photo by Melanie Whobin
May 25,2017,
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, During last night’s Village Council meeting it was announced that design changes requested by Council members have resulted in a projected cost increase of $900k for the Hudson Street Garage. Resident Boyd Loving pointed out that the requested design changes were cosmetic in nature only.That’s right folks; an additional $900k because those on the dais didn’t like the way it looked. Loving reminded council members ,”It’s a parking garage, not the Taj Mahal , $900k more in a heartbeat.”
The PIKE garage proposal has so far not cost the Village a penny , but some of the final numbers and lose ends are still missing.The proposed $8 million garage now $9 million garage will add 240 spaces for a net gain of 140 plus spaces, additionally the Village is moving forward with the 30 plus extra spaces at the Ridgewood train station ,by re-configuring the grassy medium .
I don’t want any parking garage, but if there is going to be one it MUST BLEND IN with the historical architecture surrounding it. It can’t be ugly.
Originally didn’t they expect it to cost $ 11 million? How will it pay for itself. By increasing parking fees so that no one will want to shop in Ridgewood? What about the future of self-driving cars in 10 years. What about the fact of cost of maintenance and the fact that garage can last for 30 years . Then what , does it have to built all over again for millions of dollars. Shuck the idea. The CBD is small ; face it. Like it or move out.
This Village has to wake up to the math. A $9mm garage that increases parking by 140 spaces cost about $64,000 per space. If one were to assume that every one of those incremental spaces (because incremental space is what we are paying for) was filled 256 day per year, (360 less weekends), it would take about 10 years at $25 per space per day just to cover the $9mm construction cost. This is a wild ass assumption in its own right. A few other items to think about- i) we can’t build outdoor bathrooms without going over budget so that $9mm figure is a wish, ii) the math mentioned above does not take into consideration financing, operating and capital costs and iii) the Village should not underestimate the external costs associated with increased traffic in an already congested business district. I would guess that when those costs are realistically added in, this project will create significant deficits that would be funded by the tax payers. Hey, let’s go for it assuming we all know how much the pretty building will cost us and who really benefits from another white elephant.
The revised, Council suggested changes, DO NOT BLEND WITH ANYTHING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. The previous design was much better. At least it blended with Mt. Carmel and the existing buildings on South Broad Street. What is the Council thinking? Boyd Loving is right – $900,000 just because they don’t want it to look like a parking garage? This Council gets worse by the minute.
READ OUR LIPS. WE……DON’T…….WANT……THIS…..GARAGE.
$64,000 loan for 20 years at 3% is $354.94 per month. ($4,259.28 per year)
8 hours per day x 5 days per week x $2.00 per hour x 50 weeks is $4,000 per year.
Doesn’t cover debt payments, and that assumes fantasy occupancy and meter rates.
You know damn well the commuters won’t be paying anything close to those rates, and without them the garage will be nearly empty each day.
Friday and Saturday nights it might be half full……for 2 or 3 hours.
I just can’t see diners paying for parking, especially in a drive-up garage. It just doesn’t sit well with a the mindset of a couple looking for a restaurant. You know that it will have that smell of urine. No. It will be a case of “let’s try (name the town) instead”.
3:55 – Welcome to Urinetown…!
who is going to do all the service on this site.
cleaning is going to be a must.
it looks nice. build it.
I feel horribly sad that this stupidity was not put behind us as many believed would happen after the referendum. True, the referendum applied to a specific bond and a specific price, but as others point out here, we’re approaching that dollar figure anyway. HORRORS, especially at this moment in the village’s fiscal history. A garage was never meant to be at that location until the Aronsohn crew began pounding it into our heads. Building it is a big mistake that will be recognized soon, when the money has been spent and that little corner destroyed.Smaller is better, but merely reconfiguring and resurfacing the lot would be even better and cost relatively nothing. I believe this council is allowing itself to be swayed by the squeakiest wheels in town, many with much to gain, financially or politically, from the construction of this monstrosity and others. Those council members who still have a conscience and common sense will deeply regret their decision. Like an engaged person who can’t face admitting that love is gone and dreads the upcoming marriage but can’t disappoint their parents and friends or justify losing the money already spent, we will apparently go through with this, only to rue it later. It will be too late to get a divorce before the first anniversary, as can happen in such cases. Such an edifice in that spot will be ugly and overbearing at any price and in any style…it will cast shadows over a nice sunny area with outdoor tables…it will increase traffic that is already near-lethal. And it will cost us dearly when dollars are badly needed in the municipality for other things.
Building a parking garage will go down as the biggest mistake ever made in Ridgewood, even, believe it or not, surpassing the decision to rebuild Village Hall in a known floodplain. Stupid is as stupid does.
the mayor and council will do it. we all know that.
We don’t want this slum maker
by re-configuring the grassy medium ….none of these experts even use the train lot
Try exiting between 6 and 730 on a dark winter night..pedestrian death trap
We were F-ed by the Aronsohn clan and then we were F-ed over again by the dishonest current council which was elected with a mandate to NOT build a garage.
30 new compact car spaces at the crowded train station with a rich family rate of 1000 plus future increases
each year.Raise it to $1500 until the cost of this unwanted construction is payed off.Meantime pedestrians and
Train users on foot will pay the price in injuries .Ban Uber from the immediate station house area .Families with children and carriages need safe pedestrian walkways and clearances that will be marginalized.for what
more VIP TOP TIER RATED TRAIN SPACES.wont add a fig to local business dreams of commuter spending..
Follow the money…everything in NJ has a price….
Yes, 12:05, yes. The current council is a massive disappointment. All of them,
849
Time for change Again