SCHUMER PUSHES FOR FEDERAL ‘TRANSPORTATION SAFETY AUDIT’ AT SITE OF DEADLY ITHACA COMMONS TRUCK CRASH – FEDS SHOULD ANALYZE INTERSECTION, MAKE SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS & THEN IMPLEMENT THEM TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS LIKE THIS SUMMER’S FROM HAPPENING AGAIN

Schumer Urges Feds To Give Highest Priority for Funding to Recommended Remedies from Fed Safety Audit & Implement Them  – Fed Safety Audit A Priority of Tompkins & Ithaca Officials; Will Augment The Excellent Work Done By Truck Safety Committee To Ensure Safety

 

Schumer: Fed Safety Audit Would Identify How To Make Intersection As Safe As Possible

 

Today, at Ithaca City Hall, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called for a federal safety audit at the intersection of Route 96 B and Route 79, including adjacent streets at the east end of the Ithaca Commons, where this past summer a tractor-trailer tragically lost control and slammed into Simeon’s on the Commons restaurant, killing a young woman inside and injuring seven others. Schumer asked the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to work with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) in conducting this safety audit, which would examine and analyze the intersection, including the design of the roads, the traffic flow and mix, and other characteristics, and identify possible safety improvements, like installing crash attenuators. Schumer said that this federal safety audit will add key technical expertise to the effort already underway by the Tompkins County Truck Safety Committee to improve trucking safety at the intersection. Schumer also urged the FHWA to put federal highway dollars toward any recommendations that emerge from the Road Safety Audit so that improvements can begin as soon as possible.

 

“The tragic crash at Simeon’s Restaurant served as a wake-up call to everyone that a traffic safety overhaul at the east end of Ithaca Commons is needed as soon as possible. The Tompkins County Truck Safety Committee has laid the groundwork for action, and now we need federal expertise and technical support to guide the final decision for how to improve this troubling intersection,” said Schumer. “We must work together at all levels of government to identify ways we can prevent accidents like this summer’s from happening again. Making this intersection safer is at the top of my to-do list, and the Federal Highway Administration should put it at the top of theirs too.” 

  

Schumer continued, “Additionally, I am calling on the FHWA to prioritize federal highway funding for any safety recommendations produced by this study, so that construction and improvements can get underway as soon as possible. This intersection has been the scene of a handful of accidents before, and it is high time we take steps to address this safety hazard before it is too late. This summer’s tragic accident should not be in vain; we need to improve this intersection ASAP so no other family has to experience a horrific loss in the years to come.”

 

Schumer explained that, in June 2014, a tractor-trailer driving west on East State Street/Route 79 failed to veer to the side to stay on Route 79 when it crashed into a four-story building in downtown Ithaca. When the truck lost control, it crashed into Simeon’s restaurant located at the east end of the Ithaca Commons, killing one woman inside and leaving seven others injured. Following the crash, it was determined that the tractor-trailer’s brakes failed and the truck, quickly picking up speed as it headed down the steep incline on Route 79, was unable to stop. Schumer said this truck crash was not an isolated incident, and this intersection has previously experienced close calls and accidents. Over the last six years, including the Simeon’s crash, there have been three incidents involving trucks at this very spot. The other two were both extremely close calls, including one where a dump truck missed a turn, overturned and glided into a building on Rt. 79 going into the City of Ithaca, and another where a truck lost control of its breaks and there were, fortunately, no injuries.

 

On the heels of the great work done by the Tompkins County Truck Safety Committee following the June Simeon’s crash, Schumer said he is urging the FHWA and NYSDOT to work with local stakeholders to undertake a Road Safety Audit (RSA) for this intersection. Schumer explained that this local task force has done excellent work thinking through ways to improve trucking safety at this intersection and across the region. Now, Schumer said, technical support from the federal government is needed to identify the best ways to make this intersection as safe as possible and find the funding to make recommendations and improvements a reality.

 

Schumer said this federal safety audit would augment the local task force’s efforts by providing the FHWA’s technical expertise to supplement these local safety recommendations. Schumer said the audit would aim to identify the best ways to make this intersection safer for the long term. Road Safety Audits (RSA) are conducted by the FHWA in partnership with state Departments of Transportation and other stakeholders to identify safety hazards and develop recommendations for overall safety improvements to highways. An RSA is a formal process that consists, among other elements, of selecting an RSA team and stakeholders, performing field reviews, conducting an analysis and preparing an RSA report. This report then presents and incorporates findings from the audit into a final project to increase safety. Schumer said the FHWA would work with the NYSDOT and the local Tompkins County Truck Safety Committee task force to conduct this audit, which would examine and analyze the intersection, including the design of the roads, the traffic flow and mix, and other characteristics, and identify possible safety improvements, like installing crash attenuators. According to the FHWA, RSAs can be used in any phase of project development, from planning and preliminary engineering, to design and construction. RSAs can also be used on any sized project from minor intersection and roadway retrofits to mega-projects.

 

Schumer said that this federal safety audit would add key technical expertise to the effort already underway by the Tompkins County Truck Safety Committee to improve trucking safety at the intersection. Schumer is also urging the FHWA to put federal highway dollars toward any recommendations that emerge from the RSA so that improvements can begin as soon as possible. Schumer is pushing for any potential hazard mitigation recommendations produced by this RSA to be given a high priority for federal highway funding so that improvements can expeditiously be approved and get underway.

 

Schumer was joined by Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick; Mike Lane, Chair of the Tompkins County Legislature; Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton; Joe Mareane, Tompkins County Administrator; and Fernando de Aragon, Executive Director, Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council.

 

“I want to thank Senator Schumer for being so proactive for recognizing that we have a problem in this community and reaching out to us. Keeping Ithaca safe from runaway trucks means action at the local, state and federal level,” said City of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick. “I feel better knowing that we have a partner like Senator Schumer at the Federal level looking out for us.”

 

A copy of Senator Schumer’s letter to the FHWA appears below:

 

Dear Acting Administrator Nadeau and Commissioner McDonald:

 

I write to urge the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to undertake a Road Safety Audit for the intersection of Route 96 B and Route 79, including adjacent streets at the east end of the Ithaca Commons, to identify safety issues and develop recommendations for improvements.

 

In June 2014, a tractor-trailer driving west on E. State Street/Route 79 failed to veer to the side to stay on Route 79, and crashed into a four-story building. The accident left one person dead and several injured. It was later determined that the tractor-trailer’s brakes failed and the truck, quickly picking up speed as it headed down the steep incline on Route 79, was unable to stop. In the aftermath of this tragedy, local officials put together a task force to develop recommendations to improve truck safety, which they released last month. On the heels of the great work that the Tompkins County Truck Safety Committee has done, I urge FHWA and NYSDOT to work with local stakeholders to undertake a Road Safety Audit for this intersection. The Tompkins County Truck Safety Committee has laid the groundwork to improve trucking safety at this intersection and across the region; now they need the technical support to identify the best ways to make this intersection as safe as possible.

 

A Road Safety Audit would examine and analyze the intersection, including the design of the roads, the traffic flow and mix, and other characteristics, and identify possible safety improvements, like installing crash attenuators. Additionally, I would urge that any potential hazard mitigation recommendations produced by this Road Safety Audit be given a high priority for federal highway funding so that improvements can begin as soon as possible.

 

Thank you for your attention to this important request.

 

Sincerely,

 

Charles E. Schumer

United States Senator

 

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