Transportation 12-8-06
Transportation
VI.TRANSPORTATION
The transportation system connects residences with work, shopping, recreational and
community facilities. In Wappinger, as in the rest of Dutchess County, the primary
element of the transportation system is a road network and private automobiles. Other
elements of the transportation system include the Dutchess County Airport, Metro-North
rail service, regional and inter-city bus service, waterborne transportation, and pedestrian
and bicycle systems. This section of the Plan examines existing conditions as a basis for
recommendations to improve the system. It includes recommendations for improvements
to accommodate increased traffic on Routes 9 and 9D, and for transit and pedestrian
improvements as well. Successful management of the increasing level of traffic on the
main roads in Wappinger will involve integrated planning, including enhancing
transportation alternatives and coordinating future land uses with the best possible
transportation systems and practices, and working together with neighboring
municipalities and State and County officials to implement major improvements.
Goal
Encourage the development of a transportation system consistent with Town land use
patterns and objectives, including public transportation, pedestrian and bicycle systems.
Objectives
A.Improve traffic conditions on Route 9.
B.Use transportation improvements as a positive factor in shaping growth.
C.Require service roads, internal connections and combined parking lots, where
appropriate.
D.Minimize the number of access points on major and collector roads.
E.Develop a sidewalk network and bikeway system connecting community
facilities, centers and schools.
F.Improve street connectivity between neighborhoods as new areas are developed.
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Issues and Opportunities
1.There is a high level of traffic congestion on Route 9 during peak hours, especially
between Myers Corners Road and New Hackensack Road.
2.Service roads designed to alleviate traffic congestion in this area have been
planned since 1974, but have not been implemented, due to the difficulty of
acquiring control of certain properties, physical constraints, fiscal constraints, and
the additional requirement of coordination between the Town and the Village of
Wappingers Falls, plus State and County authorities. The 2004 Survey shows that
there is public support for the condemnation of land to build new roads to improve
traffic within the Town.
3.The 2004 Survey shows that 84percent of Town residents support using local tax
dollars to fund roadway improvements to improve traffic flow (with 13 percent
neutral and only 3 percent opposed). When residents were asked to identify the
single-most important investment the Town should make, this was the highest-
ranking item.
4.Traffic congestion on Route 9 induces drivers to seek alternate routes, resulting in
higher levels of traffic and higher speeds than are appropriate on local roads.
5.Moderate but increasing levels of congestion occur during peak hours on Myers
Corners Road by Ketcham High School, at the intersection of Old Hopewell Road
with Route 9D, at the intersections of the major east-west collector roads (New
Hackensack, Myers Corners and Old Hopewell Roads) with Route 9 (particularly
westbound in the morning peak hours) and with All Angels HillRoad (County
Route 94).
6.Use of public transit has increased, but opportunities for travel by pedestrian,
bicycle, and public transit modes are limited and not fully integrated.
Transportation Conditions and Recommendations
The private automobile is the primary means of transportation in the Town. Most Town
residents rely onprivate vehicles for their commute to work, for trips to shopping
locations and for other daily activities. The vast majority (82 percent) of Town residents
drive alone to work, and 10 percent carpool.Use of public transit, including trainand
bus service, has increased from 3.2 percent of commuters in 1980 and only 2.0 percent of
commuters in 1990 to 4.9 percent of commuters in 2000. Walking and bicycling are not
common means of getting to work (1.3 percent), but there is strong support (61 percent in
the 2004 Survey) for walking and bicycle trails connecting large areas of the Town: 43
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percent of responders said that if bike paths and bike lanes existed throughout the Town,
they would be used by at least one member of the family. More detailed information on
commuting patterns can be found in the companion volume to this Plan, the Inventory
and Analysis, in the Community Services and Facilities section.
While Wappinger commuting patterns are similar to others in Dutchess County, a
significant minority of workers commute 45 minutes or more each way. The mean travel
time to work for Wappinger workers was 32 minutes, up 16 percent from 1990.This
increase in travel time to work is due to people commuting further for employment, and
to more traffic on roads. The number of Wappinger resident workers leaving the County
for work increased by 17 percent from 1990 to 2000.
