Getting There
Sculpture for those who died on job to be unveiled at State Fair
Memorial to fallen road workers to be unveiled.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced last week that a memorial honoring highway workers killed on the job will be unveiled at the New York State Fair.
The memorial will honor state Department of Transportation workers, as well as Thruway Authority employees, municipal workers, contractors, consultants and towing service employees.
Between 2003 and 2017, 1,844 workers were killed at road construction sites nationwide, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The memorial “represents an opportunity to reach hundreds of thousands of people who visit the fairgrounds — making them aware that their failure to pay attention while driving has real life and death consequences,” DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said in a news release.
The announcement also included an update on Operation
Hardhat, an enforcement effort to crack down on work zone violations. State troopers have issued 871 tickets already this year, and local law enforcement has issued another 35 tickets. The 2020 campaign saw 1,770 tickets issued.
This year, the Thruway Authority is deploying trucks with large radar boards to alert drivers of their approach speed, among other enhancements, to improve worker safety. The DOT has also begun using portable rumble strips and work zone cameras in every region of the state to protect workers. Transportation data: New Yorkers have still not returned to PRE-COVID -19 levels of mobility, data from Google shows.
Trips to workplaces, for example, were down 37 percent in June and early July, compared to a baseline established in January and February 2020. Trips to transit stations were down 34 percent during that time period.
Grocery and pharmacy and park trips were up 3 percent and 56 percent, respectively, although the surge in parks is likely due to the summer weather. Residential trips were also up slightly, 7 percent statewide.
The data for Albany County followed the statewide trends, with workplace trips down 45 percent and retail and recreation down 13 percent. In Rensselaer County, workplace trips were down only 30 percent, while in Saratoga County they were down 36 percent. Schenectady County has seen a marked uptick in grocery and pharmacy trips — 23 percent.
Fourth of July enforcement: Over 10,000 tickets were issued during a special enforcement period over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. During the campaign, State Police used sobriety checkpoints and targeted reckless and aggressive drivers, as well as drivers using cellphones.
Of the 10,238 tickets issued statewide, nearly four thousand were for speeding. Another 671 were for seat belt violations. Troopers charged 195 people with driving while intoxicated.
Troop G, which patrols the Capital Region, issued 335 tickets for speeding, 22 for distracted driving, 68 for child restraint and seat belt violations and six for Move Over law violations. They charged 11 for DWI and issued 838 total tickets.
Last year’s statewide campaign saw 8,214 tickets issued, with 180 charged for DWI.
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