Loading...
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. Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan60 Transportation 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 Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan61 Transportation 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, Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan62 Transportation 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 Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan63 Transportation 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. Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan64 Transportation 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 Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan65 Transportation 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. Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan66 Transportation 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. Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan67 Transportation 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 Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan68 Transportation 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). Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan69 Transportation 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 Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan70 Transportation 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. j:\docs2\500\wappinger\comprehensive plan\revised chapters\transportation 12-8-06.doc Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan71