Bottom Line: Raise the Speed Limit in Poughkeepsie

Poughkeepsie, We Need to Talk About Your Speed Limits!

Alright, I get it. Surface street speed limits make sense, especially considering your roads seem to be designed by someone who thought it would be fun to make drivers feel like they're in a real-life game of Chutes and Ladders. I mean, what's with the endless zig-zagging? But let's leave that puzzle to my buddy Ryan, who’s already taken on that enigma.

What really grinds my gears is the ridiculous speed limits on the roads I actually need to drive on—namely, the Taconic State Parkway and Route 9.

These are roads where the posted limits feel less like guidelines and more like a challenge to see how much you can safely exceed them. Seriously, bumping up those numbers would save everyone time and a bit of sanity.

Let’s start with the Taconic State Parkway. This road is a stunner—hands down the most beautiful two-lane road I’ve ever had the pleasure of driving. Sorry, Merritt Parkway, but you don’t even come close.

I’m regularly on the Taconic from the Mass Pike to the Salt Point Turnpike, just before I exit near Poughkeepsie.

Look How Slow This Nerd Is Driving

As of this rant, the speed limit on this gem is a measly 55 mph. That’s not just low; it’s criminal. .

Now, I get it—there are those quirky intersections smack in the middle of the highway where people can make a harrowing dash across. Fine, make that section 60 mph if you must, but the rest? It deserves better.

And don’t even get me started on Route 9. This road runs right along the Hudson from ShopRite and Jersey Mike’s to the Mid-Hudson Bridge. And for some inexplicable reason, it’s capped at 45 mph. Seriously, 45?

This road should easily be a 60 mph zone. Sure, there’s that tricky spot where the on-ramps merge like a chaotic dance routine, but can’t we just drop to 55 mph there and call it a day?

Let’s be real—everyone’s flying by at 70 mph anyway, probably off to Wappingers Falls. And honestly, where are the troopers going to hide? It’s a two-lane road with barely enough shoulder space for a bicycle, let alone a speed trap.

Hudson Valley, it’s time to up your game. These speed limits are holding us back. Let’s crank it up a notch, shall we?

Get our free mobile app