Highway names | |
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Interstates | Interstate X (I-X) |
US Highways | U.S. Route X (US X) |
State | New York State Route X (NY X) |
System links | |
The majority of parkways in the US state of New York are part of a statewide parkway system owned by several public and private agencies but mostly maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). A handful of other roads in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island are also known as parkways but are not part of the state system. The roads of the state parkway system were among the first expressways to be constructed. [1] These highways were not divided and allowed no driveway cuts, but did have intersections for some of the streets they crossed. A small section of the privately financed Long Island Motor Parkway was the first expressway to begin operation as a toll road [2] and the first highway to use bridges and overpasses to eliminate intersections. [3]
The individual parkways vary widely in composition. Some, such as the Sprain Brook Parkway, are functionally equivalent to a freeway; others, like Seven Lakes Drive, are two-lane undivided roads. The majority of parkways are located in downstate New York, where the state parkway system originated in the early 20th century.
The state's parkway system originally began as a series of then-high-speed (25 miles per hour or 40 kilometres per hour) four-lane roads that were created to provide a scenic way into, out of, and around New York City. The first section of this system opened in 1908. Most of the early roads have been replaced and redesigned to address higher speed requirements and to increase capacity. In later sections north of New York City, the roadways were typically divided by a wide landscaped median and provided service areas along the way that offered fuel and restrooms. [4] During the 1930s, urban planner Robert Moses developed a system of parkways in the New York City area. [5]
Many of these parkways were built by regional agencies such as the Long Island State Park Commission (LISPC), New York City Parks Department, Taconic State Park Commission (TSPC), Westchester County Parks Commission (WCPC), and Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC). Most are now maintained, if not owned, by NYSDOT outside New York City and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) within New York City.
Today, the state parkways are for the most part equivalent to expressways and freeways built in other parts of the country, except for a few oddities. First, because many of these roads were either designed before civil engineers had experience building roads for automobile use or widened in response to increasing traffic, many New York parkways lack shoulders. Second, because designers focused more on making routes scenic rather than efficient, the parkways are meandering, often built to follow a river, and so contain many turns. Finally, because most use low, decorative stone-arch overpasses that would trap trucks, commercial vehicles, trucks and tractor trailers are banned from parkways. [6] In Manhattan, this has led to nearly all trucks being forced onto local streets as the island has only one short Interstate (the Trans-Manhattan Expressway) passing through Washington Heights, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan.
Parkway | Opened | Region | From | To | Owner [7] | Maintained by [7] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bay Parkway | 1892 as 22nd Avenue | New York City | Brooklyn | Brooklyn | NYSDOT/NYCDOT | NYSDOT | |
Bay Parkway | N/A | Long Island | Jones Beach State Park | Jones Beach State Park | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Bear Mountain State Parkway | 1932 | Hudson Valley | Peekskill | Cortlandt | NYSDOT | NYSDOT | |
Belt Parkway | 1941 | New York City | Brooklyn | Queens | NYSDOT/NYCDOT | NYSDOT/NYCDOT | |
Bethpage State Parkway | 1936 [8] | Long Island | Massapequa | Bethpage State Park | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Bronx River Parkway | 1908 | Hudson Valley | The Bronx | North Castle | NYCDOT/Westchester County | NYCDOT/Westchester County | |
Cross County Parkway | 1947 | Hudson Valley | Yonkers | Eastchester | NYSDOT | NYSDOT | |
Cross Island Parkway | 1940 | New York City | Queens | Queens | NYCDOT | NYCDOT | |
Eastern Parkway | 1874 | New York City | Brooklyn | Brooklyn | NYCDOT | NYCDOT | |
Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive | 1955 | New York City | Lower Manhattan | Upper Manhattan | NYSDOT/NYCDOT | NYSDOT/NYCDOT | |
Grand Central Parkway | 1936 | New York City | Queens | New York City line | NYSDOT | NYSDOT | |
Harlem River Drive | 1964 | New York City | Upper Manhattan | Upper Manhattan | NYSDOT | NYSDOT | |
Heckscher State Parkway | 1959 [9] | Long Island | West Islip | Heckscher State Park | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Henry Hudson Parkway | 1937 | New York City | Manhattan | New York City line | NYSDOT/NYCDOT/PANYNJ | NYSDOT/NYCDOT/PANYNJ | |
Hutchinson River Parkway | 1928 | Hudson Valley | The Bronx | Connecticut state line | NYSDOT/NYCDOT | NYSDOT/NYCDOT | |
Jackie Robinson Parkway | 1935 | New York City | Brooklyn | Queens | NYCDOT | NYSDOT | |
Korean War Veterans Parkway | 1972 | New York City | Staten Island | Staten Island | NYSDOT | NYSDOT | |
Lake Ontario State Parkway | Western New York | Carlton | Rochester | NYSDOT/NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | ||
Little Neck Parkway | New York City | Queens | Queens | ||||
Lake Welch Parkway | 1971 [10] | Hudson Valley | Harriman State Park | Harriman State Park | PIPC | NYSDOT | |
Long Mountain Parkway | Hudson Valley | Harriman State Park | Bear Mountain State Park | NYSDOT | NYSDOT | ||
Loop Parkway | 1934 [11] | Long Island | Lido Beach | Jones Beach State Park | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Meadowbrook State Parkway | 1934 [11] | Long Island | Jones Beach State Park | Westbury | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Mosholu Parkway | 1937 | New York City | Bronx Park | Van Cortlandt Park | NYSDOT/NYCDOT | NYSDOT/NYCDOT | |
Niagara Scenic Parkway | Western New York | Niagara Falls | Porter | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | ||
Northern State Parkway | 1931 | Long Island | New York City line | Hauppauge | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Ocean Parkway | New York City | Brooklyn | Brooklyn | ||||
Ocean Parkway | Long Island | Jones Beach State Park | Captree State Park | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | ||
Palisades Interstate Parkway | 1958 [12] | Hudson Valley | Fort Lee, NJ | Bear Mountain State Park | PIPC | NYSDOT/NJDOT | |
Pelham Parkway | 1911 [13] | New York City | The Bronx | Pelham Bay Park | NYCDOT | NYCDOT | |
Prospect Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway | 1969 [14] | Adirondacks | Lake George | Prospect Mountain | NYSDEC | NYSDEC | |
Robert Moses Causeway | Long Island | Robert Moses State Park | West Islip | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | ||
Rockaway Parkway | New York City | Brooklyn | Brooklyn | ||||
Sagtikos State Parkway | 1952 [15] | Long Island | West Islip | Commack | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Saw Mill River Parkway | 1954 | Hudson Valley | New York City line | Bedford | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Seven Lakes Drive | Hudson Valley | Sloatsburg | Bear Mountain State Park | PIPC | NYSDOT | ||
Southern State Parkway | 1949 | Long Island | Valley Stream | West Islip | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Sprain Brook Parkway | 1961 [16] | Hudson Valley | Yonkers | Hawthorne | NYSDOT | NYSDOT | |
Sunken Meadow State Parkway | 1957 [17] | Long Island | Commack | Sunken Meadow State Park | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Taconic State Parkway | 1925 | Hudson Valley | North Castle | East Chatham | NYSDOT | NYSDOT | |
Wantagh State Parkway | 1929 | Long Island | Jones Beach State Park | Westbury | NYS OPRHP | NYSDOT | |
Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway | 1935 [18] | Adirondacks | Wilmington | Whiteface Mountain | NYSDEC | NYSDEC |
Some regions of New York have parkways that are not owned or maintained by a state agency. Westchester County, for example, contains some highways that were originally part of the TSPC and WCPC, while Suffolk County has preserved a section of the former Long Island Motor Parkway (LIMP) for current driving and built their own roads on land originally reserved for the LISPC. The surviving remnant of the LIMP in western Suffolk County, named the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, became a surface road that is no longer an expressway nor off limits to commercial vehicles.
