(rshsdepot) Ridgewood, NJ

[Jim Dent <jdent1_@_optonline.net>]

Ridgewood station fix-up nears OK
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

By EVONNE COUTROS
STAFF WRITER

RIDGEWOOD -- A multimillion-dollar plan to renovate the village railroad 
station could soon be approved by the council, capping more than a 
decade of talks between NJ Transit and the village.

"This plan is the culmination of many different scenarios," said Village 
Manager James Ten Hoeve of a fourth design presented by NJ Transit to 
the council.

Three alternative plans were re- buffed by the village because they were 
deemed too intrusive for the business district and surrounding 
neighborhood, council members say.

"This is much better than the original designs," Councilman Jacques 
Harlow said. "But it's not my optimum design."

The transit agency will spend $27 million to $30 million to renovate the 
station at Garber and Wilsey squares and make it comply with the 
Americans With Disabilities Act, Ten Hoeve said

Under the plan, a section of track will be moved and canopies will be 
added to platforms to shelter commuters. Two elevators will be installed 
and station facilities will be updated to improve access for the disabled.

Architectural and engineering planning for the project is expected to 
take another 18 months to two years, and construction will take another 
two years, with completion by 2011, Harlow said.

As in the prior plans, two elevators will be built into the underpass 
wall at the Franklin Avenue bridge. Passenger platforms will be raised 
to coach level. No parking spaces will be lost and an existing 
pedestrian tunnel will also be preserved.

Changes from prior plans include the positioning of new canopies over 
part of the station and platforms along the line's three sets of tracks 
that run parallel to North Broad Street.

The center island platform will be 710 feet long, but at the village's 
request the line's west side platform will be less intrusive and 
shorter, at 640 feet.

The three designs presented at an open house this year placed the 
platforms farther north.

"The compromise is that now it's half north and half south of Franklin 
Avenue," Harlow said. The 350-foot, tile-like canopies that will cover a 
portion of the platforms start at Franklin Avenue and run north.

"The canopies are essentially the same length but in prior plans they 
all went south, so now it's pushed north to not obstruct the view from 
the Pease Building to [South Broad] and East Ridgewood Avenue," Harlow 
said. NJ Transit will also upgrade the station building restrooms, 
entrance, and ticket sale counters for handicapped accessibility.

The village owns the station and taxi buildings and the platforms, but 
the transit agency will foot the bill for the entire project.

An NJ Transit task force identified Ridgewood as one of 35 key stations 
in the state due to its location and usage. Thirty-three have been 
modified or rebuilt, NJ Transit officials say. Only the Somerville and 
Ridgewood stations remain.

The station serves 1,300 passenger trips per weekday. The number could 
jump to 2,000 when the Hudson River tunnel project is complete, Ten 
Hoeve said. The council will meet to review the plan on Wednesday and 
expects to vote on the project on Nov. 8.

E-mail: coutros_@_northjersey.com

Copyright © 2006 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1445
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org