January 11,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, at last nights Village Council meeting during the comment period resident Bill McCandless summed up the economic realities of the Hudson Street Parking garage .
Speaking to the council McCandless said, “The Village taxpayers face a new reality this year one that the fiscal state of the Village has not faced before , the decision and progress around certain issues will need to be reexamined coming into this year and we are going to need to clear the decks on a few things and reexamine how we prioritize things first and foremost are we burdening the taxpayers with new fees and taxes and if we are is the return on that investment greater than those taxes and fees and can we prove it.”
“One place we can not and have not been able to prove this is the proposal for the garage , the case against the garage is strong and is powered by undisputable faces that nee to be considered before plunging the village taxpayers deeper into debt and creating more congestion on are already over crowed and over stressed roads .”
“A recent study done the garage proposal show there is more than enough parking capacity in the CBD and what we have is not utilized , there is no fiscal plan for the garage pays for it self or through increased CBD tax receipts , it is a net loss.”
“Traffic at every intersection in and around the CBD on both sides of the tracks will be worse with the addition.
The intersections in and around the CBD are already over capacity and many are blow standard for the existing traffic .
There is no logical argument for the garage , the only thing the garage will add is tax payer debt and high fees for every shopper dinner and more congestion across an already congested set of intersections .
why add what we don’t need ,cant afford and creates worse conditions on any one who wants to come to Ridgewood.
I’ve listen read and consumed all sides and see no compelling case supported by facts , case studies or logic that benefits the public good.
The coming revolutions of autonomous cars and vehicles this reality is closer than the public realizes , less than 10years away when the need for parking capacity will be hugely impacted .
How does more debt and congestion serve the village , the down side deeply out weighs the limited upside for a few more spots in the most congested part of the Village ?”
Then McCandless proposed the following simple solution :
“lease open new lots were possible
stop the meter feeding by employees
and plan for the driverless future “
