Parkways in New York facts for kids

Standard parkway markers in New York
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Sign informing truckers it is illegal to use a parkway in New York City.

In New York, most parkways are special roads. They are part of a big system owned by different groups. However, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) takes care of most of them. Some other roads in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island are also called parkways but are not part of this main system.

These parkways were some of the first expressways ever built. Expressways are roads designed for faster travel. Early parkways were not divided into separate directions. They also had intersections where other streets crossed them. An early private road, the Long Island Motor Parkway, was the first expressway to charge a fee (a toll road). It was also the first to use bridges and overpasses to avoid intersections, making travel smoother.

New York's parkways are quite different from each other. Some, like the Sprain Brook Parkway, are like modern freeways. Freeways are major roads with no traffic lights or intersections. Others, like Seven Lakes Drive, are smaller, two-lane roads. Most parkways are found in downstate New York, which is where the state parkway system first started many years ago.

New York State Parkways

The state's parkway system began as roads for fast travel. They were built to offer a beautiful way to drive into, out of, and around New York City. The first part of this system opened way back in 1908. Many of these early roads have been updated. They were made wider and better for today's faster cars and more traffic.

Later parkways, built north of New York City, often had a wide, grassy area in the middle. This separated traffic going in opposite directions. They also had service areas along the way. These spots offered fuel and restrooms for drivers. In the 1930s, a famous city planner named Robert Moses helped create many parkways in the New York City area.

Many of these parkways were built by local groups. These included the Long Island State Park Commission (LISPC) and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC). Today, the NYSDOT takes care of most parkways outside New York City. Inside the city, the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) maintains them.

Most state parkways today are like other expressways. However, they have a few unique features. First, many New York parkways do not have shoulders. Shoulders are the paved areas on the side of the road. This is because they were designed a long time ago. Second, designers wanted these roads to be scenic. So, many parkways curve and follow rivers, rather than being straight. Finally, most parkways have low, stone bridges. These bridges are too low for large trucks and commercial vehicles. Because of this, trucks are not allowed on most parkways. In Manhattan, this means almost all trucks must use local streets. This is because the island has only one short Interstate highway.

