To the editor:
It was disheartening to read that Liverpool Mayor Gary White and resident Russ Tarby would like to reduce the Lights On The Lake traffic by switching its exit and entrance locations. This proposal is upsetting because it gives no consideration to what impact that change would have to those of us living on the northern end of the lake.
Changing the entrance to Long Branch Road would automatically result in a drastic increase in the flow of traffic on Route 370 and Long Branch Road. These are two-lane highways as opposed to four-lane highways in the village. This means that the backup of traffic on those roads would be twice as long as that experienced in the village. It’s easy to visualize that homeowners on Long Branch Road and Route 370 would be trapped in their own driveways and that folks living in developments directly off those roads would be confined to their own neighborhoods.
There is also a fire station on Long Branch Road to consider, as well as very few streetlights to protect pedestrians. The bridge on Long Branch Road is a single lane bridge with a light at each end of the bridge. Not only would that bridge become a bottleneck, the bridge surface is in need of repair and may create a safety concern should the traffic load (with snowfall) be dramatically increased.
Another consideration: the village entrance to Lights On The Lake has a very long access road that holds a lot of cars waiting to reach the ticket booth. The access road off Long Branch Road is much shorter. This shorter access road to the ticket booth would mean even more cars backed up on Long Branch Road and Route 370.
I suggest increasing the width and length of the Liverpool access road into the park, prior to where the ticket gate is located. Increasing the number of cars that road can hold would reduce the number of cars waiting on the highway. I also think that putting a police presence on village streets, as well as at the park entrance, might go a long way in increasing traffic flow.
It is my hope that the Onondaga County Parks and Recreation Department will consider the needs of us living at the northern end of the lake. Shifting the traffic backup from the village to the Long Branch area isn’t a solution — it’s just moving the problem to a different location.
Lynn Davis
Liverpool
