The Ithaca Journal has a piece on the challenges of keeping roads clear in winter, which has been especially difficult with recent cold temperatures and blowing snow.
There aren't many Dryden-specific details to the story, but there is a list of which governments plow which roads:
According to the state Department of Transportation, roads in Tompkins County that the DOT looks after include state routes 13, 34, 34B, 38, 79E, 366, Fall Creek Road and portions of McLean Road. County crews care for some state roads, including 96B, 13S, 34S, 327, 227, 79W and 89. Villages and the City of Ithaca tend to care for their own streets. Towns tend to most of their own roads and, in some cases, county roads within their boundaries.
I knew that 366 was plowed by state trucks because I see them go by, but I'd have guessed that the state plows state roads, the county county roads, and towns and villages their own roads. It seems to be a lot more complicated than that, which makes sense given the intricate structure of roads.
Two roads that surprised me are Fall Creek Road (which goes from Freeville to McLean) and McLean Road (which goes from McLean to Cortland). I know people there were unhappy a few years ago about traffic on "the back way to Cortland", and emphasized that it was not a state road. I remember a sign on a barn to the effect that it was a neighborhood, not a highway. They seem to understand that traffic-filled roads aren't great for building communities.
The Journal also has a brief article on what might be coming in Governor Pataki's budget proposal today.
Posted by simonstl at January 20, 2004 08:47 AM