Parkways in New York State

Parkways In New York State

The majority of parkways in the US state of New York are part of a statewide parkway system owned by several public and private agencies but mostly maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). A handful of other roads in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island are also known as parkways but are not part of the state system. The state parkway system introduced the concept of limited-access roads. These highways were not divided and allowed no driveway cuts, but did have intersections for some of the streets they crossed. A small section of the privately financed Long Island Motor Parkway was the first limited-access road to begin operation as a toll road and the first highway to use bridges and overpasses to eliminate intersections.

The individual parkways vary widely in composition. Some, such as the Sprain Brook Parkway, are functionally equivalent to a freeway; others, like Seven Lakes Drive, are a two-lane undivided surface road. The majority of parkways are located in downstate New York, where the state parkway system originated in the early 20th century.