Long Island Historic Parkways
A community-submitted Section 106 Success Story in Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, New York.
photo by: Doug Kerr via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0
A 2010 view of the Loop Parkway on Long Island.
New York has beautiful historic parkways with unique stone bridges, rustic appurtenances, and lush landscaping. These roads are constantly under pressure to be modernized with non-conforming elements. Through the Section 106 consultation process, a MASH-tested timber-faced steel-backed guiderail was installed in lieu of a galvanized guiderail to preserve the rustic branding of the parkway system.
The parkway system was built by the Long Island State Parks Commission beginning in the 1930s through the 1970s to connect Long Island to the barrier beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. Eventually, their upkeep was given to the New York State Department of Transportation, who has done a great job of modernizing them while respecting their rustic character. All updates were coordinated with the New York State Historic Preservation Office (NY SHPO) to install appropriate elements to the character-defining features which preserve the parkway character.
What Would Have Been Lost
If the revised regulations by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation were in effect at the time of this project, the Long Island Parkways would look very different. Unprotected parkways from the same era in neighboring counties look nothing like the original design because they were not deemed National Register–eligible, therefore there was no consultation with the NY SHPO or a task force to provide guidance on how to preserve the historic elements.
Around 1992, new light poles and guiderails were proposed for the Meadowbrook and Loop parkways to update them. As a result, a task force was formed to come up with solutions as the parkways had just been designated National Register-eligible.
photo by: NY Department of Transportation
The Meadowbrook Parkway on Long Island c.1936.
photo by: NY Department of Transportation
A historic photograph of Northern State Parkway on Long Island.
A task force was created that included Federal Highway Administration and the NY SHPO to find and choose appropriate designs. They successfully found crash-tested timber guiderail and breakaway timber light fixtures for the historic parkways, which preserved the parkways' character.
Visit Section 106 Under Threat for more success stories, information, and to take action.