As noted in the earlier chapter on the economic base of the community, one-quarter of
Wappinger commuters (26 percent) spend 45 minutes or more traveling to work each
day– more, even, than in Los Angeles County (where 20 percent have commutes of 45
minutes or more), and more than in Dutchess County as a whole (22 percent).
Nationally, only 15 percent of commuters have commutes of 45 minutes or more.Many
of these long-distance commutes involve crossing county lines, particularly to the south.
According to the 2000 Census, one-third of the workers residing in Wappinger work
outside the county.While one way to reduce the long commute is to bring jobs and
housing closer together (as described in the chapter on the local economy), another is to
improve the transportation system, including roadway improvements and improved
transit options.
Pedestrian and Bicycle System
The Town has a limited system of sidewalks, no existing bicycle paths, and one County-
designated bicycle route (Route 9D). There is a Greenway trail from the mouth of
Wappinger Creek to the Route 9 bridge over the north end Wappinger Lake. The New
York State Department of Transportation has proposed bicycle routes along Route 9 and
Route 82, and the Dutchess County Planning Department is developing plans to use the
old Maybrook rail line as a bicycle path.
Recommendations
1.Develop a staged Pedestrian and Bikeway Master Plan that inventories and
evaluates existing and potential facilities and improvements. The Town has
already studied the possibility of having others build a sidewalk on Route 9 from
Old Hopewell Road to Middlebush / Myers Corners Road, and on Old Hopewell
Road from Route 9 to Route 9D in Hughsonville, with a crosswalk at the
intersection of Route 9 and Old Hopewell Road (approximately two miles total,
with a sidewalk on one side only). Old Hopewell Road, Myers Corners Road,
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Route 376, and the portions of New Hackensack and Widmer Roads near Route 9
should be considered as future corridors for bike paths and/or bike lanes.
2.Review and expand requirements for the provision of sidewalks in conjunction
with new commercial development.
Public Transit
Public transportation options available to the residents of the Town include the Metro-
North Railroad (Hudson Line)and the County’s LOOP Bus System.Inter-city bus
service is provided by a group of private companies: Short Line, Arrow Bus, and
Leprechaun Bus Lines.The County also operates a Dial-A-Ride service for senior
citizens and physically handicapped persons who are unable to access the LOOP Bus
System. The details of these services are described below.
The Metro-North Hudson Line provides access to Westchester County and New York
City with stations in New Hamburg and in Beacon to the south. The New Hamburg
station is 1 hour and 10 minutes away from Grand Central Station (GCT) via express
service, and offers 25 trains each day, with six trains leaving the station to arrive at GCT
during the morning peak hours, and six leaving GCT for New Hamburg during evening
peak hours. Ridership at the New Hamburg station increased from an average of 193
persons per day in 1982 to 800 per day in 1996 and 818 per day in 2003. The station has
parking for 815 automobiles. The County LOOP bus system connects to the station, with
five trips each morning and six each evening. Undeveloped properties near the New
Hamburg station, just south of Wappingers Creek in the Obercreek / Wheeler Hill
neighborhood, present opportunities for transit-oriented development.
Four LOOP bus routes and one CTC (Commuter Train Connection) bus route operate in
the Town, with a total of 39 LOOP buses and 11 CTC buses per weekday. LOOP 3
offers the most frequent service, with 12 buses per day from the Galleria Mall in
Poughkeepsie along 9D to Beacon. Saturday schedules vary slightly, and Sunday service
is not available on all LOOP bus lines. Fares are low, at 75 cents per ride, with an option
for monthly passes as well.
