A recent independent study of road conditions on New York State Route 17 alleges a 2024 state report was flawed.
The study by Smart Mobility, Inc., commissioned by the Hudson Valley environmental conservation group Catskill Mountainkeeper, claims the New York State Department of Transportation used outdated data and exaggerated the scope of the traffic problem when it suggested a plan to add a third lane to Route 17. Gov. Kathy Hochul said the change would improve safety and quality of life, while reducing congestion on the road that is also supposed to eventually become Interstate 86.
Advocates disapprove of that plan.
“All of the research indicates that when you widen a highway, you will actually induce demand, creating more traffic in the long term, and also decrease safety," said Catskill Mountainkeeper Program Manager Taylor Jaffe. "By adding a third lane, you're increasing the possibility for driver behavior to be more chaotic and more reckless. We often see people drive faster on those three-lane highways, and there are more merging points, so more points of conflict.”
NYSDOT did not return multiple requests for comment for this story.
At a Gulf gas station in Goshen recently, Peter Schwarz said the conditions on Route 17 can be treacherous.
“About a year ago, a car hit a pothole and almost veered into me," he said. "It was a very close call. So, I mean, I personally experienced this.”
State Sen. James Skoufis, who represents the region, said in 2025 that 60% of the roads and half of its bridges are in “poor” condition.
Catskill Mountainkeeper, as part of the Rethink Route 17 Alliance, wants to separate highway repairs like pothole fixes from the highway expansion. That’s because, Jaffe said, their research shows the third lane won’t measurably improve safety or congestion.
Instead, the alliance wants to see transportation alternatives like investing in bus stations and the rail trail in Orange County, which they think is a better bang for the buck. Jaffee also said a third lane would add hundreds of millions of additional driving miles and the carbon emissions that go along with that.
Motorists around Goshen expressed mixed feelings about how to address the problem.
Dale Clausen said he thinks development in the Hudson Valley and Catskills necessitates a third lane.
“I'm a conservationist, but I'm also realistic," he said. "So they have to do something. Either it's high-speed lanes or HOV [high-occupancy vehicle] lanes aren't practical because people don't abide by them. But you have to expand. Unfortunately, you have to expand.”
Shane Nitzel, who grew up in the Catskills and lives in Goshen, said he’d like to see that area of the highway overhauled. He said the exits in Goshen are dangerous.
“So you get basically four lanes coming down to two. The potholes, plus that, causes accidents almost every day, every morning,” Nitzel said.
Will Mossy said he drives on Route 17 all the time and doesn’t see the need for a third lane.
“I don't think it's that crowded. I live in Jersey. I come and ... commute here every day to Goshen, so like, morning and night. It’s not that much traffic, I think, so that's good," Mossy said. "But, yeah, potholes for sure. Like, there's a lot of the road where it's just completely ripped up for like, a good stretch of it.”
