A strategic plan meant to outline the future of transportation across New York is now open for public input. That’s according to the New York State Department of Transportation, which recently released its 2050 master plan. The 112-page roadmap outlines specific trends the department believes will impact the local transportation landscape over the coming years and presents first draft solutions on how to adapt to them.
To gather information for the project, the NYSDOT consulted a variety of public and private sources over the post-pandemic years. Research includes consultation with all 14 of New York’s metropolitan planning organizations, with the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council representing the Western New York region. The department also claims that all nine Native American nations in the state were consulted as part of the long-term projects process. The Western New York region of the study analyzed the transportation infrastructure of Niagara, Erie, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Alleghany counties. The report found that 11.6% of households in the region did not have a personal vehicle, yet only 2% of the population uses public transit to get to work.
Outside of counties in New York City, Erie County came in third in a 2022 study of average annual hours of excessive traffic delay. The report attributed the outlier data to the region's extreme winter weather, which highlighted the importance of more efficient severe weather operations.
As part of the public engagement section, the three biggest priorities from New Yorkers were conditions of roadways, access to public transport, and safer bike and walkways. As part of general road safety, New York State plans on continuing the “Safe System Approach,” which was created by the state's Strategic Highway Safety Plan.
While the report utilized various pop-up events across New York State for community input, members of the public are encouraged to review the draft plan and attend one of two virtual public forums to give the department more community feedback. More information is available on the NYSDOT website about how to register for virtual public forums, which are planned for Tuesday, July 8, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The public feedback window runs until July 27, after which the department will finalize the draft master plan by the end of summer 2025.