Dial-A-Ride is a demand response bus system designated to meet the special needs of
elderly and disabled people in seven Dutchess County municipalities. The service is
sponsored by the Town in conjunction with Dutchess County Office for the Aging and
provides individualized transportation to those elderly and handicapped individuals who
cannot use regular bus service. At the present time, Dial-A-Ride service is available to
Wappinger residents on weekdays, with fares starting at 75 cents for a one-way trip.
Private bus companies offer express service to New York City, Poughkeepsie and White
Plains.The Short Line bus company runs 18 buses a day between New York City and
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Poughkeepsie, with a flag stop in Wappingers Falls.The Arrow Bus company provides
eight buses a day between Poughkeepsie and New Paltz.Leprechaun Bus Lines runs 13
buses a day to White Plains with a stop at Nine-Mile Plaza in Wappingers Falls.
Recommendations for Public Transit
1.Coordinate with regional transit authorities and adjoining communities to improve
regional transit services. Public transit connections to regional nodes, such as the
New Hamburg station, the airport, and park-and-ride stations, should be evaluated
and opportunities for expansion considered.
2.Encourage higher density land uses in locations which could serve as public transit
nodes in the future.
Airports
The Dutchess County Airport is the major airport in the County. While regular
commercial flights ended in 2001, the airport hosts frequent private charter flights,
averaging four passengers per flight, according to the Dutchess County Airport’s
manager. The airport is also useful as a facility for reconnaissance flights for law
enforcement and utility companies, and as a fast route for deliveries, from organ
transplants to weekly parcel deliveries.
Stewart International Airport is 20 miles away from most locations in Wappinger, located
across the Hudson River in Newburgh. The airport offers commercial passenger service,
including US Airways, American, Northwest, Delta and Alaska Airlines, with
approximately 25 flights daily offering direct service to Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit,
Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Leprechaun Bus Lines operates a shuttle from the
Beacon station to the airport hourly.
Recommendation: Amend zoning to restrict land uses to avoid high populations of
employees or residents near the Dutchess County Airport, in relation to proximity to the
airport generally, and in relation to proximity to flight paths.
Water Transportation
The Hudson River, on the western border of Wappinger, has a deep water channel for
ocean-going vessels as far north as Albany. Deep draft vessels can be berthed at private
facilities in Beacon, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and Kingston. There are public launches
for small boats at Beacon, New Hamburg, Poughkeepsie, Stattsburg, Rhinecliff and
Tivoli. There are also private boat clubs in most riverfront communities. There is a
small launch facility at Chelsea that is available for use by Town residents.
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Freight
Although CSX operates a freight rail line through the Town, and freight travels on the
Hudson River and through the airport, all freight with origins or destinations in the Town
must travel on the roadway network.
Arterial Roadways
The major arterials traversing Wappinger are Route 9D, Route 9, Route 376 and a short
section of Route 82, consisting of a total of 11.26 miles of State-maintained arterial
highways. These roadways provide access to Poughkeepsie to the north, Beacon and
Fishkill to the south and Hopewell Junction and Pawling to the east. Arterials passing
through Wappinger connect with Interstate 84 to the south, providing access to
Pennsylvania, New England and New York City, as well as with the Taconic State
Parkway to the east, which connects New York City with northeastern New York State.
Other arterials in Dutchess County include Route 22, a north-south roadway in the
eastern section of the County, Routes 44 and 55 which traverse the County from east to
west, and Route 52 in the southern section of the County.
The Stateconducts traffic counts on all State roadways at regular intervals. The most
recent volume data is presented in full in the companion volume to this Plan, Inventory
and Analysis.Significant increases in traffic volume over the past 10 years have occurred
only on Route 9 near the junction with Myers Corners Road and on Route 376.
