Cottage place lot
December 23,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Since it was only a few days before Christmas the staff did a walk through in the Central Business District to eye ball the parking situation . The Cottage place lot, mid-day on Saturday December 19, the last Saturday before Christmas Star Wars was open, the Chipmunks was running, plenty of shopping to do with only 6 days until Christmas. And yet tons of empty spaces.
Hudson Street lot
And of coarse the Hudson Street lot, December 5 Saturday mid day – Santa was at Christ Church, he was at a breakfast at The Office, he was cruising around on a firetruck, less than three weeks until Christmas, and an abundance of open spaces.
$12.1 million for 300 spaces? That’s $40k+ per space. What is the time ROI? Over 30 years?
@10:22: When you break it down as simply as that, it really puts this into perspective. Sometimes these very simple calculations are completely overlooked. This kind of planning and spending ONLY goes on when it’s a case of public funds (i.e. someone elses money) and it goes on everywhere and it’s why most governments at the Local, State and Federal level are effectively bankrupt.
The pictures show why we must build a grand garage!
Why pay less when you can pay more?
The parking garage is not for the shoppers, it’s for the diners.
Just like feeding the meters. All day long the shoppers pay, so at night the diners don’t have to.
The fact is that there is ample parking in Ridgewood most of the time. It does get tight on Friday and Saturday nights but that’s not enough justification to spend $12 million on an enormous parking structure. Our Council majority really seems to want to keep their developer friends busy.
Or maybe there is parking because there are no stores because there is no parking. More parking will make it easier for businesses to get funding and will increase the potential profits which will encourage more to open. I long for the days when we had a pet store, sporting good shop and stationary store.
The picture speaks the truth. I ‘ve lived here for decades and never had trouble parking. Yes, maybe on weekend nights there is a bit of a problem, not terrible, but damned if I want to be on the tax hook for Its Greek to Me etc.
Pet shops are not popular. People do the Rescue Pet thing. Didn’t you watch Amy Schumer? People like to brag about their rescue pet.
Sporting goods shops are much cheaper with mall chains. We have a card shop here. A fuller stationary store again in cheaper through the chain stores.
Listen, people are shopping online. And you know it, council. Want to go future. Stores will be mainly out of existence in the next decade.
Repeat: Stores will be out of existence in next decade for the most part. We shop online. Do not build an expensive parking garage.
Cars too might be replaced too with uber cabs or park and drop off. Those mini rentals.
MegaPlex garage being built to breakthrough height lot and blending in Streetscape limits.its for the Restaurant Mafia and the Developers..Valley can’t wait to take another crack at their expansion. And why not. It’s a free for all folks
Sorry 3:46…big box retail is dying on the vine. Hedge funds don’t know how to run businesses that actually have customers who demand that the sales staff know what their talking about. You can’t and don’t get it at the shitholes run by Bain Capital et at al. Thinking that “stores will be out of existence” is increadably short sighted and borderline stupid. People are and will continue to return to centers like a Ridgewood and we’re gonna need the parking. When was the last time you had a pleasant experience in a big box store? NOT GONIG TO HAPPEN
Let them come and walk to find the abundent street parking if not you pay to build it and take the massive loss or gain. As a taxpayer NO THANKS we are not the suckers you think we are
You are wrong 5:19. There is empirical evidence that brick and mortar retailing is fading. Malls and big box stores pretty much gutted small town main streets everywhere, and even malls and big box stores are now struggling. Online retailing is growing exponentially every year. The fastest to fall were the obvious product lines, like books and electronics. We are undergoing a massive change in how we shop and consume goods, and as many of us can attest to, how we work. Yes, there will always be a need for certain business lines, even in main streets like Ridgewood, but these are will be service-industry things only (e.g. food/drink and hair/nail/spa). I predict in 10 more years, we will no longer have movie theaters or banks. As for the parking garage, I’ve said it before, that it become a vacant monument to poor planning and abuse of taxpayer funds.
Just came from town plenty of parking. Not that many stores open but the restaurants were full
Malls are now becoming storage spaces. Saw that on 60 minutes. When I travel out of state I see that malls are closing.
Most of the stores in Ridgewood do not cater to everyday needs and everyday Macy, Lord and Taylor sale prices. There I said it.
I hope the police don’t come after me.
Complete waste of taxpayer money. The people putting this show together should be investigated.
Bill is right.well said.this is a scandal. Entire area of this mistake will be in RUINS
PAUL – these photos speak the truth. Something you don’t know a thing about! Now quick, find out who posted this anonymous posting and try to intimidate me.
We have lots of restaurants and not many shoppable stores. That is why parking is tight Friday and Saturday nights and not during the day.
When I need christmas presents for ten people a mall or department store offer me more options – and parking, sales and coupons. I do not go far, to Paramus park or the Lord and Taylor shopping center.
For coffee, froyo or lunch Ridgewood has a lot to offer.