OFFICIALS RELEASE 23 IDEAS FOR TRUCK SAFETY CHANGES
POST-SIMEON’S DEADLY CRASH IN ITHACA, NEW YORK
Ithaca, N.Y. — Lawmakers and local
officials have been pouring over a list of potential solutions for truck safety
on Ithaca’s hills after the crash at Simeon’s Restaurant this June.
On
Tuesday, the Joint Work Group on Truck Safety — which includes
representatives from the county, city, state and Department of Transportation —
released their list of proposed ideas.Some of the ideas — about signage on the hills — have already been implemented. Other ideas — including prohibiting trucks from driving on hills except for local deliveries — have been recommended against.
Still other proposals are listed as “under consideration” or “research ongoing.” These span from constructing of a “vehicle arresting crash attenuator(s)” to establishing a truck “pull off before downhill to the city” to redirecting trucks to approach the city along Route 13.
The group will be seeking input from the public on the ideas at a meeting Thursday Jan. 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ithaca Town Hall.
“The recommendations are not set in stone … and additional feedback will be sought during the public meeting,” a press release states.
Here’s are the 23 ideas, grouped by category, with the notes from the working group:
5 ideas for better signage
1 – Cutting down trees and brush to improve the visibility of signs. Completed September 2014. (IMPLEMENTED)2 — Evaluate existing signage and the condition of signage. Completed October 2014. (IMPLEMENTED)
3 — “Augment existing signage as needed: add grade distance information; use lower gear.”
16 existing signs need replacement; this task will be completed January 2015, according to the working group memo. Three new signs will be added on Route 34 and Route 13. (IMPLEMENTED)
4 — Officials considered adding additional truck/hill warning signs with flashers. (IMPLEMENTED)
5 — Radar speed signs, saying “YOUR SPEED IS XX”
“Speeding by trucks was not found to be an issue in the approaches to the city of Ithaca,” the report says. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
5 ideas for better technology
6 — Flashing messages for trucks about road conditions, traffic, incidents, information and technology infrastructure.The group concluded that the technology isn’t ready right now.
“This idea may be reconsidered at a later date,” the report says. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
7 — A detection system to trigger “dynamic signs to enforce regulations” or provide warnings.
The infrastructure isn’t in place for this either, the group says. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
8 — A sensor in the road to trigger a red traffic light for heavy trucks at Cornell Street, Mitchell Street and Stewart Avenue.
The group decided that this was not an appropriate use of a traffic signal and that it would increase the likelihood of rear-end collisions. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
9 — “Automated truck information,” including license plate recognition, to notify law enforcement. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
10 — A range of truck mapping options, including on the Internet and with mobile apps, for trucks in Tompkins County. (RESEARCH ONGOING)
6 regulatory ideas
11 — Lower speed limits for trucks approaching the city.These regulations are prohibited by the state, according to the working group. “Studies show that having different speeds on shared roads can be dangerous,” the report states. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
12 — A strictly enforced 20 mph speed limit for trucks coming downhill into the “Flats.”
This idea runs into the same problems as the one above. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
13 — Consider changes to the highway access system for New York State.
“Approaches to Ithaca don’t meet criteria for redesignation,” the report says. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
14 — Creating a truck “pull off,” possibly including a brake check and route safety information. (UNDER CONSIDERATION)
15 — Designate Route 79 as the principal arterial.
“There is no expectation that truck safety will be affected by the designation,” the report says. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
16 — Increase enforcement of truck laws and regulations. (RESEARCH ONGOING)
7 changes for infrastructure-routing
17 — Constructing a vehicle “crash attenutator(s) at appropriate locations.”“Also known as a crash cushion, crash attenuator, or cowboy cushion,” this fix could help absorb the blow from a colliding vehicle.
They’re considering putting this in at the State St/Aurora St.
(RESEARCH ONGOING)
18 — Change traffic patterns to keep trucks from accessing “densely developed vulnerable areas.”
This strategy could work in concert with #17. A study will be conducted to determine if this idea makes sense; it will be funded by the Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council; the NY Department of Transportation; and the city of Ithaca. (RESEARCH ONGOING)
19 — Redirecting trucks to approach the city along Route 13
“The committee had concerns about the impact on the Village of Dryden of sending trucks to Route 13,” the report says.
(UNDER CONSIDERATION)
20 — “Prohibit trucks from driving on hills, except for local delivery”
The report notes that there may be political obstacles to this goal.
“The topic is politically difficult because all possible routes have residential land uses that are sensitive to truck route designations,” the report states.
(NOT RECOMMENDED)
21 — Prohibit trucks from driving on Route 79 southeast of Ithaca .
The same obstacles are listed as the ones for #20.
