That's not an incorrect use of that sign. It is illegal to drive on the shoulder, whether using it as another lane or passing stopped traffic.

What if a pedestrian or cyclist was legally using the shoulder, and someone decided to use the shoulder as a right turn lane? A serious injury or fatal crash could result.

If a right turn lane is warranted, one should be put in if the town can afford it,. If not, then leave it the way it is.

"Driving" on the shoulder means using it as an additional right lane for a continuous long length of time. However, according to the NYS DMV Driver's Handbook, it is legal to make a right turn on the shoulder, after you have come to a complete stop, PROVIDED IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. That means you need to use your rear-view mirror to check behind you to see if anybody is coming up behind you on your right side. Furthermore, pedestrians are legally required to walk on the LEFT side, FACING traffic, so that just such an incident does not occur.

I still maintain that this sign is INCORRECT. If they don't want people making a RIGHT ON RED, the sign should say "NO RIGHT ON RED." That would eliminate any ambiguity.

Funny, I can't find anything in the driver's manual that allows turning on the shoulder, and where do you find your definition of "driving?" To me, driving on the shoulder means moving on the shoulder, other than turning across it, or parking or un-parking in locations where parking is allowed.

The NY Driver's manual does say:

"It is illegal to drive across the edge line, except when directed to do so by a police officer or other authorized official." (Ch 4, pavement markings)

"You may not drive on or across the shoulder or edge line of the road unless a sign permits it." (Ch. 6, passing on the right)

In addition, Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1123 specifically prohibits going out of the travel lanes while passing on the right. Shoulders are not travel lanes. It does not make an exception for right turns.

Had the town wanted to prohibit right turns on red, they would have. There is no reason to prohibit rights on red there. However, since this is one of the few roads that cross I-87, I'm sure lots of people walk on it, despite the lack of sidewalks. Many pedestrians are hit each year walking legally on the shoulder facing traffic.

If this really bothers you, you could write a letter to the town Traffic Safety Committee, C/O Colonie P.D., and ask for an explanation.

PS. If you could find a few hundred thousand dollars, I'm sure the town would consider adding a right turn lane, if it is warranted. Personally, I can think of a few places where I'd rather see it spent putting in left turn lanes, which have a much bigger effect on safety.

That intersection was "redesigned" only a few years ago... Why didn't they put in a right-turn lane then, like they should have? There is plenty of room where they could have added one in. Move the guardrail over by 3 feet and re-stripe the pavement markings. Pretty simple. No big chore. Why do they want to inconvenience people, by forcing people to wait behind a line of cars who are going straight when whey could have added a right-turn lane in when they reconstructed it? To me, it seems very short-sighted of the Town of Colonie not to have installed a proper right-turn lane at this location to begin with, when hundreds of cars make the right turn from Sparrowbush Rd. heading west onto Sparrowbush Rd. north, especially during the afternoon rush hours. It's yet another example of where government bureaucrats don't see the whole picture, and then leave something poorly thought-out to languish for years, when they could have just built it right to begin with and not had to put up a stupid sign which doesn't belong at that location. In this day of $4.00+ a gallon gasoline, it only makes sense to keep traffic MOVING instead of making everyone wait just because the intersection was poorly redone. As far as I'm concerned, no intersection in this state should ever be redesigned without proper right- (and left) turning lanes to eliminate this situation. It's 2010, not 1910!!

3 SEPARATE ACTIONS REQUIRE 3 DIFFERENT SIGNS PROHIBITING EACH ONE!!!

TURNING on the right shoulder,
PASSING on the right shoulder,
and DRIVING on the right shoulder are 3 SEPARATE ACTIONS!

1) TURNING right on the right shoulder: LEGAL. (Provided that there is enough space to do so safely, AND that you yield to oncoming vehicles who are turning left in front of you, AND that there aren't any "NO TURN ON RED" signs posted.)

2) PASSING on the right shoulder: LEGAL. (If there is a vehicle in front of you that is making a left turn, AND provided that there is enough space to do so safely.)

3) DRIVING on the right shoulder: ILLEGAL. (DRIVING on the right shoulder implies continuously traveling along the shoulder for hundreds of feet and utilizing it as if it were another lane.)

Chapter 6 of the NYS DMV Handbook is VERY ambiguous regarding this topic, and so is the law itself. The handbook and the law should be clarified because this type of a situation is interpreted differently by every driver, every police officer, and every judge, and all it does is create confusion and accidents because nobody knows what they are supposed to do at intersections such as this one!

This issue is NEVER addressed because the 3 separate actions are NEVER correctly distinguished within the confines of the law.

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Chapter 6 of the NYS DMV Handbook says:

"PASSING ON THE RIGHT

You should usually pass other vehicles on the left, but passing on the right is allowed in certain situations. You may pass a vehicle on the right only in the situations listed below, and only if you can do so safely. You may not drive on or across the shoulder or edge line of the road unless a sign permits it. You may pass on the right:

When a vehicle ahead is making a left turn.

When you are driving on a one-way road that is marked for two or more lanes or is wide enough for two or more lanes, and passing is not restricted by signs.

If you are going to pass on the right at an intersection, check traffic ahead carefully. Make sure an oncoming vehicle is not turning left into your path, and watch out at the right side of the road for pedestrians, bicyclists, in-line skaters and moped riders.

Before you pass on the right on multilane roads such as expressways, make sure you check your mirrors, use the proper signals for lane change, and look over your right shoulder for other vehicles. After passing, be sure to check over your left shoulder, and to signal, before returning to the left lane."

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Still not fixed!!

Still not fixed!! 9/21/13.

Email Colonie@colonie.org to see if you can get them to join this program so they could see issues like this.

Town of Colonie isn't looking at this application they don't want to use it do you have to call them directly

I take it the consultants who “designed” Wade Extension and the realignment of Sparrowbush retired to sunny Florida long ago. If the Wade Extension segment was designed with better drainage (i.e. lose the curbs and elevate the roadway above the surrounding grade) maybe the pavement would last longer than three weeks before crumbling into a suspension-taxing mess.

“You may not drive on or across the shoulder or edge line of the road unless a sign permits it.” It kinda sounds to me like a sign explicitly does not permit it. Sounds simple to me: don’t drive (turn, move, pass, text, tap dance, park, check your tire pressures, and so on) on the shoulder there.