Dutchess County Transportation Council Seeks Community Input on Countywide Transportation Safety Action Plan
Public discussion will help shape plan’s development

Poughkeepsie - The Dutchess County Transportation Council (DCTC) seeks community input as it works to develop a countywide Transportation Safety Action Plan with the goal of reducing crashes, especially fatal and serious injury crashes, across all types of transportation on roads throughout Dutchess County. To engage the public, the DCTC is conducting broad community outreach, including surveys, interviews and various meetings and events. A virtual public meeting will be held on Thursday, Dec. 19 from noon to 1 p.m. to gather community input on transportation safety issues and present an early analysis of available crash data. Residents can register for the virtual meeting at DutchessNY.gov/SafetyActionPlan.

County Executive Sue Serino said, “Everyone in Dutchess County deserves to travel safely, and we all have a role to play to prevent traffic crashes. Crashes on our streets affect our loved ones, neighbors, friends and co-workers. This Transportation Safety Action Plan will help us identify traffic safety needs throughout our county and offer a robust roadmap for action. I encourage residents to share feedback and be part of the solutions here in Dutchess County.”

County residents and visitors also are encouraged to share their thoughts in an online survey and on an interactive map where specific locations with transportation safety issues can be flagged.

The Transportation Safety Action plan is being developed to align with national and state best practices and is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2025. It will provide road owners with the data and information needed to improve safety. The plan will also enable all 30 municipalities in Dutchess County to pursue federal safety funding.

The plan will include:

• A review of existing safety plans, policies, and best practices;
• A detailed analysis of crash data to identify key crash trends, types and factors, as well as priority high-crash locations;
• A set of recommended improvement measures, priority projects and performance measures to improve safety across the county's transportation system, centered around a holistic, Safe System Approach to both prevent crashes from happening and minimize the harm caused when crashes occur; and
• An outreach campaign to municipalities and stakeholders.

DCTC Senior Planner Emily Dozier said, “In addition to identifying transportation safety issues based on crash data, it is important that we hear directly from Dutchess County residents. We hope everyone will share their observations about traffic safety issues and work with us to make getting around in Dutchess County even safer.”

Additional information about the Transportation Safety Action Plan is available at DutchessNY.gov/SafetyActionPlan. Dutchess County’s "Watch Out for Me!" pedestrian safety campaign includes videos and tips that everyone can use to help prevent traffic crashes.

Residents can contact the DCTC at dctc@dutchessny.gov if they require any assistance participating in the December 19th virtual public meeting.