Route 9
TheWappinger portion of the Route 9 corridor, functionally classified as an Urban
Principal Arterial, has experienced tremendous landdevelopment and increased traffic
volumes (heavy commercial traffic, commuters and local traffic). This section of the
Route 9 corridor has been identified by the NYS Department of Transportation as having
no access control and in need of alternative traffic movement options along the western
(southbound) side of the road between Myers Corners Road and Mesier Avenue. This
portion of Route 9 was not widened to six lanes in 1990s when the rest of the corridor
wasimprovedfrom Vassar Road in Poughkeepsie to Mesier Avenue in Wappinger. A
major chokepoint is the segment between New Hackensack Road and East Main Street
due to the proximity of these intersections, inadequate stacking and turning lane capacity,
the large number of left turn movements, and the large number of curb cuts in such a
small area. The close proximity of existing buildings and businesses to the traveled way
severely complicates solutions.
There are many commercialand light industrial sites along the Route 9 corridor and other
roadways with individual curb cuts and very few coordinated entrances off of major
collector and through road arterials. There are limited or no internal connections between
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the sites with high traffic-generating uses (commercial and multi-family). These
conditions lead to decreased function on the roadways resulting from conflicting turning
movements, driver confusion, restricted pedestrian access and safety concerns. The large
numberof individual and sometimes multiple curb cuts for each site also contributes to a
degraded pedestrian environment and a cluttered visual appearance.
Peak hour traffic is seeking alternate routes to Route 9 and is diverting to local streets,
creating safety concerns and a significant degradation of the quality of life in the
adjoining areas. The congested rush hour traffic is resulting in significant delays,
increased air pollution, productivity impacts, increased frustration, and diminished
quality of life for residents, workers and shoppers. Continued problems may limit the
proper economic growth of the area.
The traffic congestion on Route 9 is not primarily a problem of volume or capacity, but
one of access management – there are too many intersections and curb cuts in the 1.5
mile corridor in the north end of Town. In this portion of Route 9, there are several long
dead-end roadways that parallel Route 9 on the east side and that contain high density
development (multi-family housing, senior housing, office parks, etc.) that, despite long-
term recommendations for their continuation as through streets, have not been extended
and connected as a secondary service road. Key properties necessary to make the desired
connections are currently being considered for development that would prohibit such
connections. Continued failure to develop service roads on both sides of Route 9 would
reduce traffic safety, and limit the functionality and economic potential of the
surrounding area.
Recommendations for Route 9
1.Service road east of Route 9. Implement plans from 1974 to create a north-south
service road on the east side of Route 9 by joining several dead-end access roads.
Concept plans include lateral east-west links through to Meiser Avenue, East Main
Street and Old Route 9. [see attached map]
rd
2.Alternatives to 3 southbound lane. Encourage the NYSDOT to study road
alignment concepts including connector roads (such as Old Route 9), laterals, and
realignments as a part of its construction of an additional southbound lane on
Route 9 from Meiser Avenue to Myers Corners Road. Alternatives may have
more lasting benefits on level of service at the intersections in this area than
rd
investment in the construction of a 3 southbound lane. The NYSDOT project
should include a pedestrian crossing at Wappinger Creek.
3.Right turn lanes. Encourage the NYSDOT to consider installing additional right
turn lanes at all Route 9 intersections.
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4.Reduce / eliminate / combine vehicular access points to Route 9.Section 240-21
of the Town’s ZoningLaw currently requires individual street access for all
properties. This requirement should be changed for commercial land uses to
encourage coordinated use of vehicular access points along the major arterials of
the Town. The revised regulation should place a greater emphasis on traffic
efficiency and pedestrian safety, and the cumulative negativeimpact of individual
access points on the traffic movement along Route 9. Regulatory changes should
be consistent with the Greenway seven-step guide to “Zip Up the Strip.”
5.Commercialsiteinterconnectivity.Encourage service roads, parking lot
connections, and sidewalks linking commercial sites so that main roadways are not
congested by excess turning movements.
6.Parking.The Town should review current parking requirements and adjust them
to encourage the coordination of parking and access between adjoining
commercial properties in this corridor.
7.Boulevarddesign. The appearance and pedestrian safety of Route 9 should be
improved through streetscape improvements, including median landscaping,
sidewalks, street trees, lighting, signage andunderground utilities. (See also the
previous chapter on Community Appearance and Character.)