Parkway | Opened | Region | From | To | Owner | Maintained by |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arden Valley Road | 1922 | Hudson Valley | Harriman State Park | Harriman State Park | PIPC | PIPC |
Central Westchester Parkway | Hudson Valley | White Plains | White Plains | Westchester County | Westchester County | |
Farragut Parkway | Hudson Valley | Hastings-on-Hudson | Hastings-on-Hudson | Westchester County | Westchester County | |
Fire Island Beach Road | Long Island | Fire Island | Fire Island | Suffolk County | Suffolk County | |
Memorial Parkway | Mohawk Valley | Genesee Street, Utica | Albany Street, Utica | City of Utica | City of Utica | |
Playland Parkway | 1929 [19] | Hudson Valley | Harrison | Playland | Westchester County | Westchester County |
Tiorati Brook Road | Hudson Valley | Harriman State Park | Bear Mountain State Park | PIPC | PIPC | |
Vanderbilt Motor Parkway | Long Island | Melville | Lake Ronkonkoma | Suffolk County | Suffolk County | |
William Floyd Parkway | Long Island | Fire Island | Rocky Point | Suffolk County | Suffolk County |
The Bronx River Parkway is a 19.12-mile (30.77 km) limited-access parkway in downstate New York in the United States. It is named for the nearby Bronx River, which it parallels. The southern terminus of the parkway is at Story Avenue near the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx neighborhood of Soundview. The northern terminus is at Kensico Circle in North Castle, Westchester County, where the parkway connects to the Taconic State Parkway and via a short connector, New York State Route 22 (NY 22). Within the Bronx, the parkway is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation and is designated New York State Route 907H (NY 907H), an unsigned reference route. In Westchester County, the parkway is maintained by the Westchester County Department of Public Works and is designated unsigned County Route 9987 (CR 9987).
Interstate 278 (I-278) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs 35.62 miles (57.32 km) from US Route 1/9 (US 1/9) in Linden, New Jersey, northeast to the Bruckner Interchange in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The majority of I-278 is in New York City, where it serves as a partial beltway and passes through all five of the city's boroughs. I-278 follows several freeways, including the Union Freeway in Union County, New Jersey; the Staten Island Expressway (SIE) across Staten Island; the Gowanus Expressway in southern Brooklyn; the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway (BQE) across northern Brooklyn and Queens; a small part of the Grand Central Parkway in Queens; and a part of the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx. I-278 also crosses multiple bridges, including the Goethals, Verrazzano-Narrows, Kosciuszko, and Robert F. Kennedy bridges.
Interstate 495 (I-495) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in southeastern New York state. It is jointly maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), MTA Bridges and Tunnels (TBTA), and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). East of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel, I-495 is known as the Long Island Expressway (LIE).
The Taconic State Parkway is a 104.12-mile (167.56 km) limited-access parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest in the U.S. state of New York. It follows a generally north–south route midway between the Hudson River and the Connecticut and Massachusetts state lines, much of its upper section along the westernmost flank of the Taconic Mountains. It is open only to passenger vehicles, as with other parkways in New York, and maintained by the state Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the fourth agency to have that responsibility.
The Henry Hudson Parkway is a 10.95-mile (17.62 km) controlled-access parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is in Manhattan at 72nd Street, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway. It is often erroneously referred to as the West Side Highway throughout its entire course in Manhattan. The northern terminus is at the Bronx–Westchester county boundary, where it continues north as the Saw Mill River Parkway. All but the northernmost mile of the road is co-signed as New York State Route 9A (NY 9A). In addition, the entirety of the parkway is designated New York State Route 907V (NY 907V), an unsigned reference route.
