tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post339709649803926992..comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Comments on Cap'n Transit Rides Again: Trainwreck at the edge of the waterCap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-41568916761866159782012-09-07T03:26:45.639-04:002012-09-07T03:26:45.639-04:00"Bergen County Planning mentions in the study..."Bergen County Planning mentions in the study that they approached Edgewater in the early 1990's and suggested to extend the light rail north and use the abandoned NYS&W tunnel to Fairview instead."<br /><br />Absolutely the right thing to do... I've wondered many times why the HBLR didn't run that way and use the Edgewater tunnel.<br /><br />"Edgewater did not want any part of the light-rail and did exactly the opposite of what Bergen County, NJDOT and NJ Transit had suggested--it did not require developers to preserve the ROW or reserve a ROW for the Light-rail, should it be built in the future. "<br /><br />Asshats. These are the sort of people who prevent us from having nice things.<br />neroden@gmailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07475686367097445497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-84958629681647445192012-09-03T22:40:28.219-04:002012-09-03T22:40:28.219-04:00Thank you all for the great comments, especially W...Thank you all for the great comments, especially West!<br /><br />Helen, do you have specifics about what the city planners are trying to do?Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-52822879060597334632012-09-03T17:49:20.667-04:002012-09-03T17:49:20.667-04:00I may share this post with my city's planners ...I may share this post with my city's planners who seem to want to have less people in my neighborhood walking in the name of "density" and "walkability".Helen Bushnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177708490995175178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-4798155795904557082012-09-03T16:17:10.811-04:002012-09-03T16:17:10.811-04:00The website for the Phase Two study is :
http://w...The website for the Phase Two study is :<br /><br /><a href="URL" rel="nofollow"></a>http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/planning/RiverRoad2<a href="URL" rel="nofollow"></a>Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01488262983509040104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-89429322611530831932012-09-03T16:11:56.819-04:002012-09-03T16:11:56.819-04:00As a planner, I am feel sad when I see the Edgewat...As a planner, I am feel sad when I see the Edgewater has chosen for themselves.<br />However, River Road is a road maintained by Bergen County Public Works- as institution that does not believe in anything other than personal cars, period. The road has 4 travel lanes and a turning lane from Hudson County until NJ Route 5 (Gorges Road). The speed limit is 35 MPH for the entire length in Bergen County, from the GWB Southward.<br /><br />The current Hudson/Bergen River Road Circulation Study (by Bergen County Planning, a progressive department; written by PB) identified the lack of pedestrian/bicycling amenities as a huge issue.<br /><br />Bergen County Planning mentions in the study that they approached Edgewater in the early 1990's and suggested to extend the light rail north and use the abandoned NYS&W tunnel to Fairview instead. Edgewater did not want any part of the light-rail and did exactly the opposite of what Bergen County, NJDOT and NJ Transit had suggested--it did not require developers to preserve the ROW or reserve a ROW for the Light-rail, should it be built in the future. Development started and the potential ROW through Edgewater was lost. Today, the Light rail could only be extended using surface streets.<br /><br />Fast forward to a 25 year-old couple living along River Road.....they take the NJ Transit bus to work in the city each day or catch the NY Waterway Shuttle bus. They walk outside their development and step onto a 3-foot wide sidewalk straddling the edge of a 4 lane street with fast moving traffic only inches away. Across the street from their apartment is a grocery store- they try to cross directly in front of their apartment, since the nearest crosswalk is over 1000 feet away and does not even have a sidewalk for the entire walk. They run across the street and land in a huge parking lot that they must walk through to get to the entrance.<br /><br />What is being done to fix this situation?<br /><br />Bergen County Planning and the NJTPA have funded a "Phase Two" study to improve conditions exclusively for pedestrians and bicyclists.<br /><br />The Project website and related documents from Phase one are at: <br /><br />http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/planning/hudbercor/index.html<br /><br />The future plans for the corridor involve a continuous sidewalk from the GWB to Hudson County, completion of the Hudson River Walkway as well as pedestrian connections to all the stores it passes (Mitsuwa, Edgewater Town Center, City Place, ect.), bike lanes from the GWB to Hudson County, a multiuse path extension from the GWB southwards and lastly, Traffic Calming on River Road and stop its use as a pass-through route by changing the street to 2 lanes with a turning median with either floating parking on both sides with a buffered bike lane or just a bike lane with regular parking.<br /><br />The plans are still evolving, but Edgewater seems to be fed up with the massive numbers of buses and the new residents are voting differently than one that chose no light rail in the early 90's.<br /><br />I hope I shed light on a few of the issues, great post!Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01488262983509040104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-47494098923731276642012-09-03T12:33:18.684-04:002012-09-03T12:33:18.684-04:00I had the same reaction last time we made a trip t...I had the same reaction last time we made a trip to Mitsuwa. Totally designed for car travel, and just crossing River Road to the auxiliary parking lot felt unsafe. A weird, decidedly non-urban urban place, and an enormous wasted opportunity.Eric McClurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03076817365595659597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-85024657814897894992012-09-03T11:08:21.005-04:002012-09-03T11:08:21.005-04:00I have a friend that lives in the apartments just ...I have a friend that lives in the apartments just adjacent to the Port Imperial Ferry. My initial reaction to the area was "Oh, it's close to the ferry, the light rail, and several bus lines, and it incorporates retail and restaurants into the complex." But then my friend told me that he just drives to the supermarket that is a mere 1000 feet from his building so he doesn't have to carry his groceries. Ugh! (He also insists on having a big SUV because it's "much safer".) Then I learned that they opted against building a stretch of ground level retail next to his building because they instead need the space for pit facilities for the Formula One car races. Ugh, again!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04337729876550314547noreply@blogger.com