In 1929, the owners and some Long Island officials proposed that New York State should buy the road and integrate it into the state parkway system, despite its narrow roadway (varying from 22 to as little as 16 feet wide) and steep bridges not meeting new standards. Moses opposed the idea, stating that the Long Island Motor Parkway had been "a white elephant for the last twenty years" and that it would need significant reconstruction to integrate it into the state parkway system.