The road's drainage system had some special features designed to avoid detracting from its scenic qualities. The roadway was crowned, with storm drain grates at the edge since there was no shoulder, to keep water from forming deep puddles that could cause accidents (these have been eliminated from modernized sections of the parkway in Westchester). The soft hand-fluted curbs also helped channel runoff to the basins, and in the median strips a central trench took water to underground pipes which drain into local streams.