The Village of Sloatsburg Board of Trustees has recommended Option 2 “Road Diet” for the NYSDOT Complete Streets Project … a choice that promises high roadway safety and a bolder transformation of the Route 17 corridor through the Village.

Sloatsburg, NY — In what could be a transformative moment, the Village of Sloatsburg Board voted on June 1 for the NYSDOT Complete Streets Project Option 2 that includes a Road Diet. The final vote was 4-0, with Trustee Tom Buckley abstaining from a vote. 

Sloatsburg Mayor Carl Wright called the Complete Streets opportunity historic and said that the board did not take the option vote lightly because the decision affects thousands of people’s lives.

“The Trustees spent a lot of time and listened to a lot of people,” said Mayor Wright. “The overwhelming thinking is that this improvement is going to make Route 17 safer.”

New York Department of Transportation Region 8 Landscape Architecture and Environmental Manager Sandra Jobson stressed at a recent board workshop that it’s not possible at this time to know the total impact of a Sloatsburg Road Diet in the Route 17 corridor. Jobson, however, did reiterate that DOT would not have presented that option to the community if it did not believe a Road Diet would improve road safety and work for the community.

Wright said that Option 2 might be viewed as an experiment, and posed the question that if you have more stores in the Village but people can’t safely get to them, then what have you got? The Mayor said he believed that the minimal increase in drive time through the Village could be well worth a vast improvement in road safety and traffic calming.

The NYSDOT presented Sloatsburg with a transformative opportunity to reclaim its Main Street through the Village by “narrowing” Route 17 from four lanes to two, with a center turn lane — which would be done through roadway painting. The thinking was that the option would provide Sloatsburg with a safe, more charming “Main Street” feel.

Mayor Wright also noted the large community turnout for the Public Workshops provided residents a “dynamic experience” that allowed “the people of Sloatsburg to come in and face their neighbors” and discuss Route 17 improvements that work best for the whole Village.

Wright added that Town of Tuxedo has been inspired by what Sloatsburg is doing and is currently exploring opportunities to make Route 17 improvements through the Town.

A view of Route 17 Option 2 that shows lane configuration. Lane modifications will be made via road paintings, a flexible and cost-effective way of making road improvements.

In the special board session, the board also voted to partner with the state in spending its recently awarded Transportation Alternative Program funds or TAP grant. The Village was awarded some $500,000 by the state for sidewalk and other public access improvements, which will now help with sidewalks and curbs in the north Village.

Deputy Mayor and Village Trustee Peter Akey said that in his view people he represents “overwhelmingly wanted this,” referring to Option 2.

“I want safety and traffic calming along Route 17, and a successful downtown business district,” said Akey, who is the board liaison with the Sloatsburg Revitalization Committee and has been instrumental in advocating for the proposed Village Park in the open space across from the Municipal Building.

Trustee John Bonkoski has indicated his reservations about Option 2 creating traffic problems through the Village, but also wants a safe Route 17 corridor that helps promote a dynamic business environment. Trustee Dan O’Leary has indicated that, together, the proposed Village Park and Route 17 improvements can provide transformative change for the community and help revitalize the central business district.

The NYSDOT Region 8 team will move forward with its Option presentation at the next scheduled Public Workshop set for Tuesday, June 20.