NJ Transit has made the commute from Ridgewood a nightmare
NJ Transit has made the commute from Ridgewood a nightmare. Express service pretty much cancelled — after a $40 million renovation just two years ago to build this big station, it is now no longer a key express stop per the schedule. Trains are so constantly overcroweded that there are fights (literally) over space to get on the trains. Emails, letters and calls go unanswered.
Now, we have large Advertisements for Empire Casino “decorating” the “RIDDGEWOOD” signs at this new station. I am all in favor of advertisements to reduce the financial strain on riders — but were these ad placements part of the drawings? I dont recall seeing them. Village officials never should have agreed to such a large expansion of the station and large advertisements for NY casinos without a committment from NJ Transit to maintain certain service levels. (BTW – why would a NJ based organization like NJ Transit agree to place large ads for a NY casino on its property when Atlantic City is suffering???) Hopefully this will serve as a warning to future Village leaders not to trust NJ Transit.
We went from the prospect of a one seat ride into Penn, to being an afterthought.
But we have a fancy new ADA compliant station! You can’t buy a cup of coffee or bagel in there anymore, nor are there cozy couches or bookshelves…but there are nice stark walls and plenty of obnoxious florescent lighting and a couple uncomfortable benches upon which you can sit while you wait for the fewer-and-farther-between overcrowded local trains.
There is a great article in today’s NY Post about residential property values and the correlation to good public transport into major metropolitan transport hubs. The distruction by NJ transit of what was a quick, plesant commute and by the village as to what was a pleasant station with coffee and a friendly face selling it in the morning is now coming to roost. More than the CBD….more than Valley…..more than many other facts….the deterioration of the commute will impact propety values over time.