Route 9D
Route 9D is frequently used as a cut-through between Route 9 in Wappingers Falls and
theI-84 exit near the Beacon-Newburgh Bridge. Congestion is significant during peak
hours in the vicinity of Hughsonville and Wappingers Falls. The proximity of buildings
in these areas precludes the widening of the roadway for vehicular traffic, and the section
in Hughsonville is especially narrow, allowing no room for sidewalks, islands or other
amenities.
Recommendations
1.Hughsonville / Route 9D Concept Plan. The planning process associated with this
plan identified a potential solution to the problems of congestion in Hughsonville
as well as a solution to the lack of sidewalks in the hamlet. The solution involves
the creation of a new couplet, approximately 800 feet long on the southeast side of
Route 9D in the hamlet center. The new section of road would serve northbound
traffic only, and the existing roadway would be reconfigured to serve only
southbound traffic (see attached map, Figure VI-5).
The Hughsonville / Route 9D couplet would alleviate traffic congestion and delays
along Route 9D by reducing the number of conflicting turning movements.
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Separate northbound and southbound travel lanes will allow motorists to conduct
left turn movements unopposed. Coordination of the two traffic signals could
permita continuous flow for the larger movements, such as the northbound to
eastbound movement during the morning peak period. Reducing the number of
conflicting turning movements will also reduce the potential for accidents and may
therefore improve safety.
The new section of road would pass through mostly vacant land, requiring the
removal of a metal building housing a salvage yard operation. All of the other
buildings would remain and would be enhanced by coordinated parking areas
behind buildings, sidewalks, street lights and some parallel on-street parking. The
Town should cooperate with County and State officials tostudy the possible
solutions further and to advance the outcomes possible under the Hughsonville /
Route 9D Concept Plan.
2.Maintain and enhance the highway’s scenic and rural character. This includes
maintaining the road as a two-lane highway, and removing billboards from the
corridor.
Collector Roadways
Collector roads provide traffic circulation access to land within the Town’s primarily
residential areas, connecting homes and worksites with the regional arterial network. The
21.26 miles of collector roads in Wappinger are maintained by Dutchess County. County
Routes 28, 29, 34, 35, 93, 94, 104 and 110 are the primary collector roadways in the
Town. Of these, Routes 28 and 94 (Old Hopewell Road and All Angels Road) also serve
as conduits for through traffic. Volumes on all County roads are recorded at regular
intervals by the Poughkeepsie– DutchessCounty Transportation Council.
Traffic levels on these collector roads have increased over the past 10 years.
Hughsonville/Old Hopewell Road (County Road 28)increased to over 10,000 AADT
(average annual daily traffic) east of Route 9, with an average increase of 2.6 percent per
year.Middlebush/Meyers Corners Road (County Road 93) experienced increases of up
to 3.0 percent per year, and volumes of nearly 20,000 AADT near the Ketcham High
School.New Hackensack Road (County Road 104) has traffic volumes of around 10,000
AADT near Route 9 and between Jackson Road and All Angels Road.Jackson Road
(County Road 110) near the airport increased the most of all County roads in traffic
volume, more than doubling since the mid-1980s to over 10,000 AADT by 2001. (For
more detailed information, please refer to the Inventory and Analysis, the companion
volume to this Plan.)
As mentioned earlier, the County roads, which ordinarily serve as collectors providing
access to the arterial roadways, are now doubling as through-roads, due to the higher
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levels of traffic and reduced levels of service on Route 9. Also, peak hour travelers on
the east-west collector roads (New Hackensack, Meyers Corners and Old Hopewell
Roads) often experience delays approaching the intersection with Route 9, particularly
westbound traffic.Congestion has also been reported at the intersections of these
roadways with All Angels Hill Road.The high volume of traffic turning into and out of
Ketcham High School results inlong queues and delays along Meyers CornersRoad
during morning school arrival and afternoon school dismissal times.
Recommendations for Collector Roadways
1.The Town shouldencourageCounty officials to construct a turning lane on
County Route 93 (Myers Corners Road) at the Ketcham High School entrance.
2.The Town should encourageState and County officials to address the problems on
Route 9 that contribute to traffic problems on collector roads.
3.The Town should encourage County officials to construct right turn lanes at the
intersection of Routes 93 and 94.
Local Roadways
Local roadways provide access to individual properties throughout the community. The
96 miles of local roadway system in the Town of Wappinger are maintained by the Town
Highway Department. The 36 miles of double yellow centerlines on local roadways are
repainted every year. The Town has a tentative re-paving schedule, which includes
paving between five and six miles per year. This results in the repaving all Town roads
approximatelyevery 15 years.The Town has plans toimprove the intersection of
Ketchamtown Road at Route 9D with State funding.
Certainlocal roads are being used by through traffic, or are experiencing higher traffic
volumes than what they were designed for or can safely accommodate due to
environmental constraints. Specific problems have been reported on Spook Hill Road,
Kent Road, Cedar Hill Road, Degarmo Hills Road, Montfort Road, Robinson Lane and
Pye Lane. The Town commissioned a study of these roads to determine the extent of the
problems and the feasibility of traffic calming solutions.
The study found that Spook Hill Road and Kent Road had 20 or more accidents each
during a three-year period between 1998 and 2001, and all the roads studied commonly
experienced traffic traveling 10 or more miles per hour over the posted speed limit. The
study also found that for most of these roads, physical improvements such as curbing and
raised center medians in key locations could help reduce the speed of traffic (for more
details, refer to “Traffic Calming Study: Town Roadways, Wappinger, New York,”
prepared by Frederick P. Clark Associates, March 2003).
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Recommendation for Local Roadways The Town should pursue financially feasible
traffic calming solutions, including physical long-term improvements in key locations.
Integrating Land Use and Transportation
Currently, most of the Town consists of low-density residential land uses, generally one-
half acre to an acre per dwelling unit. As the Town continues to grow, and as automobile
use becomes less efficient in terms of cost and function, transportation alternatives will
become more viable and important. Bus routes and other forms of public transportation
work best when they link areas of higher density housing and employment with one
another. Daily shopping needs and community activities can be accessed by walking
when housing and other uses are close together. While the Town currently has public
transit service, the frequency of service has not yet risen to levels competitive to those
with the automobile as an option.
Developing higher densities of employment along particular corridors in the Town would
facilitate expanded transit service. The Route 9 Corridor has a large amount of
developed land, but lacks housing and pedestrian amenities. Myers Corners / Middlebush
Road (County Route 93) is still rural and suburban in character, yet it links major
employment centers – the former IBM office facility, the high school, junior high school
and elementary school, plus Hughsonsville hamlet. Route 9D links the Village of
Wappingers Falls with Hughsonsville and with the cities of Beacon and Newburgh.
These three roads could be the major axes of public transportation in the Town’s future.
The Town should give careful consideration as well to the Wheeler Hill / Obercreek area
as a potential area for transit-oriented development in relation to the New Hamburg
station in Poughkeepsie, with the parallel goal of preserving the rural landscape that
separates and defines Hughsonsville hamlet. As mentioned in the earlier chapter on
population and housing, land development of the densities required to achieve positive
transit and pedestrian outcomes also involves extending municipal water and sewer
service.
Recommendation: Encourage higher commercialdensity and mixed commercialland use
in existing commercial areas that support transit, reduce traffic, improve local identity,
provide opportunities for public spaces, and promote pedestrian activity.
Coordinated Planning
The Town will need to work with State and County transportation agencies, and with
neighboring municipalities in order to implement the improvements proposed in this
Plan. The improvements planned by the Village of Wappingers Falls in its 2001 Plan
regarding Routes 9 and 9D have been considered and this Plan does not conflict with
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them. The widening of Route 9 and the development of service roads to the west will
take close coordination between the two municipalities over a long time period.
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