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Feds: New NY highway signs are illegal
(2wgrz Nov 2 2016)
https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/feds-new-ny-highway-signs-are-illegal/346341888
New NY highway signs are illegal, feds say
(democratandchronicle Nov 2 2016)
https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/blogs/vote-up/2016/11/02/ny-highway-signs-illegal/93173466/
ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration dotted New York with 514 highway signs touting its tourism programs despite a federal ruling explicitly prohibiting the state from doing so.
Documents obtained by the USA Today Network's Albany Bureau show the Federal Highway Administration has repeatedly notified Cuomo's administration over the past three years that the signs violate federal and state law, which contain strict rules for what can and cannot be displayed on major roadways.
But the state Department of Transportation and Thruway Authority appear to have ignored the warnings, rapidly expanding the signage across the state while federal officials continued to voice concerns.
"It is our responsibility to ensure safety and compliance with (federal traffic sign rules) and therefore cannot condone the use of non-compliant signs on the federal-aid system in the state of New York," Randy Warden, a team leader for the highway administration, wrote to the state DOT in April 2014.
On Wednesday, the federal agency reaffirmed its position.
"Some of the signs have non-conforming symbols, while others violate sign lettering and other standards," highway administration spokesman Neil Gaffney said in a statement.
"Simple signs make for safer journeys. That means using signs that are easy to identify, comprehend and understand in a matter of seconds as you are driving.”
The state DOT disagrees, contending the signs follow "standard specifications" and are in "full compliance with federal law."
Long-running dispute
The long-running dispute centers on a series of blue highway signs along major roadways across New York, including the state Thruway and near entry points such as airports and ferries.
Often grouped in five, the signs are generally posted in rapid succession, a few hundred feet apart.
First comes a "motherboard" sign welcoming drivers to the state or touting the "New York State Experience," depending on its location. Then comes multiple signs promoting different state tourism programs, such as Taste NY, I Love NY and Path Through History.
Each of the signs also include a mention of ILoveNY.com and the state's I Love NY mobile app.
The documents obtained by the Albany Bureau show the state DOT penned a formal request to the Federal Highway Administration on May 31, 2013, asking to experiment with the new type of highway signs boosting the state's tourism programs.
Mark Kehrli, director of the federal Office of Transportation Operations, issued an official ruling to the state two weeks later: "Your request is hereby denied."
The logos and graphics proposed by the state amounted to "promotional advertising," Kehrli wrote in the letter dated June 13, 2013.
The type of branding sought by the state, he wrote, is prohibited by the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, or MUTCD, a dense set of rules that lays out uniform standards for highway signs across the country.
The state, however, seemed undeterred.
Six months later, Cuomo announced the new signage in his 2014 State of the State address.
He promised motorists would see the signs "literally in the next few days."
"We are going to launch a whole new signage campaign on our roads promoting the assets of New York, organized into three campaigns: The Path Through History campaign, the I Love New York attraction campaign and the Taste NY food and beverages," he said on Jan. 9, 2014.
As promised, the signs soon began popping up near the state's borders.
That prompted Warden, the highway administration team leader, to pen another letter to the state DOT on April 3, 2014. He wrote the signs violate the federal manual and the state vehicle-and-traffic law.