Newburgh Area Transportation & Land Use Study May 2012 Newburgh Area Transportation & Land Use Study Prepared for the Orange County Transportation Council • Edward A. Diana, OCTC Chairman & County Executive • David Church, AICP, Commissioner of Planning • John Czamanske, AICP, Deputy Commissioner of Plan- ning, OCTC Staff Director, Study Project Manager OCTC Study Advisory Group Consultant Team • Town of Cornwall AKRF, Inc. • Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson • Village of Maybrook • Graham L. Trelstad, AICP, Project Manager • Richard Klusek, AICP, Deputy Project Manager • Town of Montgomery Abrams-Cherwony Group of Gannett Fleming • Village of Montgomery • Walter Cherwony • City of Newburgh • Joshua B. Diamond • Town of Newburgh Arch Street Communications, Inc. • Town of New Windsor • Cyd Averill, Public Outreach Lead • Village of Walden • Virginia Mold, Public Outreach Liaison • Metropolitan Transportation Authority Cambridge Systematics, Inc. • New York State Department of Transportation • Brian ten Siethoff, AICP, Transportation Planning • New York State Thruway Authority • Shawn Pope, Transportation Simulation • Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates/VHB • Martin Taub, PE, Transportation Studies Director • Janet Jenkins, AICP, Transportation Planning Studies This report was prepared with funding provided through the Manager County of Orange, NY, as host agency of the Orange County • Amir Rizavi, PE, Senior Traffic Analyst Transportation Council using, in whole or in part, local and • Noah Bernstein, AICP, Senior Transportation Planning State matched Federal transportation planning funds. These Analyst funds are provided through grants to the State of New York from the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Lochner Engineering, P.C. Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, under the • Mark Pawlick, PE, Vice President State Planning and Research Program, Section 505 [or Metro- • Kyle Snyder, EIT, Project Engineer politan Planning Program, Section 104(f )] of Title 23, U.S. Code. The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the Pattern for Progress official views or policy of the U.S. Department of Transporta- • Jonathan Drapkin tion, the State of New York, the Orange County Transportation • Charlie Murphy Council or the County of Orange. Regional Plan Association • David M. Kooris, AICP, Land Use and Public Process Task Management • Frank Hebbert, Build-out Analysis • Paolo Ikezoe, Build-out Analysis and Workshop Materials • Robert Lane, Urban Design and Public Process • Andrew Turco, Zoning Analysis, GIS, and Workshop Materials • Jeff Ferzoco, Final Report Graphic Design • Osman Dadi, Final Report Graphic Design 4 Newburgh Area Transportation & Land Use Study Table of Contents Executive Summary 7 This document was prepared with a This chapter provides a brief wholistic diverse audience of citizens, planning and overview of the Newburgh Study. transportation professionals, and local elected officials in mind. The document has been organized to allow readers Chapter 1: Introduction 17 of various levels of understanding and abilities to understand the basic plan- This chapter identifies the overall purpose ning concepts and principles that were and approach for the Study. employed as part of this study or to immediately focus on recommendations and methodologies used for various study Chapter 2: Study Context 23 components. Chapter 2 describes several of the overlapping local and regional contexts for the Study. It introduces local and national development, transportation, and socioeconomic trends that set the framework for the work being done as part of this Study. Chapter 2 also describes the rationale for conducting a study that simultaneously considers both transporta- tion and land use. Using specific examples of how the Study Area evolved over time, Chapter 2 provides an overview of “The Big Picture” factors that led to embarking on the Study and the overall goal of the Study. Chapter 3: Existing Conditions 33 Chapter 3 discusses the existing conditions found within the individual municipalities and the main corridors of the Study Area. Chapter 4: Analysis & Assessment 61 Chapter 4 describes the land use build-out analysis and travel demand model and how an iterative approach was used to generate modeling results of relevance to both land use and transportation plan- ning. Chapter 4 includes summaries of the quantitative analysis of both land use and transportation conditions. Chapter 5: Implementation & Recommendations 81 Chapter 5 provides a detailed discussion of the transportation and land use recom- mendations developed by this Study. This information will be helpful to the OCTC and member communities in prioritizing funding for and