View source for New York State Route 38A

{{Short description|New York state highway}}
{{Infobox road
|state=NY
|type=NY
|route=38A
|map={{maplink-road|from=New York State Route 38A.map}}
|map_custom=yes
|map_notes=Map of the Finger Lakes region with NY&nbsp;38A highlighted in red
|maint=[[New York State Department of Transportation|NYSDOT]] and the city of [[Auburn, New York|Auburn]]
|length_mi=21.91
|length_round=2
|length_ref=<ref name="2008tdr" />
|established=1930<ref name="gb" />
|direction_a=South
|terminus_a={{jct|state=NY|NY|38}} in [[Moravia (village), New York|Moravia]]
|direction_b=North
|terminus_b={{jct|state=NY|US|20|NY|5}} in [[Auburn, New York|Auburn]]
|counties=[[Onondaga County, New York|Onondaga]], [[Cayuga County, New York|Cayuga]]
|previous_type=NY
|previous_route=38
|next_type=NY
|next_route=38B
|spur_type=NY
|spur_of=38
}}
'''New York State Route&nbsp;38A''' ('''NY&nbsp;38A''') is a north&ndash;south [[state highway]] located within [[Onondaga County, New York|Onondaga]] and [[Cayuga County, New York|Cayuga]] counties in [[central New York]] in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with [[New York State Route 38|NY&nbsp;38]] in the [[Moravia (village), New York|village of Moravia]]. Its northern terminus is at a junction with [[U.S. Route 20 in New York|U.S. Route&nbsp;20]] (US&nbsp;20) and [[New York State Route 5|NY&nbsp;5]] in downtown [[Auburn, New York|Auburn]]. Much of NY&nbsp;38A runs through rural, undeveloped areas situated between [[Owasco Lake]] and [[Skaneateles Lake]].

The southern half of NY&nbsp;38A was originally designated as part of [[New York State Route 26 (1924–1930)|NY&nbsp;26]] in 1924. In the [[1930 state highway renumbering (New York)|1930 renumbering of state highways in New York]], NY&nbsp;26 was broken up into several routes, including NY&nbsp;38A, a new route assigned to NY&nbsp;26's former alignment between Moravia and Skaneateles and a previously unnumbered highway from Skaneateles to Auburn.

==Route description==
NY&nbsp;38A begins at an intersection with [[New York State Route 38|NY&nbsp;38]] in the [[Moravia (village), New York|village of Moravia]]. It proceeds east out of the village on East Cayuga Street and follows it to the vicinity of St. Patrick's Cemetery, where NY&nbsp;38A turns to follow Decker Creek northward through a valley surrounding the creek. While in the valley, NY&nbsp;38A passes through mostly undeveloped areas of the towns of [[Moravia (town), New York|Moravia]] and [[Niles, New York|Niles]]. At Globe Hotel Corners, an extremely small [[hamlet (New York)|hamlet]] just north of the Niles town line, NY&nbsp;38A begins to parallel [[New York State Route 41A|NY&nbsp;41A]], which runs roughly {{convert|2|mi|1}} to the east of NY&nbsp;38A along the top of the valley.<ref name="google">{{Google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=from:+RT-38A%20@42.854360,%20-76.456180+to:+E%20Cayuga%20St/RT-38A%20@42.713335,%20-76.421195 |title=overview map of NY 38A from Moravia to Owasco |access-date=February 12, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:NY 38A in Skaneateles.jpg|left|thumb|NY&nbsp;38A north from the junction with NY&nbsp;359 in Onondaga County]]
Approximately {{convert|2|mi|1}} north of Globe Hotel Corners, NY&nbsp;38A turns to follow a more northwesterly routing, matching the curvature of the river valley. The valley ends at the [[Cayuga County, New York|Cayuga]]–[[Onondaga County, New York|Onondaga]] County line, where NY&nbsp;38A enters an area of flats situated in between [[Owasco Lake]] and [[Skaneateles Lake]]. Here, NY&nbsp;38A intersects [[New York State Route 359|NY&nbsp;359]], a short highway leading to NY&nbsp;41A. NY&nbsp;38A bears west here, traveling to the south of the Dutch Hollow Country Club as it reenters Cayuga County.<ref name="google" />

The route proceeds west into the town of [[Owasco, New York|Owasco]] and the hamlet of the same name within, the first community of any significant size along the route since it left Moravia. It heads westward through the center of the community before reentering rural surroundings and coming within view of Owasco Lake. The route curves northward at the waterbody and follows the eastern shore of [[Owasco Lake]] toward [[Auburn, New York|Auburn]]. Southeast of Auburn, NY&nbsp;38A crosses a small stream and serves the Lakeview Golf and Country Club and the Owasco Country Club as it curves westward around the northern end of the lake.<ref name="google2" />

