The Case of the Uneducated NIMBYs ..... (Jersey City, New Brunswick: homes, employment, neighborhoods)
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Plus, depending on station, you can get some questionable folks, suddenly within sight of your back door.
In Wood-Ridge? C'mon. Even if, NJT will put a camera or 2 at the station anyway. This isn't like a subway/light rail or DC Metro stop with frequent service. In fact, I bet this will be more of a limited stop compared to other stations on the Bergen Line.
In Wood-Ridge? C'mon. Even if, NJT will put a camera or 2 at the station anyway. This isn't like a subway/light rail or DC Metro stop with frequent service. In fact, I bet this will be more of a limited stop compared to other stations on the Bergen Line.
Yes probably only Peak hours and some in between services...
For SOME people it's neither a win, nor a loss; it's a non issue.
For SOME people it's a LOSS.
It is not helpful, not informative and misleading to make blanket statements that adding this new, second train station is going to raise everybody's property values. It's also naive to chalk the naysayers up to being selfish NIMBYs. That's an easy judgment to make when you are not living in one of the houses that are going from being in a fenced-in dead end, to 30 feet away from a new train platform that has an overhead walkway.
700-800 new residential units (which is expected to increase Wood-Ridge's population by over 30%), plus retail/commercial space, plus a civic center, WITH NO PLANS FOR EXTRA PARKING to accommodate existing Wood-Ridge residents means that this "mixed use" development is going to end up being another exclusive, self serving enclave that brings a whole lot of extra congestion to the town, mostly for the homeowners who have to live next to it. A train station is supposed to minimize congestion, right? Not when it's planned like this.
I know life is not fair and sh*t happens. Some people have to get shafted to serve the greater good, i.e. generate lots of additional property tax revenue for the town, profits for real estate developers and fares for NJ Transit.
However, don't expect these homeowners to take it up the a$$ and then thank you heartily for it. Come on. Don't dismiss them as NIMBYs either. Again, easy to do when it's not your life that is going to be affected. For the majority of these people, their houses are their major (if not only) investment in life.
Its TOD , so its built with less Parking. Alot of cities are building these types of developments , there very popular with NYC / Urban Jersey bound commuters. This is one of the smaller Developments , The Amboys , New Brunswick , Harrison have the larger suburban / Urban Developments. Traffic shouldn't increase that much.... The Current Train station is on the other side of Wood Ridge in a secluded area....
For SOME people it's neither a win, nor a loss; it's a non issue.
For SOME people it's a LOSS.
It is not helpful, not informative and misleading to make blanket statements that adding this new, second train station is going to raise everybody's property values. It's also naive to chalk the naysayers up to being selfish NIMBYs. That's an easy judgment to make when you are not living in one of the houses that are going from being in a fenced-in dead end, to 30 feet away from a new train platform that has an overhead walkway.
700-800 new residential units (which is expected to increase Wood-Ridge's population by over 30%), plus retail/commercial space, plus a civic center, WITH NO PLANS FOR EXTRA PARKING to accommodate existing Wood-Ridge residents means that this "mixed use" development is going to end up being another exclusive, self serving enclave that brings a whole lot of extra congestion to the town, mostly for the homeowners who have to live next to it. A train station is supposed to minimize congestion, right? Not when it's planned like this.
I know life is not fair and sh*t happens. Some people have to get shafted to serve the greater good, i.e. generate lots of additional property tax revenue for the town, profits for real estate developers and fares for NJ Transit.
However, don't expect these homeowners to take it up the a$$ and then thank you heartily for it. Come on. Don't dismiss them as NIMBYs either. Again, easy to do when it's not your life that is going to be affected. For the majority of these people, their houses are their major (if not only) investment in life.
But if there is no parking in the station, I don't see how this would cause additional congestion. In fact, I think congestion would be reduced a little bit as people use the train rather than drive.
Its TOD , so its built with less Parking. Alot of cities are building these types of developments , there very popular with NYC / Urban Jersey bound commuters. This is one of the smaller Developments , The Amboys , New Brunswick , Harrison have the larger suburban / Urban Developments. Traffic shouldn't increase that much.... The Current Train station is on the other side of Wood Ridge in a secluded area....
I had to look up 'TOD' . Transit Oriented Development. I've heard these referred to as "mixed use developments" until now. It's an interesting topic to ponder.
I'm totally on board with you that TODs are advantageous in urban communities that have decaying spaces (Harrison, perfect example). Or even towns that are comparatively suburban but have a major downtown, e.g. Morristown. If you have a decaying piece of land in an area like that, it is much smarter and more environmentally responsible to build a TOD. Walkable community, check. Public transportation, check check...being located in an urban area there is (1) a wealth of public transportation nearby anyway, and (2) shops and stores within walking distance even OUTSIDE the TOD.
