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Clarkstown holds final workshop on Routes 303 and 304 safety and design study
Summary
At a June public workshop, consultants presented planning-level options for Routes 303 and 304 focused on safety and sustainability — including roundabouts, medians, sidewalks and a proposed trail — and urged public feedback before the study advances to funding and design phases.
Celeste Frye, chief executive of Public Works Partners, opened the third and final public workshop for the Routes 303 and 304 planning study and asked residents to review boards and submit location‑specific feedback via the project website or worksheets in the foyer.
The study team led by Transpo Group senior planner Scott Levine emphasized safety as the primary objective. Levine said the analysis of 2014–2023 crash records identified 18 fatalities and roughly 4,600 crashes across the corridors, and the study proposes a toolkit of countermeasures — from mast‑arm signals and leading pedestrian intervals to roundabouts and center medians — to reduce severe crashes and improve multimodal access.
Why it matters: the study is a planning document intended to produce concept‑level recommendations that will be used to pursue state and federal funding, complete design and environmental reviews, and ultimately construct improvements. The recommendations affect property access, multimodal connectivity, and long‑term traffic patterns in Clarkstown and parts of Rockland County.
Key recommendations presented: the team described site‑by‑site concepts for 36 intersections, including pedestrian sidewalk and crosswalk infill at multiple locations; upgrades to signal hardware (mast arms, retroreflective backplates, flashing left‑turn indications); conversion of some painted medians to landscaped medians; and five detailed focus areas where the study compared signal‑improvement options with roundabout alternatives. Levine said roundabouts generally improved level‑of‑service and provided substantial reductions in angle crashes, but they require more right‑of‑way and are often costlier.
Levine emphasized that this planning step is one of several: after concept selection the jurisdictions will pursue engineering design, environmental review under applicable federal laws and New York State law on environmental reviews, and then construction if funding is secured. He asked attendees to flag whether comments are corridor‑wide or tied to specific locations so project staff can place feedback appropriately.
At the meeting, Al Maroney, chief of staff to the town supervisor, underlined the human toll motivating the work, saying Supervisor Homen has told him 'there have been too many deaths on Route 303 and 304.' John Lyon, chief of staff to the Rockland County executive, urged residents to review the materials and help build a case for state funding.
Next steps: presenters directed attendees to the project website (routes303and304study.mysocialpinpoint.com) for detailed drawings, simulation videos for the five focus locations, the slide deck and to submit comments. After this workshop the study team will compile public input and the jurisdictions will use the concepts to apply for funding and proceed to the multi‑year design and environmental review stages.
The presentation concluded with a public‑forum period in the foyer where participants could discuss specifics with project staff and leave written comments. The team did not adopt any policy or approve any construction at the meeting; it presented planning alternatives and requested public feedback.
