“File photo by Boyd Loving”
October 8,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Did you watch the UStream from the Village Council meeting last night about the parking garage?
The plan is one of the most bizarre I’ve ever heard of.
Here’s why:
1) No net gain of spaces due to loss of at least 1, if not more private lots because of high density housing (Brogan), and the loss of 17 on street spaces on Hudson Street (Mt. Carmel church goers get screwed, as we expected they would).
2) Garage must be full, yes full, in order for it to pay for itself. They will fill with commuters during day, including out of towners. They will also push all valeted cars into lot at night. Expect them to change zoning to prohibit valeted cars from being parked on private property. Also expect them to push all employee parking (now at Ken Smith) into lot. In short, there will be no room in lot for shoppers/restaurant users during the day.
3) On street metered parking will soon begin at 9AM and end at 9PM. “Premium” on street spots will now cost $1.00 per hour and escalate each year. Rates in surface lots will also increase at the rate of 25 cents per year beginning at 75 cents per hour. Expect parking charges to be incurred on Sundays if money is tight.
4) No mention whatsoever of how much it will cost to park in the garage, but there was talk about making it a 24/7 pay to park facility.
5) Enforcement will escalate to bring in more revenue. More parking enforcement agents?
6) No answer provided to the question of whether parking utility revenues now allocated to fund Village operations will need to be funneled to pay for the garage, leaving tax payers the burden of replacing the funds – increased property taxes maybe?
7) After hearing all of this, Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck had nothing to say other than “I’m all about aesthetics,” at which point she then proceeded to lambaste the garage design firm about the exterior appearance of the facility. Can you believe that one?
In short, this entire parking garage will be the biggest boondoggle Village taxpayers will experience in decades, if not the last century.
VOTE “NO” ON NOVEMBER 3 IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMON SENSE.
So sneaky of them to extend the meter times. I loved that you could do early morning errands without feeding the meters. And I loved that after 6 you could relax on the whole meter thing. They are sucking us dry. They said we would. Or have to pay for the garage, that it would pay for itself. But in fact we will pay, every day, and now every night too. Roberta is as low as they go.
Makes the Status quo more than acceptable..I won’t stay around to Pay for restaurant boondoggles,Any citizen who proposed such an eyesore would have been run out on a rail 10 years ago,Just to protect the Church across the Street no less the families and businesses in that area..IMAGINE TRAFFIC DURING peak…impossible to imagine that chaos.. More bodies in the cross walks from out of TOWNERS rushing home for no reason at all..STOP THIS NOW.we don’t want to become HOBOKEN,,
It is like parking in NYC. Pretty expensive for on street parking.
What will the hourly rates in the garage be?
I expect to do more shopping in Paramus.
Will the garage be residents only? If not, we are just inviting neighboring towns to come in and park by our train station. In which case, the Villagers gain nothing.
Your Right but the Paulie the Greek and the Chamber got their parking garage. Give it year after the parking garage is built the Chamber will be in front of the Council asking for the hour and rates to be reduced because for business
” They will also push all valeted cars into lot at night. ” How convenient for Fish, Roots and Greek to Me. Just a coincidence?
How about Sullivan the landlord for Roots Saying that he is not involved with CBD building or the parking garage. He just wanted to come to the council meeting to express is dismay on how people had acted at the last meeting and so far this council meeting. What a bunch of bull. He is up to his neck with all this stuff. Go back to the town you came from and next time you go to a council meeting give your home address like the rest of the people. just don’t say you own a business in the CBD. What is he special?
Im not sure why you say no net gain of spots. The car dealer lots are not going to remain forever. You cannot really count on those spots as being part of the equation going forward. This plan adds about 260 spots. If the lot is filled with employees and commuters that means the street spots will open up for shoppers/diners. The report seemed very thorough and complete (unlike those that say there will be no net traffic from adding apartments). I am really unsure why anyone would oppose this lot except out of pure political animosity.
Brian, are you ok a civil response on the blog is highly unusual?
