Some 2,500 register online objections
By Russ Tarby
Contributing Writer
Liverpool-area residents are signing petitions calling for the New York State Department of Transportation to reconsider its planned reduction of lanes along Onondaga Lake Parkway.
A hard-copy petition hung briefly last week on the Liverpool Public Library lobby bulletin board and attracted dozens of signatures until library officials removed it. Now people are signing the petition online at change.org/liverpoolparkway.
“A report done by Dunn & Sgromo Engineers for the village of Liverpool reviewed the Parkway Modifications and it pointed out that the DOT’s parkway study was done before the proposed warehouse [being developed on Morgan Road] was announced,” said petition organizer Margaret Mary O’Mara, who lives in the John Glenn Boulevard neighborhood. “That warehouse will add additional traffic onto the parkway at peak hours.”
Liverpool Mayor Gary White, a retired Syracuse deputy chief of police, said that “Common sense tells you that going from four to two lanes will negatively affect traffic in the village.”
DOT officials insist that their multi-faceted plans for the parkway are motivated by concerns for traffic safety.
“But I think they’re cherry-picking their accident statistics,” O’Mara said. She attended two of the recent “open house” sessions hosted by DOT at Liverpool Public Library.
“Those meetings were set up as informational — more like a sales pitch — instead of a meeting where all could voice their concerns and hear others’ concerns to get a better understanding of how many truly are opposed to this plan,” O’Mara said. “And none of those DOT people even live in Liverpool.”
As of March 5, the online petition had gathered 2,549 signatures.
“There are numerous comments on the petition,” O’Mara said, “people explaining why they do not like this proposed plan.”
For instance, signer Jennifer Pannozo wrote, “This is a high-traffic area as it is. This [plan] will cause gridlock in the village and more accidents.”
To contact the DOT directly, email project engineer Cindy Bell at [email protected]. or call 315-428–4348.
