Syracuse.com - There's no shortage of 'deer crossing' signs in the city of Syracuse

[HuntingNY-News]

Continue the discussion. Join the Syracuse Media Group's panel discussion on "Urban Wildlife" Thursday. If you can't attend, send your questions to [email protected].

They're all over the city of Syracuse - deer crossing signs, that is.

"We have a couple of dozen up. We just replaced one the other day," said Bill Richardson, crew leader for the city's traffic sign crew.

"You got them up on East Genesee, LaFayette Road, Glenwood Avenue, Valley Drive (by the cemetery), Jamesville Avenue, near Webster's Pond," he said.

Richardson said he's been driving the streets of Syracuse for about 30 years.

"It's really amazing. There's deer all over," he said. "They're living in the smallest wooded areas you can think of, in cemeteries, in wooded areas adjacent to developments and definitely in the city's outskirts."

Richardson said he's often seen small groups of deer congregating in unlikely places, like the corner of Westmoreland Avenue and West Genesee Street.

"It's kind of weird, but they're there," he said. "I've seen them on the south side on Castle Street. One night, I saw one come out of the Oakwood Cemetery on to West Colvin Street. It was a buck (with antlers so big) it looked like it had a rocking chair on its head. I couldn't believe how big it was."

Syracuse Police do not have an available tally on the number of deer/motor vehicle accidents that occurred in the city during 2012.

Data collected by the state Department of Transportation, though, shows seven deer/vehicle accidents on Syracuse's "city streets" in 2011. That figure does not include accidents that occurred on county or state roads that run through the city.

(In the same state report, the DOT reported 1,005 deer/vehicle accidents in Onondaga County that year, along with 4,325 accidents in the six-county Central New York region, which is comprised of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, Oswego and Oneida counties.)

Richardson said the city has no written policy in determining where deer crossing signs go, adding most of the sign placements are the result of complaints from residents or at the request of police..

Richardson said he drives out to each proposed deer sign location to make sure there' s no problems with the sign placement, such as blocking or obscuring the view of a stop sign.

He stressed deer crossing signs definitely serve a purpose in the city.

"It's good for people to have a heads-up in the areas (where the deer are)," he said.

CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION

Join the Syracuse Media Group's panel discussion at our new offices at 220 Warren St. in downdown Syracuse from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on "Urban Wildlife" Thursday. You have to register in advance to attend.

See commonly asked questions and answers about urban deer by Steve Joule, chief wildlife biologist for Region 7 of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

If you can't come send your questions to [email protected].

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog