7. Monitoring Our Performance

7. Monitoring Our Performance

Ulster County has prepared a System Performance Report (SPR), which tracks current status and recent patterns in key federally designated areas of condition of assets, safety, and system reliability/congestion. The SPR addresses Ulster County’s status and progress as it relates to NYS-defined performance measures and targets, which UCTC has also adopted (as have NYS’s other MPOs). The SPR can be found in Appendix D of the Plan.

Beyond the NYS-defined performance measures and targets, UCTC tracks additional aspects of overall system performance related to regional goals and objectives. Below, the key goals and objectives of this LRTP are reiterated along with key performance indicators.

Goal 1: System Preservation

Invest in transportation system infrastructure to bring and maintain all facilities and modes into a state of good repair.

Over the last 5 years, the share of roadways with a “poor” pavement condition rating has increased from 17 percent to 23 percent. At the same time, the share of roadways with a “good” rating has increased significantly from 32 percent to 49 percent. Therefore, while the share of roadways in poor condition has increased, projects have been implemented in the region to improve roadway conditions overall.

Status of Roadway Condition Performance

Roadway Condition

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

Good

32%

49%

Acceptable

51%

29%

Poor

17%

23%

Similar to the pattern of road-pavement conditions in Ulster County, the share of bridges that are in structurally deficient condition has increased from 22 percent to 24 percent.

Status of Bridge Condition Performance

Bridge Condition

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

Good

17%

21%

Fair

61%

55%

Structurally Deficient

22%

24%

 

In 2020, UCTC initiated a sidewalk inventory that currently spans 24 communities throughout the county. This inventory, completed in 2021, tracks where sidewalks and curb ramps are located, how accessible these facilities are, and what sidewalk material is in place. This inventory was not complete at the time of publication of the 2020 LRTP, thus preventing an evaluation of how sidewalk conditions have trended. In the future, the sidewalk inventory will continue to be updated, tracking the condition and accessibility of sidewalk facilities throughout the county.

Status of Available Sidewalk Facilities

Sidewalk Condition Distribution

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

Not Accessible

N/A

12.0%

Less Accessible

N/A

30.7%

More Accessible

N/A

33.8%

Fully Accessible

N/A

12.0%

No Rating

N/A

11.5%

 

Ulster County’s public bus operator UCAT is in a continual process of modernizing its fleet of transit buses and supporting vehicles, including the longterm process of fleet electrification. UCAT’s share of vehicles beyond their Useful Life Benchmark (46%), while above the state’s targets, is in alignment with statewide trends. UCAT is in the process of purchasing several new buses within the next year.

Status of Transit Fleet Condition Performance

Useful Life Benchmark (ULB)

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

% Beyond ULB*

N/A

46%

 

Goal 2: Safety

Continually improve the safety of all users of the transportation system by responding to identified safety deficiencies and proactively addressing future safety needs.

The 5-year average number of fatal and serious injury crashes has increased since the 2045 LRTP update. With respect to pedestrian and bicycle collisions, the 5-year total of fatal crashes has also increased while the total number of serious injury crashes has decreased.

Overall, while these trends are not currently in line with UCTC’s goals and objectives, they need to be considered in light of the national post-Covid trend of worsened road safety performance. Additionally, the most recent data from 2022 and 2023 in Ulster County indicates a downward trajectory in fatal and serious injury collisions.

An example of a major project that impacted safety in a positive way (as outlined in detail in Section 5) is the Broadway Streetscape Project, which resulted in significant decreases in fatal and serious injury collisions along the corridor.

Status of Crash History

Crash Data

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

All Crashes: 5-Year Average

2014-2018 Crash Data

2019-2023 Crash Data

Fatal Crashes

14.0/year

14.8/year

Serious Injury Crashes

149.4/year

164.6/year

Ped/Bike Crashes: 5-Year Total

2014-2018 Crash Data

2019-2023 Crash Data

Fatal Crashes

13

15

Serious Injury Crashes

83

71

UCAT has observed a considerable increase in crashes since the last LRTP update. While the exact causes of this increase are not known, UCTC and UCAT are aware of this increase in crash incidents involving UCAT vehicles and will work to understand the causes and appropriate avoidance and mitigation measures.

