester, closures of
University Avenue in Rochester, and closures of major highways in Paris, France for art events.
I also appears that they are still in the study period of this:
http://www.watts-ae.com/html/env_Scajaquada.html
Watts participated in a NYSDOT EIS study to determine the feasibility of downgrading the Scajaquada Expressway, NY Rte 198, from an expressway to an arterial with intersections and roundabouts. The study encompassed the entire 3.2 miles of expressway, which passes through a Fredrick Law Olmstead designed park, from the I-190 to NY Route 33 and an 8 square mile network of area streets effected by the expressway traffic. The project start date was early 2007, with an anticipated construction date of 2020. The approximate construction cost is $70 million.
Watts’ tasks include the following: a Spot Speed Study; Traffic Data Development; the Noise and Air Studies; a General Ecology and Endangered Species Study; Wetlands Screenings; the Hazardous Waste/Contaminated Materials (HW/CM) Assessment; and an Asbestos Assessment.
Detailed studies included: noise study with 40 field noise measurements and computer modeling; air quality analysis on five pollutants with a project area of approximately 6 square miles; HW/CM assessment with over 40 sites of concern; and an asbestos assessment for the entire corridor.