New York State Department of Transportation Map Information Unit Indexes to Tri-State Transportation Committee, Tri-State…

Arranged by date of project.

A temporary "tri-state traffic safety commission" was established by the Legislature in 1960 (Chapter 925, Laws of 1960). Similar legislation was passed that year in Connecticut and New Jersey. Its existence was extended from 1961 to 1963 by Chapter 495, Laws of 1961 and Chapter 411, Laws of 1962. A prospectus issued by the temporary commission in April 1962 outlined its initial mission and preliminary plans. A technical advisory committee included representation from the New York State Department of Transportation, and this prospectus also mentioned the need for updated mapping to aid studies and research projects. The temporary commission became known as the Tri-State Transportation Committee.

In 1963 the Legislature (Chapter 617) formed the Tri-State Transportation Commission, with the duration of the three-state compact coming in 1968. Of the Commission's 16 members, three from each state had to be "state officers or employees engaged in highway or other transportation activities." (Section 3.2) Each existing state agency "engaged in highway or other transportation activities" was "authorized to assist [the Commission] in the performance of its functions." (Section 4.4) Governor Nelson Rockefeller mentioned the need for the Commission in his annual message, and in his message upon passage noted correctly that this was the "first such compact agency established with prior Congressional consent granted under a 1961 Federal Law." "The benefits of a united approach," he added, "will become increasingly significant to commuters and commercial shippers" alike. The Governor's charge suggested the Commission's studies might have value in regional urban planning beyond mere transportation projects.

The Commission conducted landmark planning studies in such subject areas as rapid transit and the interstate highway system. It was closely tied to transportation agencies in the three states as well as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Six years later (by Chapter 333, Laws of 1971) it was renamed the Tri-State Regional Planning Commission "to reflect its broader functional scope."

This series consists of indexes to aerial photographs created for the Tri-State Transportation Committee, 1961-1965; Tri-State Transportation Commission, 1965-1971; and Tri-State Regional Planning Commission, 1971-1980, for use in regional highway planning. Areas covered by the Committee and the later Commissions were the southern portion of New York, western Connecticut, and northern New Jersey. New York counties covered were Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx, and Richmond.

The indexes consist of composite aerial photographs and annotated printed maps. Only photographs created by the Committee in 1961-1962 and 1970 are held by the State Archives (Series B2023). The location of later photographs indexed by this series is unknown.

Series B2023, Tri-State Transportation Committee Aerial Photographs, 1961-1962, 1970, is indexed by this series.

This series was accessioned under Records Disposition Authorization (RDA) number 20986.

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