Invest in Our Communities, Not a Wider Highway

Catskill Mountainkeeper and the ReThink Route 17 Alliance launch an alternate vision report for transportation possibilities in the Hudson Valley and Catskills region

Livingston Manor, NY — The ReThink Route 17 Alliance, anchored by Catskill Mountainkeeper, is launching an alternative vision report in response to the state government’s proposal to widen State Route 17, “Invest in Our Communities, Not a Wider Highway”. While highway expansions simply attract more traffic, increase air and noise pollution, increase residents’ tax burdens, and worsen congestion over time, community-led investments in transportation infrastructure and multi-modal transit could positively transform health, economic and transportation outcomes across the Hudson Valley and Catskills region.

Register for the ReThink Route 17 Alliance’s Virtual Town Hall launching their alternate vision report on September 9th at 6:00 pm.

With $1.4 billion on the table and 60% of roads in the Hudson Valley in poor condition, the ReThink Route 17 Alliance (the Alliance) is calling on Governor Hochul and the NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to stop all plans for highway expansion and instead invest in many regional projects to benefit instead of burden residents. NYSDOT’s expansion proposal is misaligned with community goals for the region because it would waste critical resources creating unnecessary new lanes when there is a backlog of maintenance needed on existing roads and bridges. The Alliance offers a more practical way to invest   the $1.4 billion into saving lives by making the most dangerous roads and intersections safer, fixing potholes across the region, and increasing multi-modal transportation opportunities to make our towns and cities more walkable and easier to access with or without a car, while supporting local business and employment.

The state government has the option to transfer funding from this unnecessary, wasteful expansion project to local control by towns, cities, villages and counties, which are closer to the people and could invest the money far more cost-effectively than NYSDOT can, to fund a wide range of local projects. The Alliance’s new report details examples of beneficial projects that could be funded at a fraction of the cost of NYSDOT’s proposal:

• For $100 million, we could fix and re-pave Route 17 and significantly repair roads in the region in poor condition.
• For $10 million, we could purchase and install about 250 bus shelters in Orange, Ulster, and Sullivan counties, so transit users could be protected from the rain and snow while waiting. 
• For $600,000, we could save lives by  funding the Orange County Roadway Safety Action Plan, which would fund critical safety measures to prevent fatalities on Orange County roadways. 
• For $5 million we could double the number of bus routes in Sullivan County (providing hundreds of thousands of rides each year) and double the number of rides offered for veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities to get to medical appointments. 
• For $45 million, we could provide sidewalks and intersection crossing improvements in 20 villages and hamlets in Orange and Sullivan Counties, making it easier to get to local schools, businesses, and places of worship. 

The list presented in the Alliance’s new report is not exhaustive but illustrates how much good could be accomplished for residents across the entire region, in contrast with NYSDOT’s $1.4 billion proposal that widens 20 miles of highway, harming our resident while benefiting only a small handful of motorists and more trucks driving through our region on their way to somewhere else.

To launch this new report, the Alliance is hosting a virtual town hall on September 9th at 6:00 pm for community members, elected officials, and the press to learn more about this alternate vision. Please register here. The Alliance is also launching a petition calling on our elected officials to halt all plans for widening Route 17 and instead support locally-led transportation solutions for the people of our region. To sign the petition, please click here. To learn more about the Alliance and the campaign to ReThink Route 17, please visit www.rethinkroute17.org.

Community & Alliance Member Quotes:

"There has to be a way to redirect funding towards other projects that can improve our state roadways while maintaining the same amount of work for our unions. Adding a third lane is a short-term solution for an issue that can be solved with more investment in public transportation," said Brandon Holdridge, Chester Town Supervisor.

“This is a $1.4 billion boondoggle that will waste taxpayer money and will increase our road maintenance burdens in the future.  That means higher tax spending and more potholes. In addition, most of the money will go towards large corporations that do nothing for our communities. Imagine taking the $1.4 billion and investing in dozens of smaller projects in the places we live and work, to fix potholes, make our towns more walkable, and most importantly, make our local roads safer to reduce the unnecessary loss of lives. In the words of a retired Chief Engineer of NYS DOT, this project must be stopped,” said Arif Khan, community planner, local business owner, and volunteer firefighter.

"$1.4 billion dollars is a huge investment into our region and we want this investment to benefit our communities instead of burdening them. Unjust highway planning that favors auto ownership over all other transportation choices has consistently sacrificed black and brown communities and plans to widen Route 17 continue this legacy. We do not want worse air pollution, truck traffic and noise pollution. We need a broad, efficient, reliable bus system that includes paratransit for all, shelters that protect residents as they wait to go to work or school, and safe sidewalks and trails that connect to that system. We want to see funding for projects that get our communities where they need to go, not a wasteful, harmful highway expansion project," said Maude Bruce, President, NAACP Ellenville.

"Being fiscally responsible means fixing the substandard things we already have before building new things that we don’t even need. Repairing the sub-standard streets, roads and bridges throughout the Hudson Valley and Catskills would provide far more benefit to our communities than pouring that gigantic sum into more lanes on Route 17," said Jonathan Bix, Executive Director, For the Many. 

“Transportation technologies are evolving fast, including electric and micro-transit options that may compete with cars for many -- especially in the younger generations. Development patterns are changing; more people are attracted to walkable downtowns near transit, where car ownership may not be needed.  Decisions about the investment of once-in-a-generation transportation funds like this should be made based on careful assessment of the actual priorities of our cities, towns and villages - not a highway expansion that was first conceived more than a decade ago,” said Melissa Everett, Executive Director, Sustainable Hudson Valley. 

“Rethinking Rt. 17 invites innovative thinking to improve mobility and quality of life along the highway corridor. Given that Rt. 17 is the Main Street of Orange and Sullivan Counties, we do not want to induce more through traffic, more trucks, more warehouses, more noise, more pollution and more inconvenience brought on by the unnecessary widening and a federal highway designation. Instead, we can make our roads and bridges safer, create needed climate resilience to address increasing flood, heat, drought and fire threats, address our local transit desert by providing efficient and affordable intracounty transportation, support the expansion of pollution-free electric vehicle use, and work with our localities to promote community-centered economic growth and people-centered mobility. We won't get another chance like this one! Let's make it happen,” said Michael Edelstein, President Emeritus, Orange Environment.

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About the ReThink Route 17 Alliance

The ReThink Route 17 Alliance is a diverse group of local, state and national groups representing thousands of New Yorkers and working towards better regional transportation. We have a deep knowledge of the diverse communities and significant natural areas along the Route 17 corridor in the greater Catskill-Hudson Valley region. Our communities deserve transportation alternatives that bring us into a safe and just future, create freedom of mobility and economic opportunity, and decrease pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

About Catskill Mountainkeeper

Catskill Mountainkeeper protects the natural heritage of the Catskills and works to build a just, thriving region through environmental advocacy, sustainable agriculture, and community education.