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Hear me out on this one: I think the TSP in Westchester (roughly miles 2 to 20) should be 65 MPH. Traffic is already exceeding the 55 limit en masse. Using the NYSDOT's Freedom of Information Act forms, and a few letters to the DOT, I discovered the following:
-65 zones are enacted on Interstate-grade highways with at least a 65 MPH design speed (the design speed of the Taconic is 65 mph )
-The zone in question must be five miles (8 km) long (this section of the TSP is 18 miles long)
-Have a crash rate of under 2.0 accidents per million vehicle miles (TSP crash rate is 0.84)
-and a fatality rate of less than 1.0 per 100 million vehicle miles.
Additionally, the NYSDOT's manual on setting speed limits says the following:
-Speed limits should be set at the 85th percentile speed (on the Taconic, this value is 71 MPH)
-Speed limits should not place more than 1/3 of drivers in technical speed violation (the violation rate on the TSP in Westchester is a whopping 95%)
The Poughkeepsie office told me that because the TSP does not meet Interstate highway standards, a 65 zone cannot be enacted. The design specs of the TSP show it has 12-foot wide lanes, 10-foot-wide outer shoulders, and 4-10 foot wide inner shoulders, all of which are Interstate standard. What do you think?
I'm on this road all the time and I even take it up to Albany several times/year. I have no problem with this idea save Putnam County. The road is noticeably windy in that quadrant.
In Westchester? Gee, I thought it already was. Traffic allowing, my problem on the Taconic is making myself stay under 75. In Putnam, I don't go over 55, 60 max. But in Westchester the Taconic is pretty straight and wide and going 65-75 is perfectly safe.
On the Taconic north of WP people are doing 75 in the slow lane.
My guess is they won't increase the speed because the cops love catching people for speeding on this highway. There are several spots where they sit behind trees/shrubs at the bottom of hills and pick people off all day long. I used to take this route everyday and there would be a police car in the same spot at least twice a week. Meanwhile I now take the Hutch/Merritt daily and regularly do 80 (along with everyone else) and have yet to see a police car in 8 months. I guess since there's nowhere to pull you over why bother?
The Poughkeepsie office told me that because the TSP does not meet Interstate highway standards, a 65 zone cannot be enacted. The design specs of the TSP show it has 12-foot wide lanes, 10-foot-wide outer shoulders, and 4-10 foot wide inner shoulders, all of which are Interstate standard. What do you think?
I think it probably makes sense, but not because of interstate standards. It would be interesting to know what the interstate standards are that the TSP doesn't meet. They go way beyond what you list. There's lots of other stuff about curve radius, grade etc. Another way to look at it is whether a semi truck could maintain its speed or whether "slow vehicle" lanes would be needed in places.
Interesting stuff, OP -- thanks for putting this all together. I didn't realize the state kept statistics on "technical speed violations"!
Quote:
Originally Posted by streetsmart
On the Taconic north of WP people are doing 75 in the slow lane.
My guess is they won't increase the speed because the cops love catching people for speeding on this highway. There are several spots where they sit behind trees/shrubs at the bottom of hills and pick people off all day long. I used to take this route everyday and there would be a police car in the same spot at least twice a week. Meanwhile I now take the Hutch/Merritt daily and regularly do 80 (along with everyone else) and have yet to see a police car in 8 months. I guess since there's nowhere to pull you over why bother?
Yep. The Taconic is the perfect speed trap: broad and straight enough that the average driver will feel comfortable doing 70-75, but with plenty of blind spots in the woods and hills where police can set up. Outside of the mountainside stretch in Putnam County, the entire parkway is like that.
When I lived in Albany, I used to drive the entire Taconic (Albany to White Plains and back) at least twice a month, and I quickly learned to be very cautious about speeding. In particular, the stretch in northern Dutchess / southern Columbia Counties, where there's a wooded median broad enough to hide a car, is guaranteed to have at least a few police at any given time.
It would be interesting to know what the interstate standards are that the TSP doesn't meet.
I asked that when I last wrote the DOT, but they skirted around the question. Thing is, I imagine the DOT has the Interstate requirement because Interstates can accommodate higher travel speeds... yet the design specs I linked to in my first post clearly says the design speed is 65.
I know design speed is the maximum speed a commercial vehicle could safely travel, but the TSP is restricted to cars, which can travel faster.
I think the Taconic is crazy bendy and narrow through Westchester. Shoulders?...
It's quite wide in Westchester; it's narrow and winding in Putnam.
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