photos by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, at the Village Council meeting on Wednesday night the Council announced that the NJDOT is going forward and will make Glenwood Road one way eastbound in conjunction with renovations of Ho-Ho-Kus Railroad crossing. Construction to begin in Spring of 2021.
Since 2016 the NJDOT has been pushing to make Glenwood Road one way . The NJ Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has felt that because tractor trailers, buses, and other larger motor vehicles attempting to travel westbound on Glenwood Road from Ho-Ho-Kus are continuing to create hazardous conditions at the grade level railroad crossing just north of the Ho-Ho-Kus train station.
In 2013 the Ridgewood Council members unanimously approved a 4-ton weight limit on Glenwood Road from Morningside Road to the Ho-Ho-Kus border, essentially preventing a certain truck classification from navigating the roadway’s tight corners and turns, but that was not enough .
In 2016 the NJDOT gave the Village two (2) options; ban motor vehicle traffic completely between Upper Boulevard and the Ho-Ho-Kus train station, or keep the route open to eastbound traffic only. Village officials chose the later option.
In 2020 it’s official, barring approval of an estimated $4 million improvement project to widen Glenwood Road, that street will become one-way eastbound (vehicular traffic from Ridgewood to Ho-Ho-Kus only) within the next 6-12 months. The one-way change/designation for vehicles is being mandated by the NJDOT in conjunction with their plans to upgrade the NJ Transit grade level rail crossing at the bottom of the hill. Village and Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus elected officials fought NJDOT on the issue, but NJDOT is refusing to budge citing numerous safety hazards associated with the continuation of two-way vehicular traffic at the grade level rail crossing.
It’s about time, it will be safer.
Good move. Safety first
Good move? Once again, the minority of people that can’t navigate the street ruin it for the majority that can!
I think what really brought this topic to the peak was buses and trucks utilizing that road, and it caused chaos when they got stuck. Because of their lack of common sense and laziness to go around the Glen Avenue Is making this topic once again a concern. So now it’s going to be a one-way, and it should only be for cars and SUVs that’s it. No commercial trucks. Blame it on them they ruined it New Jersey transit bus getting caught going over the tracks how stupid can you be. So don’t blame anybody else.
I see idiocy is alive and well at the NJ DOT.
Keep rewarding incompetence.
You can’t even call that a road. It’s a path. It wasn’t designed to be a road for cars or trucks. It was for horse and wagon’s. And People walking to the train. That’s it
I believe that road was made in the Early 1900s
This “Road” should not be two-way. There have been several recent problems with trucks/busses. It is dangerous when cars attempt to pass each other.
So it’s one-way now. Drive to Glen Avenue. It’s no big deal.
Convenience is not an entitlement. You will adapt and remember the good old days.
Jessica Berg (RHS 1985) passed away at that crossing before she could graduate. RIP Jessica.