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A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region<br />

Table 4.1<br />

Highway Analysis Summary Table<br />

Task 4 Task 5<br />

Performance Measures Current/Anticipated Deficiencies Possible Solutions/Alternatives<br />

Operating Measures:<br />

• Truck volumes (with respect to total<br />

traffic volumes)<br />

• Levels of service (LOS) for major truck<br />

routes<br />

• Average speed<br />

• Toll costs<br />

• Curbside space management (loading/<br />

unloading zones, parking enforcement,<br />

etc.)<br />

• Accident and incident rates<br />

Physical Measures:<br />

• Height clearances<br />

• Turning radii<br />

• Access width<br />

• Weight limitations<br />

• Truck delays at railroad/highway grade<br />

crossings<br />

• Usable shoulders<br />

• Highway design standards,<br />

acceleration/deceleration lanes, truck<br />

climbing lanes, etc.<br />

• Signage; and<br />

• Curbside capacity (for truck operations)<br />

Operating Limitations:<br />

• Chronic congestion on many <strong>regional</strong><br />

roadways<br />

• Poor signage along surface truck routes<br />

• Bridge and tunnel crossings act as<br />

“choke points” for <strong>regional</strong> traffic<br />

Limitations on Truck Access:<br />

• “Gaps” in <strong>regional</strong> <strong>freight</strong> network<br />

caused by truck-excluded roadway<br />

segments (ex., Grand Central Parkway)<br />

• Legally and illegally parked vehicles on<br />

already narrow and difficult to navigate<br />

surface streets<br />

Limited Truck Routes:<br />

• Trucks with 53-foot trailers are prohibited<br />

from serving destinations within<br />

<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City<br />

• Only one truck route within the<br />

NYMTC region for interstate-standard<br />

53-foot trailer vehicles serving Nassau<br />

and Suffolk Counties (<strong>New</strong> England<br />

Thruway, Throgs Neck Bridge,<br />

Clearview Expressway, Long Island<br />

Expressway) No limited-access, highspeed<br />

truck corridors in Manhattan<br />

(except the one-mile Trans-Manhattan<br />

Expressway)<br />

• Gowanus Expressway/Brooklyn<br />

Queens Expressway/Long Island<br />

Expressway is the only east-west truck<br />

route between Southern Brooklyn and<br />

Queens/Long Island<br />

• Long Island Expressway is the only<br />

east-west highway open to trucks<br />

serving Nassau and Suffolk Counties<br />

• Cross-Bronx Expressway is the only<br />

east-west arterial for the Bronx<br />

Infrastructure Improvements:<br />

• Eliminate vertical clearance limitations<br />

on highways that cause truck diversion<br />

to local streets (e.g., on BQE at Brooklyn<br />

Bridge)<br />

• Improved signage<br />

• Create new roadway links to access<br />

major truck trip generators (e.g., direct<br />

Hunts Point connection to the Bruckner<br />

Expressway)<br />

• Reconstruct bottleneck interchanges to<br />

improve flow (e.g., Highbridge<br />

Interchange)<br />

• Develop new east-west connector<br />

serving South Brooklyn and JFK<br />

Airport, on either new right-of-way or<br />

modification of existing routes to permit<br />

trucks<br />

• Develop continuous service roads along<br />

major highways to provide alternate<br />

truck routing in case of incidents<br />

• Increase capacity and lane widths at the<br />

Goethals Bridges<br />

• Improve capacity on the Tappan Zee<br />

crossing<br />

• Improve Sheridan-Bruckner Interchange<br />

and access to Hunts Point Market.<br />

Policy Improvements:<br />

• Investigate the use of key parkway<br />

segments by smaller trucks and vans to<br />

eliminate gaps in the truck network<br />

(e.g., one-mile pilot study of the Grand<br />

Central Parkway between the Triboro<br />

Bridge and BQE)<br />

• Allow smaller commercial vehicles to<br />

use parkways during nighttime hours<br />

(9:00 or 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.)<br />

Note: The tables in this section are intended to show, in outline form, the evolution of project definitions over time, and their relationship<br />

to performance measures and deficiencies. The solutions listed represent an initial menu of actions, prior to evaluation. For<br />

current project definitions and detailed descriptions of benefits and impacts, turn to Section 5.0.<br />

Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 4-2

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