נאכדעם-וואס-דער-רעקאד-שרייבער-קריס-
האט-שוין-געשריבען-דערפין-פאריגע-וואך-מאנטאג-נאכדעם-וואס-מען-האט-עם-אנגעפרעגט-פארוואס-ער-האט- נאר-אדרעסירט--ווי -די -פארק-געלט-איז-געגאנגען-אין-נישט-אדרעסירט-דעם-פראעיקט-האט-ער-שוין-געשריבען---אי-פין-אים-האבן-מיר-באקומען-די-אינפארמאציע אגב-ברענג-אסאך-ארטיקלעך-אין-רעקאד-וואס-בהאנדלען-דעם-טראפיק-פראבלעם-אויף-רוט-105-וואס-איך-האב-באקומען-אין-אי-מעיל
-
January 24, 2005
Report highlights changes needed to avert traffic chaos
By Chris McKenna
Times Herald-Record
[email protected]
A report due out this month offers grim confirmation of what anyone who's ever driven on Route 17M in Monroe on a Saturday already knows: traffic in southeastern Orange County is getting out of hand.
For nearly three years, local officials and consultants examined the worst choke points and tried to figure out how bad the congestion might get if towns continue to grow under their current land-use practices.
Their conclusion: intersections would be totally clogged.
A report summary suggests ways officials can avert the looming traffic disaster – both by improving how these towns grow and modernizing a road network built when Orange County was still the sticks.
On the land-use side, the summary recommended that towns abandon their traditional large-lot residential zoning and better mingle homes and businesses, in hopes of putting fewer new cars on the road and stimulating mass transit.
On the road side were suggestions ranging from a yield sign here and a traffic signal there to huge, multi-million-dollar projects that will likely be built only with large infusions of state and federal funds.
Below are some of the report's suggested road improvements, with additional information supplied by Graham Trelstad of the consulting firm AKRF Inc.
The four highlighted items were described as being most feasible. The others were ranked at "mid-level feasibility."
1. Exit loop from southbound Route 32 to the Thruway entrance on Route 17. Estimated to cost from $10 million to $12 million, this project would ease traffic jams at the busy nexus of routes 17, 32 and 6 and the Thruway.
Morning commuters and shoppers leaving Woodbury Common Premium Outlets could zip right to the Thruway without clogging Route 32. The project is part of a $15 million funding request pending in Congress.
2. Extend Larkin Drive from Route 105 to Route 208. Larkin Drive is the road through Harriman Commons shopping center. Officials want to extend it westward in Monroe from its endpoint at Route 105 to Route 208, to siphon local traffic off Route 17.
3. Traffic signal at Route 105 and Nininger Road. New light near the state police barracks on Nininger is intended to relieve backups on that road.
4. Add lanes to Route 17. The summary says nothing more, but officials have been talking about adding a third lane in each direction from the Thruway to Interstate 84 in Wallkill.
5. Route 17 interchange at Route 105. A potential obstacle is that Route 17 is being converted into an interstate highway and the federal government wants to reduce – not expand – the number of exits.
6. Route 208 bypass. Officials are considering several possible routes for a new road that would run west of and parallel to Route 208. The goal would be to siphon some of the commuter traffic now using Route 208 to get to and from Route 17.
7. Widen Route 17M in Monroe.
8. Streamline Nininger Road. Widen in some places; limit new side roads and driveways. Ramp over Route 32 onto Nininger for drivers getting off the Thruway.
9. EZ-Pass ramp from Woodbury Common Premium Outlets to the southbound Thruway.
10. Build a park-and-ride at Bakertown Road and County Route 105.
January 15, 2004
Intersection dangerous
County Route 105, the 3.2-mile winding and scenic country road, could have been the most pleasurable and relaxing part of my daily commute were it not for its intersection with Bakertown Road.
Heading west on Route 105, you approach the Bakertown Road intersection around a very dangerous sight-limiting bend. Bakertown Road is also on a very steep incline. This prevents drivers from seeing traffic conditions on Route 105, unless they partially enter the intersection. Heading east on Route 105, vehicles attempting to make a left turn onto Bakertown Road cannot see oncoming westbound traffic until the last moment.
It is therefore no wonder that this intersection has been the scene of so many accidents over the past few years.
As such, while the county's initiative to improve traffic safety at the Spring Street/Route 105 intersection was nice and dandy, I feel that the Bakertown intersection is far more dangerous and should have been given priority. I call upon our elected officials to set the proper priorities for safety.
Manny Gruber
Monroe
Route 105 plans to take long way home
MONROE: Orange County executive puts plans for Route 105 on hold.
By Christopher Mele
The Times Herald-Record
[email protected]
Improvement plans for County Route 105 have taken a back seat, according to Orange County Executive Joseph G. Rampe.
