CATSKILL - The intrepid Colin DeVries of The Daily Mail has a must-read piece spelling out the findings of a comprehensive 82-page needs assessment report, drafted by Soule Consulting Services of Hamilton and commissioned by the Greene County Economic Development, Tourism and Planning Department, that was presented to the Greene County legislature last month. The report looks into, and urges, a coordinated and efficient countywide transit system "that may one day shape the future of transportation throughout Greene County." The report notes the many deficiencies of the current county transit systems, spread between six county agencies and departments and largely focused on client-specific transportation, while presenting an objective to streamline the network and cut wasteful spending by moving towards a single, publicly accessible system. The report suggests that consolidation and upgrading could end up saving the county $150,000 a year off a total annual operating cost now identified as $2.68 million a year, with $862,752 coming from county coffers. DeVries goes on to note, however, that Greene County Legislature Chairman Wayne Speenburgh has said there has been little discussion about the study since the presentation in early November, and that he did not expect an earnest transportation discussion among lawmakers until the start of the next year, at earliest.

The complete transportation needs assessment materials are available for download at http://greenebusiness.com/planning/transportation.

For the full Daily Mail story, click HERE.