Walk Bike Dutchess Chapter 5.3: Lower Taconic A. Walking and Bicycling Factors For this Plan, the Lower Taconic is defined as the four south- central communities along the Taconic State Parkway: the Towns 1. Land Use of LaGrange, Union Vale, Beekman, and East Fishkill. The Lower Taconic represents about 166 square miles and 64,250 people— Residential Patterns th th just over 20 percent of both the county’s total land area and The Towns of East Fishkill, Beekman, and LaGrange rank 15 , 16 , th population. It is characterized by a mix of suburban and rural land and 17 of the county’s 30 municipalities based on residential use interspersed with more concentrated development in hamlets density, with between 400 and 500 persons per square mile (just such as Poughquag in Beekman and over the county average of 370). The Lagrangeville in LaGrange. The area Town of Union Vale is much less has had rapid population growth dense, with only 130 residents per during the past twenty years, but square mile. These spread-out retains low to average population population patterns tend to make density and high rates of auto walking and bicycling for ownership (see Map 39, Lower transportation less practical and Taconic Overview). attractive. Three key factors that influence Centers & Destinations walking and bicycling— land use Lower Taconic centers, as (residential density and destinations), designated by the Dutchess County demographics, and non-motorized Department of Planning and facilities (including transit) — are Development, are shown on Map discussed below. Local walking and Hopewell Junction is one of the major centers in the Lower 40, Lower Taconic Centers. Key bicycling patterns, including crash Taconic (source: Google maps). destinations for walking and data, is presented, and issues are bicycling include: identified. Finally, a set of priority projects to improve conditions for walking and bicycling is described. • Hopewell Junction hamlet in East Fishkill (including the Dutchess Rail Trail Hopewell Depot Trailhead) • Fishkill Plains hamlet, including Van Wyck Junior High School and Fishkill Plains Elementary in East Fishkill Chapter 5.3: Lower Taconic Effective March 27, 2014 192 å_^ _^ å åå å _^ Lower Taconic Overview _^ å _^ _^ å I2 _^ 456723 456790 456724 _^ _^ _^ _^ _^ 456747 _^ 45679 _^ 456724 _^ _^ å_^ _^ ^__^ CD82 _^å å 456743 _^_^ å 46 UNION 4567 TSP å EC VALE _^B 456746 _^ ¥¢ 456789 55 456749 CD _^ 456747 _^ å CD55 CD55 å_^ å LAGRANGE å 456721 å _^ CD82 å å 456744 å 456721 å _^ 9 å 4567 456721 _^ CD376 å å å 456721 456742 456732 456733 BEEKMAN CD82 456710 _^ ^_ 45677 CD55 _^ 45679 CD376 å _^ å 456729 å _^_^ ECTSP 45678 _^ å_^ å I2 45679 _^ _^ å _^ CD82 CD376 _^ _^ _^ 456728 å CD216 _^ I2 å 456729 CD52 EAST FISHKILL _^ 456731 å _^ 52 _^ CD 52 å 456727 _^ å _^ CD _^ _^ _^ _^ _^ 84 _^ _^ _^ ¨¦§ å ECTSP _^ _^ _^ 456730 _^ School Bus Route Paved Shoulder Width* Road Type Local å Elementary/Middle >= 4ft Shared Use Path/Rail Trail 27 2 - 4 ft 4567 County å Middle/High Recreational Trail C < 2 ft DC82 State Park ECTSP State Parkway ^_ Major Employer Biking/Walking Prohibited ¨¦§84 Interstate * Paved width based on available data. May not reflect usable width. This map is intended for planning purposes only. The PDCTC shall not be held liable for any misuse or misrepresentation of this information. Map contents and data are subject to change. Map created May 2014 1 inch = 1.4 miles § Rochdale ^_ c5 456746 k 456743 456746 456747 å DC55 456749 XW Manchester Æc ^_ LaGrange Town å !® Center ^_ 456721 DC55 å c5 k ^_å 456744 § 49 k 4567 1 inch = 0.4 miles XW Red 456733 Oaks Mill ^_ Fishkill å å Plains Æc 45679 Beekman DC376 c5 Town 456729 Center !® Clove Branch DC55 45679 DC82 XWXW 32 Hopewell 4567 45677 Junction Poughquag å k c5 !® DC216 Æc å k 456731 28 4567 376 _^ DC å 1 inch = 0.5 miles § 1 inch = 0.5 miles § Lower Taconic Centers - LaGrange/East Fishkill/Beekman School c5 Grocery Store Sidewalk Paved Shoulder Width* Road Type Center å Elementary/Middle k Municipal Hall Bus Route >= 4ft 456727 County Existing Æc Library 2 - 4ft DC82C State å High Shared Use Path/Rail Trail k Community/Senior Center < 2ft ECTSP State Parkway Emerging !