List of State Parkways

Parkway		Opened	Region	From	To	Owner	Maintained by
	Bay Parkway	1892 as 22nd Avenue	New York City	Brooklyn	Brooklyn	NYSDOT/NYCDOT	NYSDOT
	Bay Parkway	N/A	Long Island	Jones Beach State Park	Jones Beach State Park	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Bear Mountain State Parkway	1932	Hudson Valley	Peekskill	Cortlandt	NYSDOT	NYSDOT
	Belt Parkway	1941	New York City	Brooklyn	Queens	NYSDOT/NYCDOT	NYSDOT/NYCDOT
	Bethpage State Parkway	1936	Long Island	Massapequa	Bethpage State Park	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Bronx River Parkway	1908	Hudson Valley	The Bronx	North Castle	NYCDOT/Westchester County	NYCDOT/Westchester County
	Cross County Parkway	1947	Hudson Valley	Yonkers	Eastchester	NYSDOT	NYSDOT
	Cross Island Parkway	1940	New York City	Queens	Queens	NYCDOT	NYCDOT
	Eastern Parkway	1874	New York City	Brooklyn	Brooklyn	NYCDOT	NYCDOT
	Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive	1955	New York City	Lower Manhattan	Upper Manhattan	NYSDOT/NYCDOT	NYSDOT/NYCDOT
	Grand Central Parkway	1936	New York City	Queens	New York City line	NYSDOT	NYSDOT
	Harlem River Drive	1964	New York City	Upper Manhattan	Upper Manhattan	NYSDOT	NYSDOT
	Heckscher State Parkway	1959	Long Island	West Islip	Heckscher State Park	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Henry Hudson Parkway	1937	New York City	Manhattan	New York City line	NYSDOT/NYCDOT/PANYNJ	NYSDOT/NYCDOT/PANYNJ
	Hutchinson River Parkway	1928	Hudson Valley	The Bronx	Connecticut state line	NYSDOT/NYCDOT	NYSDOT/NYCDOT
	Jackie Robinson Parkway	1935	New York City	Brooklyn	Queens	NYCDOT	NYSDOT
	Korean War Veterans Parkway	1972	New York City	Staten Island	Staten Island	NYSDOT	NYSDOT
	Lake Ontario State Parkway		Western New York	Carlton	Rochester	NYSDOT/NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Little Neck Parkway		New York City	Queens	Queens
	Lake Welch Parkway	1971	Hudson Valley	Harriman State Park	Harriman State Park	PIPC	NYSDOT
	Long Mountain Parkway		Hudson Valley	Harriman State Park	Bear Mountain State Park	NYSDOT	NYSDOT
	Loop Parkway	1934	Long Island	Lido Beach	Jones Beach State Park	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Meadowbrook State Parkway	1934	Long Island	Jones Beach State Park	Westbury	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Mosholu Parkway	1937	New York City	Bronx Park	Van Cortlandt Park	NYSDOT/NYCDOT	NYSDOT/NYCDOT
	Niagara Scenic Parkway		Western New York	Niagara Falls	Porter	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Northern State Parkway	1931	Long Island	New York City line	Hauppauge	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Ocean Parkway		New York City	Brooklyn	Brooklyn
	Ocean Parkway		Long Island	Jones Beach State Park	Captree State Park	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Palisades Interstate Parkway	1958	Hudson Valley	Fort Lee, NJ	Bear Mountain State Park	PIPC	NYSDOT/NJDOT
	Pelham Parkway	1911	New York City	The Bronx	Pelham Bay Park	NYCDOT	NYCDOT
	Prospect Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway	1969	Adirondacks	Lake George	Prospect Mountain	NYSDEC	NYSDEC
	Robert Moses Causeway		Long Island	Robert Moses State Park	West Islip	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Rockaway Parkway		New York City	Brooklyn	Brooklyn
	Sagtikos State Parkway	1952	Long Island	West Islip	Commack	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Saw Mill River Parkway	1954	Hudson Valley	New York City line	Bedford	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Seven Lakes Drive		Hudson Valley	Sloatsburg	Bear Mountain State Park	PIPC	NYSDOT
	Southern State Parkway	1949	Long Island	Valley Stream	West Islip	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Sprain Brook Parkway	1961	Hudson Valley	Yonkers	Hawthorne	NYSDOT	NYSDOT
	Sunken Meadow State Parkway	1957	Long Island	Commack	Sunken Meadow State Park	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Taconic State Parkway	1925	Hudson Valley	North Castle	East Chatham	NYSDOT	NYSDOT
	Wantagh State Parkway	1929	Long Island	Jones Beach State Park	Westbury	NYS OPRHP	NYSDOT
	Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway	1935	Adirondacks	Wilmington	Whiteface Mountain	NYSDEC	NYSDEC

Other Parkways in New York

Some areas in New York have parkways that are not owned or maintained by the state government. For example, Westchester County has some highways that were once part of older parkway systems. Suffolk County has kept a part of the old Long Island Motor Parkway (LIMP) for driving. They also built their own roads on land that was meant for other parkways.

The part of the LIMP that still exists in western Suffolk County is called the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway. It is now a regular surface road. It is no longer an expressway, and trucks are allowed on it.

List of Other Parkways

Parkway	Opened	Region	From	To	Owner	Maintained by
Arden Valley Road	1922	Hudson Valley	Harriman State Park	Harriman State Park	PIPC	PIPC
Central Westchester Parkway		Hudson Valley	White Plains	White Plains	Westchester County	Westchester County
Farragut Parkway		Hudson Valley	Hastings-on-Hudson	Hastings-on-Hudson	Westchester County	Westchester County
Fire Island Beach Road		Long Island	Fire Island	Fire Island	Suffolk County	Suffolk County
Memorial Parkway		Mohawk Valley	Genesee Street, Utica	Albany Street, Utica	City of Utica	City of Utica
Playland Parkway	1929	Hudson Valley	Harrison	Playland	Westchester County	Westchester County
Tiorati Brook Road		Hudson Valley	Harriman State Park	Bear Mountain State Park	PIPC	PIPC
Vanderbilt Motor Parkway		Long Island	Melville	Lake Ronkonkoma	Suffolk County	Suffolk County
William Floyd Parkway		Long Island	Fire Island	Rocky Point	Suffolk County	Suffolk County