Route 105 is already a busy thoroughfare that is expected to get busier with the opening of the new Harriman Commons shopping megaplex – to include a Wal-Mart, The Home Depot and a hotel.
The roadway also serves as a bypass for motorists looking to avoid Route 32 in Central Valley, as a back road into Kiryas Joel.
While sympathetic to concerns about the growing traffic problems along that southern Orange County corridor, Rampe said other county projects must come first.
"There are many other areas in which there are high-priority traffic problems,'' Rampe wrote last week to Legislator Michael Amo, R-Central Valley.
Rampe noted the county tries to distribute road-improvement projects throughout the county, based on safety, need and costs.
"At this point, the county is not in a position to immediately shift resources from existing projects to review traffic issues and prepare cost estimates for work on the Freeland-Spring Street-Bakertown Road area of County Route 105," he wrote.
Add to that, plans by the state Department of Transportation to raise a bridge along Route 105 that spans the Quickway.
The bridge is in poor shape, and its clearance must be raised to comply with interstate standards when Route 17 becomes Interstate 86, said Raisa Pruss, a state DOT design manager.
Bids for the work will be solicited at year's end.
Meanwhile, a committee of municipal, state, county, school and private industry officials has been meeting for a year to untangle the traffic knot.
Officials are looking for the county to put in turn lanes and lighting and restripe lanes along Route 105 to coincide with the state's bridge work
December 04, 2001
Monroe
New intersection set at Freeland and Spring
A dangerous Y-intersection at an entrance to the Village of Monroe could be turned into a safe "T" next year.
An Orange County goverment spokesman recently said the busy juncture of Spring and Freeland streets will be reconfigured to improve safety. The county will collaborate with the Town and Village of Monroe on the project, spokesman Steve Gross said. The cost is unknown.
A study is being done now to see whether a traffic signal should be installed, he added.
Gross said the county also will improve another danger spot near Spring and Freeland next year – the Y-intersection at Bakertown Road and county Route 105 in Kiryas Joel.
House panel OKs $9M for roads, gives boost to Stewart rail spur
By Nicoletta Koveos
Times Herald-Record
[email protected]
Some $9 million to make improvements to Orange County roads has been included in legislation passed by the House Transportation Committee, Rep. Sue Kelly, R-Katonah, said yesterday.
Next, the bill must be approved by the full House and Senate and signed by the president to become law.
Notably, a congressional authorization in the bill will allow Kelly to pursue federal money for a direct rail connection to Stewart International Airport. Presumably, that would meet Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis line, which passes within several miles of the airport. ]
If the bill passes, improvements are planned for routes 32, 17, 6 and County Route 105. Also, $1.5 million was secured for access and safety improvements to Route 208 in Blooming Grove.
[סאדום
Another $2 million was lined up in the bill for
New Windsor to improve roads and bridges leading to Stewart Airport.
Also, $1 million was secured for safety enhancements on East Shore Road in Warwick; $1.4 million for improvements to Dolsontown Road in Wawayanda; $1.3 million for Cedar Swamp Road and Orzeck Road in Goshen; and $2.25 million for a new access road linking the north and south sides of Route 17 in the Town of Wallkill. Kelly is a member of the House Transportation Committee. She secured the funding and authorization in the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. The legislation reauthorizes the federal surface transportation program through 2009.
April 16, 2004
Central Valley
Kelly rolls out $11.5M for Orange transit
Standing at the center of the sprawling Woodbury Common complex that draws millions of shoppers onto the congested interchanges of Central Valley each year, several officials announced yesterday $11.5 million is coming from the federal government to improve traffic conditions.
At yesterday's news conference, Rep. Sue Kelly said that the money would pay for several minor traffic fixes on some of the region's busiest thoroughfares: state routes 6, 17 and 32 and county Route 105. It would also include seed money for larger projects, such as a proposed rail link to Stewart International Airport and a direct Thruway exit to Woodbury Common.
"Today is tax day," said Kelly, R-Katonah. "This is your federal tax dollars coming home to you."
Orange County Executive Edward Diana said the money will help the county meet the recommendations of a $400,000 traffic study, due out in six to eight weeks after some five years in the making. Diana said traffic was his "No. 1 priority," in southern Orange County.
The $11.5 million funding passed the House of Representatives April 2 as part of the same transportation bill that also brought millions to Sullivan and Ulster counties. The legislation must still be reconciled with the Senate's version before it can become law.
Rampe opposes Route 105 work
GOSHEN: Plans to spend $200,000 to improve Orange County Route 105 in Monroe put the county executive and lawmakers at odds.
By Christopher Mele
The Times Herald-Record
[email protected]
Orange County Executive Joseph Rampe wants to curb spending to fix traffic-choked Route 105 because lawmakers have politicized the project.