New York State Route 878 (NY 878) is an expressway on Long Island and in New York City. The route exists in two sections, which both form the Nassau Expressway. NY 878's western terminus is the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue (NY 27) in Ozone Park, within southern Queens. Its southern terminus is at the Atlantic Beach Bridge in Lawrence, within southwestern Nassau County. NY 878 is discontinuous between Farmers Boulevard in Queens and the town of Inwood in Nassau County. The two sections are connected to each other by Rockaway Boulevard and Rockaway Turnpike.
The Meadowbrook State Parkway is a 12.52-mile (20.15 km) controlled-access parkway in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. Its southern terminus is at a full cloverleaf interchange with the Bay and Ocean parkways in Jones Beach State Park. The parkway heads north, crossing South Oyster Bay and intersecting Loop Parkway before crossing onto the mainland and connecting to the Southern State Parkway in North Merrick. It continues north to the hamlet of Carle Place, where the Meadowbrook Parkway ends at exit 31A of the Northern State Parkway. The Meadowbrook Parkway is designated New York State Route 908E (NY 908E), an unsigned reference route. Most of the road is limited to non-commercial traffic, like most parkways in the state of New York; however, the portion south of Merrick Road is open to commercial traffic.
The Loop Parkway is a 2.65-mile (4.26 km) controlled-access parkway in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It serves the barrier islands south of Long Island itself, beginning on Long Beach Barrier Island at an intersection with Lido Boulevard in Point Lookout. From here, it heads generally east–west across Alder and Meadow islands to an interchange with the Meadowbrook State Parkway on Jones Island, a part of Jones Beach State Park located just north of Jones Beach Island. The islands served by the Loop Parkway are separated by narrow channels of water, all of which connect to Jones Inlet. The parkway is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and inventoried by the department as New York State Route 908C (NY 908C), an unsigned reference route.
The Grand Central Parkway (GCP) is a 14.61-mile (23.51 km) controlled-access parkway that stretches from the Triborough Bridge in New York City to Nassau County on Long Island. At the Queens–Nassau border, it becomes the Northern State Parkway, which runs across the northern part of Long Island through Nassau County and into Suffolk County, where it ends in Hauppauge. The westernmost stretch also carries a short stretch of Interstate 278 (I-278). The parkway runs through Queens and passes the Cross Island Parkway, Long Island Expressway, LaGuardia Airport and Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. The parkway is designated New York State Route 907M (NY 907M), an unsigned reference route. Despite its name, the Grand Central Parkway was not named after Grand Central Terminal.
The Wantagh State Parkway is a 13.33-mile (21 km) controlled-access parkway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. It links the Ocean Parkway in Jones Beach State Park with the Northern State Parkway in Westbury. The parkway is located approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of Manhattan and 14 miles (23 km) east of the Nassau–Queens border.
The Northern State Parkway is a 28.88-mile (46.48 km) controlled-access parkway on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. The western terminus is at the Queens–Nassau County line in Lake Success – west of which the parkway continues westward into New York City as the Grand Central Parkway. The eastern terminus is at New York State Route 347 (NY 347) and NY 454 in Hauppauge, in Suffolk County. As its name implies, the parkway services communities along the northern half of the island. The parkway is designated New York State Route 908G (NY 908G) – an unsigned reference route – and has been ceremoniously named Purple Heart Way since 2011.
Interstate 95 (I-95) is part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from Miami, Florida, to the Canada–United States border near Houlton, Maine. In the US state of New York, I-95 extends 23.50 miles (37.82 km) from the George Washington Bridge in New York City to the Connecticut state line at Port Chester. The George Washington Bridge carries I-95 across the Hudson River from New Jersey into New York City. There, I-95 runs across Upper Manhattan on the Trans-Manhattan Expressway for 0.81 miles (1.30 km) through Washington Heights. It continues east across the Harlem River on the Alexander Hamilton Bridge and onto the Cross Bronx Expressway. In the Bronx, I-95 leaves the Cross Bronx at the Bruckner Interchange, joining the Bruckner Expressway to its end. North of the interchange with Pelham Parkway, it then continues northeast via the New England Thruway out of New York City into Westchester County and to the Connecticut state line, where I-95 continues on the Connecticut Turnpike.
The Bethpage State Parkway is a 2.49-mile (4.01 km) controlled-access parkway in Nassau County on Long Island, New York, in the United States. It begins at a trumpet interchange with the Southern State Parkway in the village of North Massapequa and serves Boundary Avenue, NY 24, and Central Avenue before terminating at a traffic circle with Plainview Road and a local park road in Bethpage State Park. The parkway is designated as New York State Route 907E (NY 907E), an unsigned reference route. It is also ceremoniously designated as the Philip B. Healey Memorial Parkway for Assemblyman Philip B. Healey (1921–1996).
The Niagara Scenic Parkway is a 16.4-mile (26.39 km) state parkway in western Niagara County, New York, in the United States. Its southern terminus is at the LaSalle Expressway on the east bank of the Niagara River in Niagara Falls. The northern terminus is at New York State Route 18 (NY 18) at Four Mile Creek State Park in Porter near Lake Ontario. Originally, the parkway was one continuous road; however, due to low usage, a portion of the parkway near Niagara Falls was removed, separating the parkway into two sections. The length of the parkway is designated as New York State Route 957A by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). A 1.16-mile (1.87 km) long spur connecting the Niagara Scenic Parkway to Fort Niagara State Park near Youngstown is designated as New York State Route 958A. Both reference route designations are unsigned.
The Sagtikos State Parkway is a 5.14-mile (8.27 km) controlled-access parkway in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, in the United States. It begins at an interchange with the Southern State and Heckscher Parkways in the hamlet of West Islip and goes north to a large cloverleaf interchange with the Northern State Parkway in the Town of Smithtown, where the Sagtikos ends and the road becomes the Sunken Meadow State Parkway. The parkway comprises the southern half of New York State Route 908K (NY 908K), an unsigned reference route, with the Sunken Meadow State Parkway forming the northern portion.
The Bronx and Pelham Parkway, also known formally as the Bronx–Pelham Parkway but called Pelham Parkway in everyday use, is a 2.25-mile-long (3.62 km) parkway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. The road begins in Bronx Park at the Bronx River Parkway and U.S. Route 1 and ends at Interstate 95 (I-95), the New England Thruway, in Pelham Bay Park, hence the roadway's name. The parkway is designated as New York State Route 907F (NY 907F), an unsigned reference route, by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).
County Route 46 (CR 46) is a major county road in eastern Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It runs south-to-north from CR 75 in Smith Point County Park to New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) near the border of Shoreham and Wading River. The road is known as the William Floyd Parkway along its entire length, and is named after William Floyd, a Long Island native and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Despite its "parkway" designation within the State of New York, the road is open to commercial vehicles.
Conduit Avenue is an arterial road in New York City, the vast majority of which is in Queens. The divided highway runs from Atlantic Avenue in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn to Hook Creek Boulevard in Rosedale, Queens at the Nassau County border. The thoroughfare is named after an aqueduct in its right-of-way.
New York State Route 231 (NY 231) is a 9.05-mile (14.56 km) long state highway located in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, in the United States. The route extends north–south from a partial interchange with NY 27A in the Incorporated Village of Babylon to an interchange with the Northern State Parkway in Dix Hills.
New York State Route 135 (NY 135) is a 10.8-mile (17.4 km) freeway in eastern Nassau County, New York, in the United States. The route connects Seaford with Syosset. The highway runs from Merrick Road in Seaford to NY 25 in Syosset. In between, NY 135 passes through Bethpage and Plainview and serves Bethpage State Park. The highway is ceremoniously designated as the Ralph J. Marino Expressway; however, it is more commonly known as the Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway.