(rshsdepot) NJ: Rail village plans may lift downtowns

["Jim Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

=46rom the Morris County Daily Record...

Rail village plans may lift downtowns

By Seth Agulnick
Daily Record

The sound of a distant train whistle drifts up the Rockaway River valley
=66rom the east into Dover station, soon followed by a locomotive hauling
either freight or passengers.

It=92s a scene repeated thousands of times since the 1840s, when the firs=
t
railroad track was laid through town.

In Netcong, a gleaming, silver NJ Transit car hugs the curve of the
westbound track, discharges passengers and roars off under the concrete
canyon of Routes 80 and 46 toward Hackettstown.

Until the automobile and the interstate highway system made it possible f=
or
residents to live farther and farther from where they work, municipalitie=
s
like Dover and Netcong were centers of population, jobs and commerce.

But officials in both towns say it is possible for a renaissance.

The tool both towns are grabbing for is a NJ Transit-sponsored program
designed to create transit-friendly communities.

That approach calls for layering housing, commercial centers, retail
outlets, entertainment and pedestrian-friendly development and landscapes
around transit centers, like train stations, in a way that makes it possi=
ble
for more people to live and work there.

"We want to increase the vitality of downtown," Netcong borough
administrator Marvin Joss said. "We want to draw more people into the
downtown to help spur development and redevelopment."

Dover Mayor Richard Newman said the NJ Transit project is possibly one wa=
y
to use the train station to draw new residents, stores and jobs to the
center of his town.

The program is especially attractive, both said, because NJ Transit will =
pay
for studies of the downtown areas.

NJ Transit=92s "transit friendly communities" program began last year, NJ
Transit executive director Jeffrey Warsh said.

"The idea is to use transit facilities as a lure to draw development to t=
he
old centers," he said. Projects are under way under this program in sever=
al
municipalities, but the most visible are two light rail lines, one in Hud=
son
and Bergen counties, and another between Camden and Trenton.

"We want to teach towns how to maximize transit facilities," he said.

The ultimate goal, however, Warsh said, "is to get people out of their
cars."


MidTown Direct

NJ Transit serves both Netcong and Dover on the Morris & Essex Line. Dove=
r
is the starting point for MidTown Direct, NJ Transit=92s popular service =
to
Manhattan, that now carries over 11,000 riders daily.

But nearby Route 80, the main east-west highway through Morris County and
North Jersey, carries thousands of cars daily. In 1999, the state Departm=
ent
of Transportation recorded 128,510 cars a week at the Fox Hill Road
underpass in Parsippany, and 85,830 cars a week passed through Mount
Arlington that same year.

The potential vulnerability of commuters=92 dependence on that highway wa=
s
shown two weeks ago when a three-truck accident closed the westbound lane=
s
for more than a week while a temporary bridge was installed. The traffic =
was
diverted to local roads, which caused long tie-ups.

The effect on commuters=92 drive time is a factor when people look for ho=
mes,
said John Cramer of Cramer=92s Real Estate of Dover.

"It=92s not a new issue," he said, " but it does have an effect."

He said towns like Dover, Netcong and Hackettstown that host train statio=
ns
are popular destinations for homebuyers.

It=92s that popularity, and the long history of train service to Netcong =
and
Dover, that make those municipalities good candidates for transit-friendl=
y
development, Warsh said.

Simply stated, transit-friendly planning encourages multiple uses for lan=
d
in old urban centers. It calls for attracting restaurants, shops,
convenience stores, entertainment establishments and other business that
bring people to the center of town to work, shop, plan and just hang out.
The NJ Transit plan envisions workday, evening and weekend activity to ke=
ep
the centers busy all the time.

It also calls for an examination of land use and development patterns to
create open space for bike riders and walkers who could be tempted to lea=
ve
their cars at home and use public transportation to get to work.

"It is an appropriate way to attract business," Warsh said.

=91It=92s a great idea

The concept also is one that has attracted the attention of large develop=
ers
of both housing and commercial space.

"It=92s a great idea," said Don Eisen, executive managing director of
Cushman-Wakefield New Jersey, a branch of the international real estate
development firm. "Redevelopment in downtowns led by transit. The need is=
 so
obvious. Sprawl =97 enough already."

He said his company has been watching and forecasting as it tracks such
development opportunities in older urban areas.

"This is the beginning of a larger process," he said.

The move to use transit as a focus for development is at the heart of the
activity in Newark, for example, which is centered around Penn Station.

"This is an ancient approach," he said, but it has the possibility of mak=
ing
great improvements in the general quality of life in the region.

Eisen said that for customers from New York seeking space in New Jersey,
traffic congestion is a major concern. But for New Jersey customers, it i=
s
less of a problem.

"They know what they are in for." he said.

Overall strategy

For housing builders, the move to redevelop in urban centers is part of a=
n
overall strategy.

For K. Hovnanian Inc., the opportunities for redeveloping old industrial
sites into new housing is an ongoing process, said Joe Riggs, president o=
f
the company=92s northeast region.

