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Ridgewood Shortline Park and Ride Customers : Route 495 Project

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Dear Valued Customers:

I’m sure many of you have heard about the upcoming NJ DOT restoration project on the route 495 helix. As such, we would like to take the opportunity to advise you on the information we currently have, and give you some insight on what we’ll be doing to ensure that our service is impacted as minimally as possible. NJ DOT has not finalized a start date but all indications are that the work will commence in Mid July and could potentially go on for 2 years. The dedicated bus lane will remain active through the life of the project, but regular vehicular traffic will be reduced from 4 lanes to 3 in either direction.

Although the bus lane will be open in the morning, we do anticipate delays getting to the bus lane at the junction of the NJ Turnpike, Route 3 and 495. Based on information received from our partners at the Port Authority of NY and NJ, it’s anticipated that traffic going into the City in the afternoon will be the most impacted by the restoration project. The Port Authority additionally anticipates that westbound traffic on 495 will be minimally impacted throughout the course of the day.

In anticipation of delays and potential additional ridership we are committed to the following:
The safety of our customers and staff will not be compromised with these changes
Improved real time information to be shared amongst operators and customers
Pooling of Coach USA regional resources to provide additional support on high passenger volume and gridlock days
Close engagement with our public partners so we can provide valuable feedback and potentially improve service levels

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as more information becomes available. In the interim we encourage you to visit restorenj495.com for additional information and updates.

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De Blasio administration raises concerns about new Manhattan bus terminal

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By RYAN HUTCHINS and SALLY GOLDENBERG

02/07/17 06:02 PM EST

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration is raising concerns about the effects of building a new Port Authority Bus Terminal on the Far West Side of Manhattan, saying this week that the bi-state agency must explore possible alternatives as it prepares to construct a new facility.

The position is sure to stoke fresh acrimony between public officials on both sides of the Hudson River after they had come to an understanding about how to move forward with the new terminal.

https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/02/de-blasio-administration-raises-concerns-about-new-manhattan-bus-terminal-109420

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Ridgewood Park And Ride was mostly neglected again

Park and Ride

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January 25,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Yes, town workers did a pretty decent job in town.As usual, the business district always gets taken care of.

What about the park and ride on route 17??  again this year, the Ridgewood Park And Ride was mostly neglected. The main section was o.k. for those using the meters. The section for the yearly commuters is a disaster. Only 20% done. Maybe the town prefers clearing the meter area only.

The section for the commuters with a yearly pass, was horrible this morning at 7:30 AM, maybe 20% done.

Worse yet Shortline resumed bus service first thing Sunday morning .

So, town is certainly making sure we can put money in the meters.Last year, same situation but much worse.

Our town manager made a comment last year after I complained, she would get in plowed by the following day and actually was.
So why wasn’t the whole lot plowed??

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Port Authority officials expected to back proposal to move bus terminal one block west

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SEPTEMBER 24, 2015, 7:06 AM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015, 7:14 AM
BY SHAWN BOBURG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Leading Port Authority officials today are expected to recommend building a new Manhattan bus terminal one block west of the current station, following months of deliberation over several options with price tags as high as $10 billion, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

The endorsement of a broad plan that includes a specific location for the new terminal and a way to keep commuter buses running during construction would be a significant step in the long-running effort to replace the current 1950s-era mass transit facility with a modern alternative. But more time is needed to determine the new building’s design, the precise cost and how to finance it, said the three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to preempt a presentation planned for today’s meeting of commissioners.

In March, in response to increasing calls to address the condition of the world’s busiest bus terminal, commissioners were given five options for replacing it. They ranged widely in estimated cost and in their impact on the bus system, depending on where the new terminal would sit and whether the current one would stay open during construction.

A four-commissioner group that considered the five options is expected to recommend that the bi-state agency build a new terminal between Ninth and Tenth avenues, keeping the current terminal on Eighth Avenue open during construction.

Once the new structure is up and running, the old terminal would be demolished and the development rights for the property, located on 42nd Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues, would be sold to help pay for the project. The location of the new terminal would force commuters connecting to the New York City subway system to walk one block, the three people said, whereas direct connections are possible through the current building

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/port-authority-officials-expected-to-back-proposal-to-move-bus-terminal-one-block-west-1.1417389

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Port Authority bus depot: the great gate reshuffle

NJT ticket machine

AUGUST 10, 2015, 6:19 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2015, 7:39 AM
BY MARY DIDUCH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

After Labor Day, about a third of commuters rushing to the Port Authority Bus Terminal after work will have to get used to racing toward different bus gates.

The Port Authority is reassigning 40 bus routes, affecting six of the facility’s 21 bus carriers, as part of a plan to improve operational efficiency at the aged terminal, Port Authority administrators announced Monday.

That could lead to less crowding and easier commutes home, they said.

The gate reassignments will happen as the bistate agency consolidates its bus operations, making it easier for the facility’s largest carriers — NJ Transit and Coach USA — to operate, which hopefully will translate into a smoother commute, said Diannae Ehler, general manager of the Lincoln Tunnel and Port Authority Bus Terminal.

The facility has never seen permanent gate reassignments on this scale —  “This is an extremely ambitious change to undertake,” Ehler said.

In a statement, NJ Transit Executive Director Veronique Hakim said the change will improve commutes by giving the carrier its own dedicated service area, shortening customers’ waiting time and streamlining the platform queuing process. Coach USA Executive Vice President Don Carmichael, also in a statement, said the realignment will allow Coach also to improve its efficiency.

The changes will affect about 30 percent of weekday passengers at the terminal for some routes of these carriers: NJ Transit, Lakeland and DeCamp, and Coach’s Community, Shortline and Rockland lines. Around 220,000 use the facility daily.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/latest-bid-to-better-port-authority-bus-depot-the-great-gate-reshuffle-1.1390259