(NOT RECOMMENDED)
22 — Converting Eddy Street into a “truck deceleration ramp.”
(NOT RECOMMENDED)
23 — Creating a 4-lane circular highway around the city
This kind of bypass has been determined to be “cost prohibited,” the report says.
(NOT RECOMMENDED)
//_________________________________________________//
Questions Remain After Fatal Simeon’s Crash
August 27, 2014
By
SOFIA HUStudents returning this fall may have noticed something new downtown: A large hole in the Commons’ facade where Simeon’s Restaurant once was.
Most of the walls have been replaced with boards, the result of an accident on June 20, in which a runaway tractor-trailer killed one and injured several as it into Simeon’s Restaurant on the corner of Aurora and East State Street.
The
building on the corner of Aurora and East State Street, after a tractor-trailer
barreled into in on June 20. (Kelly Yang / Sun News Photography Editor)
In
the weeks following the accident, which resulted in the partial destruction of
the building, Ithacans have rallied together to support those harmed and
address highway safety.‘One of the Worst Incidents’
At approximately 4:09 p.m. on Friday, June 20, 37-year-old Viacheslav Grychanyi — a truck driver from Spokane, WA — lost control of the brakes on his truck and crashed into the building on the corner of Aurora and East State Street while attempting to turn right onto Aurora Street. The building, built in 1872, housed Simeon’s Restaurant, Cornell Barber Shop and several apartments.
Eyewitnesses, including Ithacan Nico Wright, said the driver blared his horns as the trailer-truck sped down State Street, at approximately 40 to 50 miles per hour before the crash. He was driving a commercial truck carrying four cars for Quality Relocation Services, said Ithaca Police Department Chief Jamie Williamson the day after the crash.
Immediately after the crash, people near the scene of the accident rushed into Simeon’s to pull people out of the crumbling building. Witnesses — including family members of those injured by the accident — told reporters glass and debris littered the ground surrounding the restaurant and the air was filled with dust.
Police officers and firefighters rushed to the scene, putting out a small fire that had broken out in the front of the truck, according to Barber. They evacuated nearby buildings and closed off one square block around the scene as clean-up of the falling building began.
“[Police Chief Barber] has been here a long time, and this is one of the worst incidents that he has seen,” Williamson said at a press conference in June.
According to Williamson, police took the driver — who had suffered “superficial injuries” — into custody and ticketed him for driving an over-length vehicle and having an inadequate braking system. Grychanyi later pleaded not guilty to these charges on June 27, Ronna Collins, chief clerk at Ithaca City Court, told The Ithaca Voice.
Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 mourned the loss of Bush and the destruction of the historic building.
“This is obviously a very tragic day in the City of Ithaca and there’s not much solace,” Myrick said.
Rallying Together
Many people watched as crews began removing the roof the sagging building and the truck later that evening. They waited eagerly for any news about those injured in the accident.
By the next morning, many had left flowers and gifts mourning the loss of Amanda Bush in front of the scene.
In the days ensuing the accident, restaurant and business owners reached out to Myrick looking for ways to support the families of those involved in the crash, according to Myrick.
“Our community rallied together,” said Tom Parsons ’82, fire chief of the Ithaca Fire Department at a press conference the day after the accident.“This will be a long recovery for people.”
Since the accident, Ithacans have hosted several benefit events and raised several thousand to support the employees at Simeon’s, as well as building tenants, Cornell Barber Shop staff and the owners of Titus Gallery, an art gallery located next to Simeon’s. Among these events include a benefit sponsored by radio station WVBR, which raised over $3,000 dollars earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the front of the collapsed building has been covered with boards, and — pending more information on the cost — the property owners will begin rebuilding.
Improving the Roads
Since the accident, Ithacans have demanded accountability from the driver and raised questions about how the crush could have been prevented.
The Cornell Barber Shop and a Simeon’s employee who lost consciousness during the accident have filed a lawsuit against Grychanyi and Quality Relocation Services, though no trials concerning the accident have begun, according to The Ithaca Voice. A state police report will be finished by the end of August or early September.
This is the heart of our city. It’s the most popular corner. — Svante Myrick ’09
In the meantime, officials have raised and discussed questions about highway safety.
“[P]redictably there are a lot of questions being asked. Namely why did this happen, and what can we do to prevent it from happening again,” Myrick said. “Those are the right questions.”
Myrick said the city will look into what legal and physical barriers can be used to prevent such accidents in the future.
The Ithaca Board of Public Works met in late July to discuss how the city can prevent a similar accident. In addition, Myrick and New York State Assemblyperson Barbara Lifton (D-125th District) formed a group to evaluate highway safety in response to the accident.
“This is the heart of our city. It’s the most popular corner,” Myrick said. “Why this is so jarring is because any Ithacan could have been standing there.”