® Post Office XY Trail Head Biking/Walking Prohibited ^_ Major Employer Recreational Trail This map is intended for planning purposes only. Park * Paved width based on The PDCTC shall not be held liable for any misuse available data. May not or misrepresentation of this information. Map created May 2014 reflect usable width. Map contents and data are subject to change. Walk Bike Dutchess • John Jay High School and recreation park on Route 52 in 2010 Population by Age Group East Fishkill Total % Under % 16 - % Over % Under 16 Municipality • Arlington High School/Freedom Plains hamlet/LaGrange Population 16 74 74 + Over 74 Town Center T/Beekman 14,621 21 76 3 24 • LaGrangeville hamlet and post office T/East Fishkill 29,029 23 73 4 27 • Manchester center, including the Dutchess Rail Trail T/LaGrange 15,730 22 73 5 27 LaGrange Trailhead (adjacent to Old Manchester Rd in T/Union Vale 4,877 22 72 7 29 LaGrange) Dutchess County 297,488 19 74 6 25 • Dutchess Rail Trail access adjacent to Gold’s Gym on Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 U.S. Census. Table QT-P1: Age Groups & Sex; Table QT-P2: Single Years of Age & Sex. Titusville Rd in LaGrange • Poughquag hamlet, including Beekman Library and Town Recreation Area in Beekman Income • Verbank hamlet and post office in Union Vale Lower-income households are also more likely to walk and bicycle • Tymor Park in Union Vale for transportation. Household incomes in the Lower Taconic tend to be higher than the county average. All four Towns have lower percentages of low-income households (defined here as under 2. Demographics $25,000 per year) and higher median household incomes than the county overall. Age Young people and older people are less likely to drive, and Household Income therefore more likely to walk (both young and old) or bicycle % less % Median Total % Over (young people) for transportation. The Lower Taconic communities Municipality than $25,000 Household Households $50,000 all have higher percentages of young people (under 16) than the $25,000 - 50,000 Income county average, and except for Union Vale, have lower T/Beekman 4,218 7% 16% 78% $88,950 percentages of older people (over 74). The Towns of Union Vale, T/East Fishkill 9,317 9% 15% 75% $94,343 East Fishkill, and LaGrange have a higher than average percentage T/LaGrange 5,208 8% 11% 81% $99,830 of these young and older groups combined. T/Union Vale 1,688 14% 11% 74% $79,333 Dutchess County 107,151 16% 19% 65% $71,125 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B1101_1, B19013, & B19001 (Households, Median Household Income, and various income brackets). Chapter 5.3: Lower Taconic Effective March 27, 2014 195 Walk Bike Dutchess Vehicle Ownership Disability Characteristics Households without a vehicle, or with one vehicle, are much more % With an Total likely to seek alternative transportation. The percentage of zero- Municipality % Disabled Ambulatory Population and one-vehicle households for Lower Taconic municipalities is Difficulty shown below. Beekman, LaGrange, and East Fishkill all have very T/East Fishkill 29,029 11 (+/- 2%) 6 (+/- 2%) low percentages of both zero- and one-vehicle households Dutchess County 297,488 13 (+/- 1%) 6 (+/- 1%) compared to the county average. Union Vale’s percentage of one- Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census, and 2009-2011 American vehicle households is also lower than the County average. Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, Table S1810: Disability Characteristics. Italics indicate that estimate should be used with caution because sampling error is between 12 and 40 percent of the estimate. Zero- and One-Vehicle Households Total Municipality % Zero-Vehicle % One-Vehicle Households 3. Walking & Bicycling Facilities T/Beekman 4,218 2 (+/- 1%) 17 (+/- 5%) T/East Fishkill 9,317 2 (+/- 1%) 17 (+/- 3%) An inventory of walking and bicycling facilities was made based on T/LaGrange 5,208 2 (+/- 1%) 19 (+/- 4%) T/Union Vale 1,688 6 (+/- 4%) 19 (+/- 6%) current maps and data available. Sidewalks, recreational trails, and shared use paths are shown on the Centers map. Dutchess County 107,151 8 (+/- 1%) 31 (+/- 1%) Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B08201: Household Size By Vehicles Available. Italics Walking Facilities indicate that estimate should be used with caution because sampling error The Lower Taconic has approximately 20 miles of sidewalks. The is between 12 and 40 percent of the estimate. majority are in the Town of East Fishkill. Minor sidewalk systems are located in some of the hamlets and larger residential and Disabilities commercial properties. When considered on a per-resident basis, Persons with physical disabilities often have difficulty driving and the Town of East Fishkill has the most sidewalks per resident in the are more likely to need alternatives. Those with ambulatory Lower Taconic, but ranks 21st out of the 30 municipalities in the difficulties may use wheelchairs, walkers, or other mobility devices county. Sidewalk mileage by municipality and per resident is and benefit from accessible pedestrian environments. Disability shown below. data is only available for the Town of East Fishkill.