Van der Linde: "advance look and good planning"

STEWART AIRPORT – A multi-million dollar two-part study into West of Hudson regional transit options is going to commence shortly and take about four years to complete.

Metro-North Railroad’s West of Hudson Line presently begins at Salisbury Mills, about three miles west of Stewart Airport and travels to Port Jervis, before it heads south to the New York metropolitan region. The study will consider enhancing that rail line and possibly connecting it to Stewart Airport.

Metro-North’s Elisa Van der Linde presented an overview of the scope of the project to the Stewart Airport Commission on Tuesday. She noted that 30 percent of Orange County’s workforce commutes to points south and east and that 90 percent of Stewart users drive to the airport in personal vehicles. Therefore, she said the study will look to determine if improved transit access to Stewart is warranted. Other alternatives to be considered will be commuter rail, light rail, bus and ferry services from the west side of the Hudson River, she said.

One who backs the study is Susan Metzger, Orange County’s representative on the MTA Board.

“The reason I think this study is important to Orange County is that it allows us to predict where a rail, or it could be a rapid bus service, would go before we are confronted with being retrofit with something,” she said. “So, I think this kind of advanced look and good planning is very necessary for our county.”

The entire study process will be totally open with several meetings and conferences held along the way to seek input and brief the public and their representatives, said Van der Linde.