Rampe is objecting to the addition of $200,000 to the county's 2001 capital budget to upgrade the road. He believes the project's selection was tainted by lawmakers who lobbied for improvements.
Route 105 is a busy thoroughfare and a bypass for motorists looking to avoid Route 32 in Central Valley. Traffic has picked up with opening of the new Harriman Commons shopping complex, which includes Wal-Mart and The Home Depot.
A multimunicipality traffic task force in southern Orange has targeted Route 105 for the addition of turning lanes and other improvements. The plan is to accommodate increased traffic, improve safety and coincide with a bridge replacement planned by the state.
In a letter to Legislature Chairman Richard Hansen, Rampe noted that the "past, very sound practice over many years" has been for the executive and Department of Public Works to set the priorities and timing of specific road improvements.
For lawmakers to unilaterally add pet projects to meet their own political needs undermines the selection process, Rampe said.
"It's simply not right (to respond) to a bunch of communities that get together and holler 'we want something done' and a bunch of communities that have been waiting for a while quietly get nothing,'' Rampe said.
Legislator Spencer McLaughlin, R-Monroe, agreed that the process for picking the Route 105 work was an "imperfect model." McLaughlin said, however, that the money is a way to rewarding regional planning that is done by the southern Orange traffic task force.
Under the county charter, the Legislature is required to consider, but does not need to follow, the executive's capital budget recommendations.
Elected to serve Woodbury, not Rampe
By Roxanne Donnery
In quoting a Nov. 28 Times Herald-Record article, "Orange County Executive Joseph Rampe wants to curb spending to fix traffic-choked Route 105 because lawmakers have politicized the project," I say: "Hog Wash!"
Mr. Rampe claims the project's selection was tainted by the lawmakers who lobbied for improvement.
Tainted? By lobbying? Why wouldn't I or shouldn't I to benefit my community?
I have been elected as a county legislator to represent Woodbury, not to follow the county executive's wishes.
The Orange County Charter states that the Legislature must consider, but not necessarily follow, the executive's capital budget recommendations. Instead of his own "political posturing," Mr. Rampe should be congratulating "The Traffic Task Force" for a job well done.
It is composed of representatives from five municipalities, the village of Monroe, Harriman, Kiryas Joel and the towns of Monroe and Woodbury and is probably the best example of what regional planning in Orange County is to date. Our future could even include other issues such as sewer and water. We have been meeting monthly since the County Legislature's Physical Services committee endorsed us almost two years ago.
Because of traffic issues that affect all of our communities, we have listened, debated, honestly communicated, worked together and even compromised with each other. There have been an untold number of guests who have spoken to us about pertinent planning issues, and we even have school, state and county officials as regular attendees.
County Route 105 wasn't "picked out of a hat" to be our priority. It was chosen because we were told by the New York State Department of Transportation that it was going to be raising the bridge on Route 105. It made "good planning sense," period! We are simply trying to coordinate the state and county's road work.
We believe this is a fiscally sound decision when we are using taxpayers' money. All too often in New York, we build to dig up and re-build again. Coordination could even cut down the time needed to close the road. Even partial closing is an inconvenience to our citizens.
The county should also cooperate by getting a true estimated cost of the needed improvements. We are also not suggesting that Route 105 jump to the top of a priority list at a cost to others who have been waiting in line or who have dangerous road conditions. We are simply asking for the dollars to be in the budget and a preliminary estimate to be completed so we can better coordinate with the DOT's bridge work. This could mean being ready in 2001, 2002 or later.
In conclusion, I would like to remind the "county" that we have benefited financially for years from the sales taxes collected at Woodbury Common. While the county has benefited, the surrounding communities have paid the price with traffic congestion, poor air quality, crowded courts and the need for added services.
With the present rate of growth and our future at stake, our county executive should be praising and thanking communities for planning regionally in a home-rule state. Cooperation, sensitivity and working together is important for our future. Good regional planning, not "political clout" is the real issue.
Roxanne Donnery of Highland Falls is an Orange County legislator from the 14th District.
Lawmakers OK $200,000 to fix road
By Christopher Mele
The Times Herald-Record
[email protected]
Goshen – Orange County lawmakers last night rebuffed County Executive Joseph Rampe, and over his objections, allocated $200,000 to fix a road in Monroe.
Lawmakers voted 17-3 to put the money in the 2001 capital budget to improve County Route 105. The road is a heavily traveled thoroughfare that has grown in traffic with the opening of Harriman Commons shopping center.
Rampe argued that lawmakers were politicizing a careful selection process. With their vote, lawmakers undermine the review work of a committee of engineers, lawmakers and other officials, he said.
"I think they're making a very drastic mistake,'' Rampe said last night. "I'm still going to use my prerogative to determine the priorities of what gets done and when it gets done."