However, when we are talking about popping one of these TODs into a completely suburban area like Wood-Ridge, it is only THEORETICALLY a good idea. I understand the need for more environmentally sustainable communities. Encouraging people to use mass transit is a good idea...you have no arguments from me. Walkable communities are wonderful. However, here is more realistic picture of what happens with TODs in suburbs:
You are building hundreds and hundreds of new condos, townhouses, single family homes and apartments. This is the opposite of conservation. It's the opposite of being eco-friendly. There will be an influx of THOUSANDS of additional people into the neighborhood (again, we're talking a small suburb). WITHIN the TOD, these people will live within walking distance to the public transportation hub, and they will live within walking distance to the TOD's retail establishments.
However, the public transportation hub is only mass commuter transit into Manhattan. You can't take it downtown, across town or to the next town over to go to the movie theater, salon, grocery store, your buddy's house, the doctor, the vet, etc. etc. And then, of course, there are the people that don't work in Manhattan at all. So basically, every single one of these people is going to own at least 1 car, the same as any other household in a suburban NJ town.
The frou frou shops and boutiques inside the TOD will meet only so many of your needs. You can only buy so much $5 per roll triple quilted lavender scented patterned toilet paper before you realize it would be better to go to Cosco and get the more economical kind. And maybe sometimes you can treat yourself to a $59 t-shirt, but most of the time you want to go to Marshalls or Macy's. Again, how are you gonna get there if you live in a NJ suburb? BY CAR. There will be cars in and out of the TOD all day, every day, not just from TOD residents that need to get out into the real world, but by outside residents that want to drive in and shop/browse at the retail establishments. Not to mention, all the delivery trucks and maintenance vehicles that need to go in and out on a daily basis. It is not the environmentally efficient or superior community that these real estate developers are claiming it to be. At least not in the suburbs. It's all propaganda.
So, back to the original point...the people that are going to have to live next door to the TOD in Wood-Ridge are going to have to put up with all that, in addition to having that 2nd new train station right in their front yards...which, if NJ Transit were willing to spend the extra money to figure out how to have the station 400 feet away from these residents as ORIGINALLY planned, it wouldn't be AS big a deal...but it's just easier to tell the residents to suck it up. And again, you can't expect these people to be happy about it, and I very much doubt that their property values will go up.
But if there is no parking in the station, I don't see how this would cause additional congestion. In fact, I think congestion would be reduced a little bit as people use the train rather than drive.
Like I said in my above post, the train is only useful for getting into Manhattan. Any other time, you still have to use your car. The residents inside the Westmont Station development will have resident parking, I'm sure...their own driveways and garages. And most of them will have at least 1 car.
When I said no additional parking, I meant no commuter lot so that existing Wood-Ridge residents can park to use the train station. Although, I did read a conflicting report just now that they will be providing a "small" commuter lot...whatever that means.
It is not the environmentally efficient or superior community that these real estate developers are claiming it to be. At least not in the suburbs. It's all propaganda.
Preach on! This is America, everyone wants to drive (well, except a few superannuated hippies) and planners ought to get used to it and make their plans incorporating it rather than try to fight it. Fighting it just gets you places with inadequate parking and roads.
Heck, build a whole bunch parking structures on the east bank of the Hudson and pave the river over, and no one will take transit to NYC either.
Like I said in my above post, the train is only useful for getting into Manhattan. Any other time, you still have to use your car. The residents inside the Westmont Station development will have resident parking, I'm sure...their own driveways and garages. And most of them will have at least 1 car.
When I said no additional parking, I meant no commuter lot so that existing Wood-Ridge residents can park to use the train station. Although, I did read a conflicting report just now that they will be providing a "small" commuter lot...whatever that means.
Not necessarily. Maybe the TOD will cause the new shops to relocate there, making it unnecessary to drive to a store further away.
In addition, the train can be used for travel to Manhattan, but it can also be used for travel between towns, so those residents can take the train to a station with a true "downtown", where they can get the cheaper prices. Also, there are buses in that area that the residents can use for local travel, and the additional ridership generated from the development should cause the buses to run a little bit more frequently, making them a reasonable alternative to owning a car (they would have the train to go to work, and the buses for local trips)
Preach on! This is America, everyone wants to drive (well, except a few superannuated hippies) and planners ought to get used to it and make their plans incorporating it rather than try to fight it. Fighting it just gets you places with inadequate parking and roads.
Heck, build a whole bunch parking structures on the east bank of the Hudson and pave the river over, and no one will take transit to NYC either.
I can't tell whether or not you are being sarcastic.
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. Transit Oriented Development. I've heard these referred to as "mixed use developments" until now. It's an interesting topic to ponder.