Status of Transit Vehicle Crash History

Transit Crash Data

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

5-Year Average

2015-2019 Crash Data

2020-2024 Crash Data

Total Crashes

N/A

14.6/year

Crashes Resulting in Serious Injury

N/A

1.2/year

Crashes Resulting in Fatalities

N/A

0.0/year

Goal 3: Resiliency

Ensure that transportation system users have a sustainable and secure environment, that the transportation system is capable of providing adequate service during severe weather events, and that the natural and built environment is protected and enhanced.

The journey to work modal distribution has shifted considerably over the last 5 years. The share of “drive alone” trips has decreased from 77 percent to 71 percent. While it’s possible that more vehicle trips have shifted to non-peak times with the introduction of more flexible work schedules, it is still encouraging to see a reduction in work-related drive alone trips that typically occur during the highest congestion, and therefore higher pollution-generating time periods.

Status of Journey to Work Mode Share

Mode of Transportation

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

Drive Alone

77.2%

70.9%

Carpool

7.5%

6.7%

Work From Home

7.0%

15.4%

Public Transportation

2.5%

2.1%

Walk

4.3%

3.0%

Bike

0.3%

0.4%

Other

1.1%

1.4%

In addition to policies that encourage drivers to leave their cars at home and seek alternatives to single-occupancy motor vehicle travel, EVs are one solution that makes vehicles cleaner to use. Overall, the share of EVs of total vehicle registrations in Ulster County remain relatively small, but that share has nearly doubled since the last LRTP update. As can be seen in Table 7.8, there has been more rapid growth in the number of battery electric registrations as compared to plug in hybrid electric registrations.

Status of Electric Vehicle Adoption

EV Registrations (Total)

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

Battery Electric

371

2,456

Plug In Hybrid Electric

504

1,807

Share of EVs Among All Standard Vehicle Registrations

0.8%

1.5%

Goal 4: Mobility

Provide for efficient and reliable travel by all modes by investing in strategies that mitigate congestion and create and maintain a well-connected transportation system.

As part of this LRTP update, UCTC has begun tracking Person Hours of Excessive Delay (PHED) by centerline mile of roadway. This evaluation indicates congestion hotspots in Kingston, New Paltz, and the approach to the Mid-Hudson Bridge, which align with anecdotal observations. While this analysis was not completed as part of the previous LRTP update, moving forward UCTC will continue to monitor systemwide PHED as part of future LRTP updates and use this evaluation to understand where congestion management can help to enhance transportation system performance.

Status of Roadway Condition Performance

Roadway Condition

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

Good

32%

49%

Acceptable

51%

29%

Poor

17%

23%

Daily VMT in Ulster County has decreased since the 2018 (i.e. pre-covid) data reported in the 2045 LRTP update, by nearly 175,000 miles. Consistent with statewide and national trends, VMT decreased precipitously in 2020 but has since rebounded. That said, VMT has not yet reached the peak levels observed in 2018.

Status of Vehicle Miles Traveled

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled

5,677,000 (2018)

5,505,000 (2022)

In 2020, UCTC initiated a sidewalk inventory that currently spans 24 communities throughout the county. This inventory, completed in 2021, tracks where sidewalks and curb ramps are located, how accessible these facilities are, and what sidewalk material is in place. This inventory was not complete at the time of publication of the 2020 LRTP, thus preventing an evaluation of how sidewalk conditions have trended. In the future, the sidewalk inventory will continue to be updated, tracking the condition and accessibility of sidewalk facilities throughout the county.

Transit access has been evolving within Ulster County for the last several years, with UCAT expanding service into the City of Kingston and replacing the Kingston Citibus service. Additionally, UCAT transitioned to a fare-free system resulting in increased access to transit by reducing the financial barrier to accessing the transit network in 2022. Finally, UCTC and UCAT are currently undergoing a Route Optimization Plan that will evaluate fixed route improvements, with a goal of more frequent service and/or service that covers new geographic areas.

UCTC recently initiated a sidewalk inventory. While not yet fully complete, this inventory will become an increasingly important tool in tracking the progress of new sidewalks and sidewalk repair projects. At the writing of this LRTP update, UCTC has inventoried approximately 115 miles of sidewalk in the County. In addition, UCTC tracks the progress of its trail network. Since the last LRTP update, UCTC has completed projects that help expand the trail network and close gaps. In total, the trail network has expanded by over 12 miles between 2020 and 2025.

Status of Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities

2045 LRTP

2050 LRTP

Miles of Sidewalks

N/A

115 miles

Miles of Trails

Complete

64.5 miles

76.7 miles

Under Development*

16.3 miles

7.2 miles
1. Introduction
3. Public Involvement