The dispute goes beyond process and speaks to which branch of government wields the power to pick projects that need major repairs.
Budget allocation supporters said it stems from several southern Orange communities banding together to find solutions to their traffic problems.
"I think there are no wrong sides here,'' said Legislator Spencer McLaughlin, R-Monroe.
He held up an orange and an apple to represent each point of view. McLaughlin said they could be merged into a solution, which he represented by a banana with a smiley face on it.
"The banana is what you should vote for tonight,'' he said.
Woodbury sidetracks Larkin Drive
MONROE: A decision to rename a stretch of road after state Sen. William J. Larkin Jr. has touched off a snit.
By Christopher Mele
The Times Herald-Record
[email protected]
Monroe and Woodbury officials are locked in road rage over the renaming of a street that cuts through both towns and leads to Harriman Common.
The section of road, once known as Industrial Drive, has been officially named Larkin Drive, but only on the Town of Monroe side. On the Woodbury side it's Melody Lane.
The Woodbury Town Board has refused to redesignate its section of the road Larkin Drive, named after state Sen. William J. Larkin Jr.
Here's the background: Larkin is credited with securing a $1 million Suburban Highway Improvement Program grant to finish about a mile of the road.
State legislators control SHIPS money and determine which projects are worthy of funding. Of the $1 million, $800,000 was spent to finish the road. The rest went toward other road improvements in Monroe.
"If you're going to change it, why not name it after somebody who gave the money to build the damn thing?" said Monroe Councilman Donald Weeks, who is also chairman of the town Republican committee.
The 1.5-mile road connects Route 17 in the Town of Woodbury and County Route 105 in the Town of Monroe.
It provides access to the new Harriman Common shopping complex, which features The Home Depot, Wal-Mart and other stores.
But Town of Woodbury Councilman John Kelemen said he opposes renaming the road after Larkin.
"Bill Larkin didn't give the Town of Woodbury $800,000 for a road,'' said Kelemen, a Republican. "Woodbury, in my view, has gotten a bunch of traffic."
Kelemen said he favors the name Locey Lane, named for the family that owned a farm there many years ago. The Woodbury Town Board has voted 3-2 for Locey Lane.
"It's between the two municipalities to hash this out,'' Kelemen said.
"As a representative of Woodbury, I'm a little bit confused about why … Monroe hasn't contacted us."
Weeks said he expects the towns to reconcile the name differences and make the whole stretch Larkin Drive.
"They would be very foolish to not go the extra 1,000 feet,'' he said.
"That's just childish. That's a couple of babies playing games if they don't do that."
Larkin said he's honored, but did not ask for the renaming, saying "They said they wanted to show their appreciation while I'm still alive.''
Changes down road for major highways
By MICHAEL RANDALL
Staff Writer
NEWBURGH – Big changes are coming to some of Orange County's biggest highways.
State Transportation Commissioner Joseph Boardman answered questions about proposed highway projects during a luncheon meeting of the Orange County Citizens Foundation yesterday. The foundation seeks to balance environmental and economic development concerns.
Some changes, such as an Interstate 84-Drury Lane interchange in New Windsor, could begin in two years or less, while others, such as a new Route 17 interchange in the Monroe/Woodbury area, are likely to take longer, he said.
Boardman pleaded for patience from those who might think some projects, such as the privatization of Stewart Airport, are proceeding too slowly. "We don't want to mess up with this," Boardman said.
Among the topics addressed by Boardman were:
- An interchange between Route 17 and County Route 105 has been proposed as a solution to alleviate congestion in the area where routes 17 and 32 and the Thruway come together. A large contingent of Monroe, Woodbury and Kiryas Joel officials attended the luncheon to lobby for this or some equally satisfactory change. Boardman said he has an open ear to any suggestions.
In a separate discussion after the luncheon, local officials urged Boardman's staff to look for ways to cut the estimated five-year timetable for this project.
- I-84/Thruway interchange. Boardman couldn't say when this $70 million project might begin, but said some interim steps will be taken to alleviate congestion that results from traffic trying to get from one highway to the other via Route 300 in the Town of Newburgh.
- I-84/Drury Lane interchange. This $30 million project is already funded, about half each from federal and state sources, and could begin sometime in 1999 or 2000. Sandra Kissam, president of the environmental group Stewart Park and Reserve Coalition, asked Boardman to hold a public informational meeting about this project before it proceeds, because "we still have a great many problems" with it.
- Privatization of Stewart Airport and conversion of Route 17 to Interstate 86. Boardman couldn't offer firm dates for either change.
- Rail service connection to Stewart Airport. Boardman is hopeful this will happen now that Conrail has been acquired by CSX and Norfolk Southern Railroads.
 |
|
|