planning for the long- term sustainability of the Newburgh area. 5 Newburgh Area Transportation & Land Use Study 6 Newburgh Area Transportation & Land Use Study Executive Summary decade–slightly less than Orange County ➔ The County’s own comprehensive A. Study Overview as a whole. Orange County Department planning efforts that focus on Priority of Planning projects that these commu- Growth Areas, Open Space protec- The Newburgh Area Transportation and nities will add approximately 13,820 tion, water supply, and congestion Land Use study was implemented by the housing units over the next 25 years and management; and Orange County Planning Department approximately 16,500 jobs over the same ➔ The comprehensive plans of each of on behalf of the Orange County Trans- time period. If this occurred, it would the communities in the Study Area portation Council – a group comprising result in 12% population growth and 34% that each look to promote revitaliza- representatives of municipalities and job growth. tion of existing centers and improve- representatives of transportation agen- The Study Area’s location with ment of the quality-of-life for area cies – to identify key priorities for creating respect to regional transportation facili- residents. integrated solutions for transportation ties – primarily Interstate 84, Interstate and land use within the northeastern 87, future Interstate 86 – and Stewart The Study Team comprised a group of portion of Orange County. The multi- Airport suggest that it is poised to play a planners, engineers, and transportation modal plan for transportation, integrated growing role in the movement of freight experts who were guided by interaction with local and regional land use planning throughout the New York metropolitan with each of the Study Area municipalities policies, was intended to identify strategies region. But this strategic placement and the general public through a series of for enhancing mobility while preserving also poses potential challenges to these focused interviews, roundtable discus- quality of life and the environment. same communities. Over-development, sions, and public design workshops and The primary elements of the Study or poorly located development, could open houses. were: adversely affect the community character The Study was grounded in a review and the environment – critical assets of numerous Comprehensive Plans and ➔ A land use build-out to look at growth that attracted many people to settle in previous planning studies provided to the patterns in the future combined with these communities in the first place. Study Team by the towns and villages. The a regional Travel Demand Model to How these communities decide to grow, Study Team also met with elected officials, assess future traffic flows and patterns; then, becomes a critical test in enhancing local planners and engineers, and members ➔ A series of corridor studies looking at the economic vitality of the area while of the interested public to understand land use and roadway conditions and protecting the quality-of-life and environ- key concerns of the community. Overall, identifying where strategic invest- ment for all to enjoy. several hundred individuals participated ments could be made to improve The overall context of the Study recog- in meetings of one form or another – and traffic flow; nizes the potential for growth in this key many of those individuals participated ➔ A transit study looking at short-term portion of the County stemming from: at more than one meeting. There were nearly 500 people on the Study mailing and longer-term options given existing ➔ Its strategic location along two major list receiving updates and notifications for needs and potential future needs; interstates (I-84 and I-87) and the upcoming meetings. People were also able upgraded interchange of those two ➔ A bicycle/pedestrian study that sought to obtain project information from the roadways that makes this area a cross- new opportunities for improving Study website: www.newburghareastudy. roads for freight travel (and jobs); connections for non-motorized trips. info. ➔ Illustrative examples of what a Smart ➔ The proximity of Stewart Airport and At the core of the Study Team’s Growth land use pattern would look the potential for increased utiliza- integrated transportation and land use like in the Study Area communities. tion of the airport for passenger and planning process were the principles of freight services as well as the attendant Smart Growth, Sustainable Development, The Study Area comprised the City of economic development that might and Complete Streets – each of which Newburgh, Towns of Newburgh, Mont- serve the different needs of those user seek to encourage multi-modal mobility gomery, New Windsor, and Cornwall,