Forest
Home Overweight Truck and Bus Count
Pleasant Grove Road /
Forest Home Drive Intersection
7:00 am - 6:00 pm Thursday, November 10, 2005
Town Legislation
Briefly
stated, Town of Ithaca Code (Chapter 250: Vehicles And Traffic, Article II:
Vehicle Weight Limits, Sections 250-6 through 250-12) restricts through-truck
traffic to five tons registered weight on: McIntyre Place; Judd Falls Road from
the Jug Handle down to the intersection with Forest Home Drive; and Forest Home
Drive from the intersection with Plantations Road near Beebe Lake, through much
of Forest Home, to the intersection with Caldwell Road. Trucks making local deliveries are exempt
from this restriction. For purposes of
this study, we recorded all vehicles with six or more tires, since vehicles
with a GVWR of 5 tons or more generally have at least six tires.
Data Collection
Trucks
were recorded traveling through the Pleasant Grove Road / Forest Home Drive
intersection from 7 am to 6 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2005. All local schools were in session, all area
bridges were open, and roads were clear and mostly dry. Weather was cold and cloudy, with occasional
rain and snow showers. By recording
truck movement through this intersection, we were able to monitor much, but not
all, of the truck traffic through the restricted weight limit zone. This location allowed us to observe the
major east-west traffic flow, as well as three of the four main north-south
traffic flows through the community.
However, this count did not record those trucks that traveled on
McIntyre Place, those that made the turn from Judd Falls Road onto Forest Home
Drive along Beebe Lake, or those that traveled on the Warren Road / Upstream
Bridge / Caldwell Road corridor.
Overweight Trucks
A
total of 97 overweight trucks were recorded traveling through the Pleasant
Grove Road / Forest Home Drive intersection during the eleven hours from 7 am
to 6 pm. Of these, the single largest
category consisted of trucks owned and operated by Cornell University (28
trucks, 29%). The second largest
category was unmarked trucks (24 trucks, 25%).
The rest (45 trucks, 46%) were marked as belonging to a variety of
companies. It should be pointed out
that some of these trucks were making local deliveries. For example, the Town of Ithaca trucks were
part of the Town’s fall leaf pickup, the UPS truck was seen making deliveries
on Forest Home Drive and the Byway, and Wharton Masonry was doing work on 123
Judd Falls Road, within the restricted weight limit area. However, the great majority of overweight
trucks were apparently not making local deliveries.
Buses
A
total of 102 buses were recorded passing through the Pleasant Grove Road /
Forest Home Drive intersection during the eleven hours from 7 am to 6 pm. Of these, the majority were TCAT buses (55
buses, 54%), Most of the rest were school buses (42 buses, 41%), with a
smattering of others (5 buses, 5%).
According to TCAT’s current on-line bus schedule (TCATbus.com), Routes
80 and 81 are not supposed to travel through the Pleasant Grove Road / Forest
Home Drive intersection. The same can
probably be said for the TCAT buses displaying the “Not in Service”
signage. This represents 15 buses or
27% of TCAT bus traffic recorded. The
other 73% of TCAT buses (Routes 31, 40 and 41) were apparently traveling on
scheduled routes that take them through Forest Home. However, it is possible that some of these buses could be
rerouted; perhaps traveling through North Campus on Cradit Farm Drive would serve
more ridership than coming through Forest Home. As far as school buses are concerned, only a few can be
considered to be “local delivery,” picking up or dropping off Forest Home
children. The vast majority are through-traffic,
with no particular need to travel through the restricted weight limit zone.
Conclusion
There
is far too much overweight truck traffic in Forest Home. While some of these trucks are making local
deliveries, the vast majority represent unnecessary through traffic. However, it should be possible to
significantly reduce much of this traffic.
To begin with, Cornell University could be asked to reroute its truck
traffic. In addition, there is the
possibility of working with TCAT and the Ithaca City School District to see
which of their buses could be rerouted around Forest Home. These measures, coupled with increased
enforcement by the County Sheriff and Cornell Police, could make a significant
difference in the number of overweight trucks that travel through this area.
Data
All local schools in session. Roads clear and mostly dry. All area bridges open. Weather cold and cloudy, with occasional rain and snow showers.
73 Marked
Trucks
28 Cornell University
13 Grounds
4 Planning, Design and Construction
3 Transportation Services
2 Dairy
2 Plantations
1 Catering
1 Dining
1 Mason
1 Orchards
7 Town of Ithaca (leaf pickup)
4 Conner Fence
3 FedEx
3 Ithaca Bakery
2 Freihoffer’s Bakery
2 Mac Tools
2 NYSEG
2 Stroehmann (including 1 semi)
2 UPS
2 US Mail
2 Wharton Masonry
1 Each: Advanced Towing, Ag-Trac, Bill Brothers, Cayuga Signs, Cousin’s Sea Food, Frito-Lay, Griffin (semi), Hope’s Way, Jenson Overhead Door, Loomis-Fargo, Martin’s Bakery, Portable John Rental, Superior Disposal, Thomas English Muffins
24 Unmarked
Trucks
55 TCAT
26 Route 31
7 Route 40
7 Route 41
6 “Not In Service”
5 Route 81
4 Route 80
42 School
Buses
33 Ithaca City School District
5 Candor
3 TST Boces
1 Lansing
2 Unlabeled
Buses
1 Bernie
Bus Service
1 Gadabout
1 Tioga
Transport
* For purposes of this survey, “overweight” was defined as any truck with six or more tires. Legally, any truck in excess of five tons registered weight is considered to be overweight.
TOWN OF ITHACA
CODE
Chapter 250: VEHICLES AND
TRAFFIC
Article II: Vehicle Weight
Limits
§ 250-8. Restricted locations.
No through traffic of
trucks, commercial vehicles, truck tractors, or tractor-trailer combinations,
with a maximum registered gross vehicle weight in excess of five tons shall be
permitted on:
A. McIntyre Place.
B. Forest Home Drive, between
the western terminus of Plantation Road (also known as Arboretum Road) and
Caldwell Road.
C. Judd Falls Road, between
Forest Home Drive and the intersection with Plantation Road (also known as
Arboretum Road).
D. Honness Lane.
§ 250-9. Definitions.
For purposes of this
article:
MAXIMUM REGISTERED GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT — Shall mean the maximum
gross vehicle weight for which the vehicle is registered with the New York
State Department of Motor Vehicles. If the vehicle is registered in a
jurisdiction other than the State of New York, the term shall mean the maximum
gross vehicle weight for which the vehicle is registered with the applicable
motor vehicle department or similar agency in the jurisdiction in which the
vehicle is registered and which weight is shown on the registration for such
vehicle. If the vehicle is registered in a governmental jurisdiction that does
not indicate a maximum gross vehicle weight on registrations, the term shall
mean the manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) as indicated on the
vehicle safety certification label.
§ 250-11. Exclusions.
Local deliveries and pickups
to and from properties located on the aforementioned Town highways, by vehicles
otherwise prohibited from using said highways by the provisions of this article
shall not be prohibited hereby. Further, fire-fighting equipment and vehicles,
and emergency medical service vehicles, otherwise prohibited from using such
highways by the provisions of this article shall not be prohibited hereby.