Brian – don’t confuse political animosity with a healthy dose of skepticism – remember who we’re dealing with on the Council. And please don’t be so naive as to think that there are no politics behind pushing this project through.
I said there is no net gain, because there is no net gain. In the case of Brogan, those spaces are being lost because the Council majority approved the introduction of ordinances which allow for development of the property. That same majority is touting a net gain in total number of parking spaces due to this garage plan; they’ve conveniently forgotten about the lost spaces at Brogan caused by their approval of development there. And you seem to have conveniently forgotten about the loss of street spots on Hudson Street. If the garage is full of those who now park at Brogan and Ken Smith, and who could perhaps park there for years if it were not for the Council majority’s rush for massive development, where’s the net gain for use by shoppers and restaurant patrons? I oppose this plan because it is asinine, expensive, and nothing more than a shoot from the hip attempt buying the good will of and future campaign contributions from major property owners in the Village.
I will not shop or eat in town if parking goes up especially if you have to feed the meters after 6 p.m.
I would never use the parking garage. It’s already a traffic jam on Hudson St.
Everyone should vote no on the garage; even if they do it may not help.
Also it is a monstrosity. How dare they take away on the street parking.
How will this change on steeet parking, aside from the price and the hours? Will they eliminate spots?
Is the lot to be used for commuter parking? I thought that we needed employee and shopper parking.
yeah, but you get to keep your doctor…
ha ha ha
And the kick will be the bronze plaque with the 3 amigos and their Field Marshall names on it. Your going to pay for that also you know because the interest rate are low. So what the hell let go for it.
It is quite ironic that the restaurant owners who lobbied so long and hard for this garage (Saraceno, Sullivan, & Vagianos) screwed themselves and their patrons in the process by demanding a structure so large (i.e., expensive) be built that the only way to pay for it is by extending metered parking times until well into the evening.
I can’t wait until they come running back to the Council a few years from now asking that the metered parking be pushed back until 6 PM because their businesses are suffering.
Lesson to be learned John, Ed, and Paul – You can’t have your cake and eat it too!
Had to go to Westwood yesterday. Twenty-five cents an hour to park on the street with better stores than Ridgewood has. Just smarter people running the place.
When I go to dinner I do not worry about the meter. Now I will have to worry about a ticket if I stay too long?
There are a lot of great stores and restaurants in Bergen county. I am not fixed on Ridgewood.
I do not need a parking app on my phone just for Ridgewood parking. Where else wouls I use it? It is not like other apps, like Uber, that I can use in most cities/towns.
I should not need to pay a convenience fee for my $1 parking cost.
Who is behind the app and why should I give them my credit card number?
This whole thing is a giant debacle. How dare they say that it will pay for itself and then jack up the parking, and extend the parking hours in the morning and the evening. How dare they take away street parking for the church. Really? Do they think we are stupid? How about if they just put a single level open deck above the existing parking lot, double the number of spaces and take nothing away from the streets. To hell with that stupid “arcade” idea where people are walking underneath a big-ass overhang on Hudson. That sounds gloomy and dreadfully ugly. A single-level deck, like they have at Bergen Community, is all we need. And then we could actually still look around, instead of having our view blocked by a freaking five-story monster. STOP THE INSANITY>
Brogan is private property. It can be developed as its owner sees fit within current zoning or can wait and try for zoning adjustments. How can you say that the solution to our parking issue is to hold the owner of private property hostage? In America we should not base our public policy on holding property owners hostage. Brogan is not a long-term solution and you might as well borrow now at historically low interest rates.
As for the street parking, losing 15 spots on the street is a small price to pay for 300 conveniently located spots. Think about the benefits for the churches for Xmas and Easter crowds. Also weddings and other major events where they can now be assured of parking for guests. In addition, it seems that the Saturday evening mass is doing very well and many people head out to eat afterwards. Again, parking will only help make that visit easier for the patrons of the churches.
Stop drinking the Kool Aid Brian.