Foundation transportation study could give area a lift

HARLEM VALLEY ­— The Foundation for Community Health has decided to fund a transportation study for rural areas in northeast Dutchess County. The goal is to find a more effective (and less expensive) way to assist area residents who have places to go but not the means to get there.

Gertrude O’Sullivan, the director of communications and special programs with the Foundation for Community Health (FCH), based out of Sharon, Conn., said Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates has been chosen following a thorough search for professional help.

“We hunted quite a while,� she said. “We found a firm that has experience with rural area transportation studies, and [FCH Executive Director Nancy Heaton and I] felt they inspired confidence.�

The foundation first went public with its search for area transportation after an announcement by Dutchess County early last year that it would be eliminating several routes of its LOOP bus system, including those traveling through Millerton and Pine Plains. Since then, a transportation task force was assembled with members of the foundation, the North East Community Center, representatives from local municipalities as well as outreach and community groups with a goal to work toward reestablishing some form of transportation for those who found themselves suddenly stranded.

 The task force is looking for specific information, O’Sullivan explained, including existing conditions of transportation and local need and travel market demand and service, all of which will give the group a better idea of the transportation needed in this area, including priorities and preferences.

There is hope that the study could be utilized by the Poughkeepsie Dutchess County Transportation Council (PDCTC), as it prepares to unveil a newly proposed service plan for eastern Dutchess County. Details on the plan are not yet available, and neither is a date for when services would be implemented.

O’Sullivan said she has alerted several of the PDCTC’s administrators of the task force’s plans and intentions, and while there is no guarantee the study’s data will be incorporated into the county’s plans, the county will certainly review the information.

“This is to help the county to make its proposed service plan as efficient and usable as possible,� she said. “But it’s also to have scientific data available so we can leave ourselves open to other alternatives.�

Those alternatives could include transportation services offered through the North East Community Center, for example, or private transportation businesses that might see an untapped market in the area. Those possibilities are still in the future, however, and O’Sullivan said the task force’s options will present themselves more clearly as the transportation study nears completion.

That could be a reality in as little as four months, even with the amount of work the task force is hoping to accomplish. With the large area a transportation service would cover compared to the number of residents who might utilize the service, a rural solution to public transportation is often a challenging problem with unique solutions.

“We want to conduct interviews, specifically with groups and individuals who have a stake in transportation services,� O’Sullivan said. “But [we also need to have] focus groups and interviews with customers. We have to talk to the people who need this service.�

Latest News

A scenic 32-mile loop through Litchfield County

Whenever I need to get a quick but scenic bicycle ride but don’t have time to organize a group ride that involves driving to a meeting point, I just turn right out of my driveway. That begins a 32-mile loop through some of the prettiest scenery in northern Litchfield County.

I ride south on Undermountain Road (Route 41 South) into Salisbury and turn right on Main Street (Route 44 West). If I’m meeting friends, we gather at the parking area on the west side of Salisbury Town Hall where parking is never a problem.

Keep ReadingShow less
Biking Ancramdale to Copake

This is a lovely ride that loops from Ancramdale north to Copake and back. At just over 23 miles and about 1,300 feet of elevation gain, it’s a perfect route for intermediate recreational riders and takes about two hours to complete. It’s entirely on quiet roads with little traffic, winding through rolling hills, open countryside, picturesque farms and several lakes.

Along the way, you’ll pass a couple of farmstands that are worth a quick visit. There is only one hill that might be described as steep, but it is quite short — probably less than a quarter-mile.

Keep ReadingShow less
Taking on Tanglewood

Aerial view of The Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass.

Provided

Now is the perfect time to plan ahead for symphonic music this summer at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. Here are a few highlights from the classical programming.

Saturday, July 5: Shed Opening Night at 8 p.m. Andris Nelsons conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Daniil Trifonov plays piano in an All-Rachmaninoff program. The Piano Concerto No. 3 was completed in 1909 and was written specifically to be debuted in the composer’s American tour, at another time of unrest and upheaval in Russia. Trifonev is well-equipped to take on what is considered among the most technically difficult piano pieces. This program also includes Symphonic Dances, a work encapsulating many ideas and much nostalgia.

Keep ReadingShow less
James H. Fox

SHARON — James H. Fox, resident of Sharon, passed away on May 30, 2025, at Vassar Brothers Hospital.

Born in New York, New York, to Herbert Fox and Margaret Moser, James grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. He spent his summers in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, where he developed a deep connection to the community.

Keep ReadingShow less