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County Actions

County Actions

Dutchess County Department of Public Works, Poughkeepsie, New York

Many Dutchess County departments play a role in transportation, from the obvious (like Public Works and its Division of Public Transit) to the less so (like the Office for the Aging and Health). We at the DCTC can create great plans, but we rely on our partners across County government to help implement them. Below, we recommend actions for Dutchess County agencies to pursue to improve transportation safety, reliability, and access to basic needs.

1. Improve Safe Access

  1. Implement transportation safety projects, programs, and policies based on DCTC’s county-wide Safety Action Plan.
    • County Public Works, Traffic Safety/STOP-DWI, Planning, DCTC, Sheriff, Health, Emergency Response
  2. Continue to partner with DCTC to analyze high-crash/high-risk locations and conduct safety assessments on County roads.
    • County Public Works, Sheriff, Traffic Safety
  3. Work with DCTC to identify County roads with high-end speeding and consider speed limit reductions, road design changes, and speed enforcement programs to change driver behavior.
    • County Public Works, Sheriff, Traffic Safety

2. Improve Reliable Access

  1. Maintain existing infrastructure before building new, maximize efficiency before adding capacity, and reallocate excess capacity where possible.
    • County Public Works
  2. Continue to partner with DCTC to implement the County’s Complete Streets policy through the highway access permit process, public education efforts, and Universal Accessibility projects on County roads.
    • County Public Works-Engineering, Public Transit, Health, Aging, Planning, Traffic Safety
  3. Provide ADA access at all bus stops and provide sidewalk connections where feasible.
    • County Public Transit (with road owners)
  4. Develop and implement a County ADA transition plan.
    • County Public Works, Planning, ThinkDifferently, Human Rights, DCTC
  5. Pursue opportunities to expand the County’s rail trail network and facilitate connections to State and local trails.
    • County Public Works-Parks, Planning, DCTC
  6. Implement recommendations from Resilient Ways Forward to incorporate resiliency into County projects. Coordinate with the County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan as feasible.
    • County Public Works, Public Transit, Planning, DCTC, Emergency Response
  7. Continue to incorporate Electric Vehicles (EVs) into County fleets and promote the installation of EV infrastructure, especially charging stations.
    • County Public Works-Auto Center, Public Transit, Central Services, Planning
  8. Prioritize fixed-route transit improvements (higher frequency, extended hours) in areas with sufficient population or job densities and consider alternate transit models in areas that don’t support fixed-route service, as outlined in the DCTC’s Coordinated Plan.
    • County Public Transit

STATE CLIMATE INITIATIVES

The State’s Climate Smart Communities program supports local governments through a structured certification process and funding opportunities for sustainability projects and planning. In 2024, Dutchess County achieved Silver certification (the program’s highest designation) through the efforts of its Climate Smart Communities Task Force. Notably, more than 20 percent of the County’s completed actions focused on transportation-related initiatives.

3. Improve Access to Basic Needs

  1. Continue to prioritize access to basic needs (housing, jobs, education, goods & services, recreation) when evaluating bus transit service changes.
    • County Public Transit
  2. Continue to encourage large employers (including County government) to purchase bulk transit passes for employees as an incentive to reduce vehicle trips.
    • County Legislature, Public Transit
  3. Expand travel options for off-peak trips to key job centers.
    • County Public Transit
  4. Promote economic development and business opportunities in existing centers to minimize transportation costs and enhance access.
    • Economic Development/ThinkDutchess
  5. Continue to provide and improve bus access to train stations through fixed-route and on-demand services.
    • County Public Transit
  6. Coordinate with other transportation providers, including human service agencies, to improve access for older adults, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations, as outlined in the DCTC’s Coordinated Plan.
  7. Work with municipalities and other partners to promote a mix of housing types that capitalize on existing infrastructure and support walking, bicycling, and transit, particularly in existing centers such as cities, town centers, and villages.
    • County Planning, County Executive, County Legislature


We realize that these actions take time and can’t happen at once. In some respects, that’s okay – Moving Dutchess Forward is a 25-year plan. Nevertheless, we intend to work closely with Dutchess County departments to progress these recommendations, so that when we next update this Plan, we can report that more progress has been made.

PROGRESS SINCE 2021

County Departments have made significant progress on several of the goals outlined in the 2021 version of Moving Dutchess Forward. Highlights include:

  • County Vision Zero Policy: adopted as part of DCTC’s Safety Action Plan (2026)
  • Public Transit improvements: new accessible bus stop shelters and upgrades to existing shelters (2024-2026); new automatic passenger counters (2025)
  • Public Works Universal Accessibility projects: new and improved sidewalks on Innis Avenue/CR 115 (2023)
  • Creation of the Northside Line in Poughkeepsie (2023)
  • Public Transit Bus Electrification Study (to be completed in 2026)
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