At Emerson Park, a public park situated near the midpoint of the northern lakeshore, the highway turns back to the north to access [[Melrose Park, New York|Melrose Park]], a community built up just north of the lake around the Owasco Outlet. Here, NY&nbsp;38A meets [[New York State Route 437|NY&nbsp;437]], a short connector highway linking NY&nbsp;38A to its parent, [[New York State Route 38|NY&nbsp;38]]. North of Melrose Park, the route becomes known as Owasco Street as it follows the Owasco Outlet into the city of Auburn.<ref name="google2" /> At the city line, ownership and maintenance of the route shifts from the [[New York State Department of Transportation]] (NYSDOT) to Auburn.<ref name="inv-cayuga">{{cite web |url=https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-repository2/INV_2010-03-02_cayuga.csv |title=Cayuga County Inventory Listing |date=March 2, 2010 |publisher=New York State Department of Transportation |format=CSV |access-date=December 20, 2010}}</ref><ref name="inv-onondaga">{{cite web |url=https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-repository2/INV_2010-03-02_onondaga.csv |title=Onondaga County Inventory Listing |date=March 2, 2010 |publisher=New York State Department of Transportation |format=CSV |access-date=December 20, 2010}}</ref> The route heads northeastward through the densely populated city to Walnut Street, where it splits into a [[one-way couplet]] along Fulton Street (northbound) and John and Owasco Streets (southbound). One block to the north, NY&nbsp;38A intersects [[U.S. Route 20 in New York|US&nbsp;20]] at Genesee Street. US&nbsp;20 joins NY&nbsp;38A for one block to the Auburn Arterial ([[New York State Route 5|NY&nbsp;5]]), where NY&nbsp;38A comes to an end.<ref name="google2">{{Google maps |link=no |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=from:+RT-38A%20@42.854360,%20-76.456180+to:+N%20Fulton%20St/US-20%20E%20@42.935401,%20-76.559488 |title=overview map of NY 38A from Owasco to Auburn |access-date=February 12, 2008}}</ref>

==History==
When the first set of posted routes in [[New York (state)|New York]] were assigned in 1924, the segment of modern NY&nbsp;38A between its southern terminus in [[Moravia (village), New York|Moravia]] and [[New York State Route 359|NY&nbsp;359]] in [[Skaneateles (town), New York|Skaneateles]] was designated as part of [[New York State Route 26 (1924–1930)|NY&nbsp;26]], a north&ndash;south highway extending from [[Ithaca, New York|Ithaca]] to [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]].<ref>{{cite news |title=New York's Main Highways Designated by Numbers |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 21, 1924 |page=XX9}}</ref> In the [[1930 state highway renumbering (New York)|1930 renumbering of state highways in New York]], NY&nbsp;26 was split into several routes. From [[Dryden (village), New York|Dryden]] to Moravia, NY&nbsp;26 became part of [[New York State Route 38|NY&nbsp;38]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Dickinson |first=Leon A. |title=New Signs for State Highways |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 12, 1930 |page=136}}</ref> Between Moravia and modern [[New York State Route 359|NY&nbsp;359]], it became the southern half of the new NY&nbsp;38A, an alternate route of NY&nbsp;38 around the east side of [[Owasco Lake]] that continued from the current NY&nbsp;359 junction to [[Auburn, New York|Auburn]] by way of a previously unnumbered roadway.<ref name="gb">''Automobile Legal Association (ALA) Automobile Green Book'', 1930–31 and 1931–32 editions, (Scarborough Motor Guide Co., Boston, 1930 and 1931). The 1930–31 edition shows New York state routes prior to the [[1930 renumbering (New York)|1930 renumbering]]</ref>

==Major intersections==
{{NYinttop|length_ref=<ref name="2008tdr">{{cite web |url=https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/Traffic%20Data%20Report%202008.pdf |title=2008 Traffic Data Report for New York State |date=June 16, 2009 |format=PDF |pages=186–187 |publisher=[[New York State Department of Transportation]] |access-date=December 8, 2009}}</ref>}}
{{NYint
|county=Cayuga
|location=Moravia
|area=village
|mile=0.00
|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|38|name1=West Cayuga Street&nbsp;/&nbsp;Main Street}}
|notes=Southern terminus
}}
{{NYint
|county=Onondaga
|location=Skaneateles
|area=town
|mile=11.51
|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|359|dir1=north|city1=Skaneateles|areadab1=village}}
|notes=[[Hamlet (New York)|Hamlet]] of Mandana; southern terminus of NY&nbsp;359
}}
{{NYint
|county=Cayuga
|cspan=3
|location=Owasco
|area=town
|mile=19.63
|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|437|NY|38|to2=yes|name1=White Bridge Road|dir1=west}}
|notes=Eastern terminus of NY&nbsp;437; [[hamlet (New York)|hamlet]] of [[Melrose Park, New York|Melrose Park]]
}}
{{NYint
|location=Auburn
|lspan=2
|road={{jct|state=NY|US|20|dir1=east|name1=Genesee Street|city1=Skaneateles|areadab1=village}}
|type=concur
|notes=Southern terminus of US&nbsp;20&nbsp;/ NY&nbsp;38A [[overlap (road)|overlap]]
}}
{{NYint
|mile=21.91
|type=concur
|road={{jct|state=NY|US|20|NY|5|dir1=west|name2=Arterial|city1=Seneca Falls|city2=Geneva}}
|notes=Northern terminus; northern terminus of US&nbsp;20&nbsp;/ NY&nbsp;38A overlap
}}
{{Jctintbtm|keys=concur}}

==See also==
*{{Portal-inline|U.S. roads}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|New York State Route 38A}}
{{Attached KML}}
{{NYSR external links|type=N|nyroutes=yes|route=38|suf=A|alps=yes}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:New York State Route 038a}}
[[Category:State highways in New York (state)|038A]]
[[Category:Transportation in Onondaga County, New York]]
[[Category:Transportation in Cayuga County, New York]]