MORE quESTiONS ThAN ANSwERS

By RuSS TARBy

Contributing Writer

There were more questions than answers at last Thursday’s 90-minute “town hall” probing the problem of vehicles crashing into the Onondaga Lake Parkway railroad bridge.

Produced by cnycentral.com and aired over WTVH-TV5, the May 4 program was anchored by Matt Mulcahy and Michael Benny at the “Amish Country” gazebo in Liverpool’s Washington Park. CNYcentral’s news director, Sean Carroll, oversaw the production.

Three primary guests were featured: Congressman Brandon Williams, Onondaga County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Matt Fisher and town of Salina Supervisor Nick Paro. The 50th District State Sen. John Mannion was also on hand.

Since Jan. 1, six oversize vehicles have struck the 150-year-old bridge. Last year, eight trucks taller than 10’9” crashed there. In September 2010 four passengers were killed when a double-deck Megabus hit the bridge while traveling 47 mph.

Outside the gazebo, Benny interviewed New York State Department of Transportation Regional Director Dave Smith, who said that some 22,000 vehicles use the parkway daily. Smith outlined several agency initiatives in-