Goshen planning board advances Student Bus Company site plan amid Route 17A safety concerns

The Goshen Planning Board authorized counsel to prepare a conditional resolution of approval for Student Bus Company's site plan and related lot‑line adjustment for a proposed 3.4±‑acre bus terminal on Industrial Drive in the CO zone, while flagging traffic safety and circulation issues that the applicant must address.

Anthony Turbiano, an engineer with Hometown Engineering representing the applicant, presented revised Part 3 materials and an updated site plan submitted the same day. He described changes that show the proposed new well location, relocation of on‑site fuel tanks to a position just behind the building, revised bus and employee vehicle circulation drawn to scale, and a multi‑page arrival/departure sequence illustrating how employees would park and then take buses in sequence.

For the record, John Kenning of Kim Horn, the board’s traffic reviewer, told the board the site is "tight" and that "the key to it working is that the buses in the parking spaces are taken out first because you've got on either side, you got half a dozen buses lined up." Kenning noted crash history at the nearby state intersection: "There were 21 accidents in 5 years," about half of them deer‑related but with a predominance of left‑turn crashes. He said measured intersection sight distance falls short of the 530‑foot standard (measured roughly 490–610 feet at various points depending on method and direction) and warned that the application would increase left‑turn movements at a higher‑than‑expected accident location.

Applicant representatives and the board discussed mitigation. Turbiano and Student Bus representatives said they can move fueling to a concrete pad behind the building, install spill‑response materials, and use operational staging described in the circulation diagrams, including staff to reposition buses during snow events. The applicant’s representative also said the submission shows up to 40 buses on the plan while acknowledging typical daily operations are likely 36 buses in service; the board and reviewer used a conservative peak‑hour estimate the materials referenced of "up to 77 additional trips" on Industrial Drive (buses plus employee vehicle movements) for modeling purposes.

Kenning recommended the applicant pursue offset or design funding toward a left‑turn lane and advised the board to refer the intersection to the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) for review. Board members discussed interim measures DOT could permit more quickly — for example, time‑of‑day restrictions on left turns or intersection‑warning signage — while a larger roadway design would take longer and be more costly. Turbiano said the applicant would cooperate and indicated willingness to contribute funds for design if needed.

The board asked for clarifications in the EAF figures (wetland distance was noted at 1,000 feet but a figure made the wetland appear closer) and requested a professional wetland delineation if required. After discussion the board voted to authorize counsel to draft a conditional resolution of approval; the resolution will be presented at the next meeting after counsel and staff incorporate required conditions and outstanding reviewer comments.

The board did not close SEQRA review tonight; Part 3 discussion will be followed by formal resolution language and any required DOT coordination before final action.