Re: (rshsdepot) Ramsey, NJ

["Paul S. Luchter" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>]

Remind me what is the Secausus Transfer??
Paul
- -----Original Message-----
From: James Dent <james.dent_@_itochu.com>
To: RSHS List <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
Date: Thursday, June 14, 2001 10:44 AM
Subject: (rshsdepot) Ramsey, NJ


-From the Bergen (County, NJ) Record...

Regional train station rolls ahead
Thursday, June 14, 2001

By PAT R. GILBERT
Staff Writer

NJ Transit moved ahead Wednesday with a controversial plan to build a $25
million regional train station and five-story parking garage near Route 17
in Ramsey.

The agency's board gave top officials the green light to proceed with design
plans for the project, located at the base of Island Road on property owned
by Ramsey Lumber.

Transit officials say the station, which will serve passengers on the Main
Line, is needed to accommodate the anticipated surge in riders in Bergen
County and New York State when the Secaucus Transfer opens next year.

But the project has drawn heavy fire from neighbors near the 2.6-acre site,
who say the station will increase traffic, put a strain on police, and is
better suited for a non-residential site across Route 17 in Mahwah.

"The Ramsey site is in a residential area. It's really that plain and
simple," said Ramsey resident Katherine Korz. "Given the two locations
[Ramsey and Mahwah] no one really understands why they are pushing so hard
for it to be in people's back yards. We're hoping they will reconsider."

That prospect doesn't seem likely.

NJ Transit Executive Director Jeffrey Warsh said Wednesday that the board's
action means the agency is committed to putting the station on the Ramsey
site. The board authorized a contract of up to $1.6 million for a yet-to-be
picked firm to perform 30 percent of the design for the project.

"The site offers superior access off Route 17," said James Redeker, NJ
Transit's assistant executive director for planning. "This one seems to work
and was the site we were directed to several years ago by the town
[officials]. We found it to be an excellent site."

William Wright, a director with the New Jersey Association of Railroad
Passengers, disagreed, citing traffic and other issues. He said the Mahwah
site made more sense for a train station.

"Ramsey is so small and you can't expand it," Wright said. "I don't even
know why they are even considering it. It's Site Plan 101."

Preliminary design plans call for 800-foot train platforms with canopies, a
heated shelter on the Secaucus/Hoboken-bound platform, a pedestrian walkway
above the tracks, a bus stop, and a five-story, 1,300-space parking garage.

NJ Transit says the station will be finished by 2003. However, that could be
overly optimistic given Ramsey Lumber's position. The company is not
interested in selling.

"It's not a matter of selling the property and getting a good price," said
Darren Lilley, vice president of Ramsey Lumber. "It's having something
catastrophic that will destroy our business and the surrounding community."

NJ Transit spokesman Ken Miller said the agency has told Ramsey Lumber it is
interested in the parcel and is appraising the land.

"The ultimate goal is to try to reach an agreement with them on the
property," Miller said. But he added that a last resort would be taking the
property by the law of eminent domain.

Copyright © 2001 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

------------------------------

End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #88
******************************