He cited two projects, in Union and Clifton, where the company tore down =
old
factories, cleaned the property and developed housing. It=92s called "in-=
fill"
development, he said.

The developments target first-time homebuyers, young professionals or old=
er
couples who are moving into a smaller homes after their children have mov=
ed
on.

"It=92s for people who want hassle-free housing," he said. But it=92s als=
o for
people who want the excitement of being in an urban area, or want an acti=
ve
lifestyle that could be found there.

He said most of the housing development in Hoboken, for example, is
attracting such residents.

Riggs said his company is not involved in any NJ Transit-related project,
but would be interested if the opportunity developed.

The genesis for transit-friendly planning is the state development and
redevelopment plan that, in general terms, calls for directing growth to
regional centers like Dover and Netcong.

"We are the backbone of the state plan," Warsh said.

Voluntary enforcement

Issued in the early 1990s, the plan, which calls for voluntary enforcemen=
t,
was largely ignored until Gov. Christie Whitman issued an order telling
state departments to implement its goals. That shift in emphasis opens th=
e
door for transit-friendly planning.

In Dover, Newman said, the town is glad to be working with NJ Transit to,
first, address a common problem: parking. The town operates several parki=
ng
lots in the area of the train station, but they are oversold, and with th=
e
increasing ridership on MidTown Direct, NJ Transit=92s own lot is filled.

Town engineer Michael Hantson said that with the possibility that local
landlords could attract offices to downtown Dover, there is the increasin=
g
need for convenient parking.

He said the town hopes to duplicate the economic boost it received when i=
n
1999 the U.S. Census Bureau operated a regional center in Dover, bringing=
 as
many as 800 jobs to town for a year. Also, he said, as plans for replacem=
ent
of the Route 46 bridges move forward and the possibility that a walking p=
ath
along the Rockaway River might be constructed, there is the chance that
plans to redevelop the old iron mill site on Bassett Highway, now a large=
,
mostly vacant parking lot, could be developed.

The town is interested in examining the area along the railroad tracks ne=
ar
Dickerson Street and other downtown streets. NJ Transit has a rail yard,
repair depot and crew quarters in that area. There also are older homes,
small businesses and a Verizon telephone switching station.

It=92s possible, he said, that a mix of market-rate townhouses, businesse=
s
which could take advantage of the high-quality phone connections and othe=
r
retail or service companies could be attracted to the area.

Crescent Field

A key, he said, would be to redevelop the Crescent Field parking lot,
currently the main commuter lot, in a way that adds parking spaces for bo=
th
NJ Transit and town use =97 perhaps in two-to three story parking decks =97=
 but
does it in away that could result in the addition of green space and walk=
ing
paths through the area.

"It would give us a chance to get rid of that black hole and make it more
like a downtown area," Newman said.

Hantson said that while there is a stack of studies of downtown Dover, th=
e
NJ Transit plan also includes a marketing study to help better define wha=
t
types of business and housing development might be attracted to Dover.

The NJ Transit study, which will be the subject of a meeting later in Jul=
y,
will match up well with Dover=92s other plans for a Smart Growth grant ai=
med
at helping develop a transit village in the area.

In Netcong, Joss said, the transit parking lot is about the only open spo=
t
left, and the need for parking is increasing.

But the borough=92s plan, like Dover=92s, goes well beyond solving a sing=
le
issue.

Iron center

Netcong developed on the south shore of Lake Musconetcong in the late 180=
0s
when Stanhope was an iron center. It has been a center for shopping and
transit ever since.

In combination with a Special Improvement District that local business
owners support, the NJ Transit planning study will help identify ways to
maintain the life of the borough, Joss said.

"We need to keep the proper mix of uses," he said. "We want to develop
commercial uses, but we also need people living in downtown to maintain
vibrancy."

That sense of community is what drew Joi Squillace in April 2000 to bring
her physical therapy business to Netcong after being in Budd Lake and
Hackettstown.

"I like the small-town feel," she said. "Also, Netcong is on all the road
signs."

Squillace set up her business in the old municipal building and police
station on Main Street.

"There=92s a lot of history here," she said. "Customers tells us all the =
time
where the judge sat, where the police chief=92s desk was."

Downtown businesses are very interested in maintaining the lively
atmosphere, she said, and it makes her feel at home that she can walk dow=
n
Main Street and greet other business owners.

=91Cooperative effort=92

Both Joss and Dover=92s Newman said the NJ Transit planning program is a
marked improvement from the attitude that state agencies used to exhibit.

"It=92s a cooperative effort," Newman said.

In the past, Joss said, the Department of Transportation dictated every
aspect of a highway project no matter what concerns local officials had.

But, he said, as shown in the planning for the changes at the Netcong
circle, consideration was given to the borough=92s desire for sidewalks a=
nd
concerns about the impact on local businesses.

"In the past," he said, "the state=92s concern seemed to be to make thing=
s
better for cars. Now, it seems, they want to make it better for people."

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