February 14, 2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, In a unanimous vote, the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors approved the proposed alignment of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail’s planned expansion into Bergen County as described in the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact statement dated March 2017. The selection of the “Locally Preferred Alternative” is required as part of the federal environmental review process.
The Board action also authorizes the submission of the Locally Preferred Alternative to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority Board of Trustees for designation and inclusion in their Long-Range Regional Transportation Plan.
During Project Development the project sponsor must select a Locally Preferred Alternative; get the Locally Preferred Alternative adopted into the fiscally constrained metropolitan transportation plan; and complete the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
By selecting the Locally Preferred Alternative at this time, NJ TRANSIT will be able to initiate design and engineering activities upon completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and receipt of the Record of Decision from the FTA, in advance of requesting entry into Project Development.
Locally Preferred Alternative
The Locally Preferred Alternative consists of a 10-mile two-track extension of the HBLR from its current terminus at Tonnelle Avenue northward to the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, generally utilizing CSX Transportation’s Northern Branch running track. The project will construct a total of seven stations in North Bergen, Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia, and Englewood (three stations) and parking for approximately 2,740 vehicles. Service is proposed to operate from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. with six-minute headways during the peak period and 15-minute headways during the off-peak period. It is estimated that the project will serve 12,370 passengers per average weekday in the year 2030.
See attached map for a visual of the route of the Locally Preferred Alternative.
