Here’s some other “simple economics”
Parking deck can’t possibly pay for itself.
Will require subsidy from taxpayers for years and years.
Meter rates will rise and infuriate shoppers and store owners.
Meter times will expand and infuriate shoppers and store owners.
None of that seems to matter. The garage is going to be built.
If there are empty spots in the deck, which will almost certainly be the case, they should be rented to commuters for the highest amount the market will bear. Then if parking in the deck becomes a problem, cut back on the out-of-towners permits.
Until then, out-of-towners permits will mitigate the pending financial disaster..
Are we going to have to get signed petitions to show the council members that WE DON’T WANT THE GARAGE?
Mega Garages beams, ramps and other PRE FORMED concrete and steel parts are all trucked in the form of massive oversized length/ width and overweight permitted heavy hauler specialized Trucks.PICTURE THAT IN MAIN BUSINESS DISTRICT.STOP THIS DANGEROUS AND COSTLY MISTAKE.Taxpayers will be left holding the bag on this failed structure.
Enough of this economics logic stuff. Yes, the economics of this mega garage are nonsense, but no amount of logical argument is going to stop it. This is local politics at work and this is how local politics works. A small minority of people stand to gain from the project. This includes a few business owners and everyone who is involved in the project (lawyers, architects, contractors, construction workers, etc). The taxpayers are the OPM (other peoples money) who foot the bill for it all. However, these taxpayers are mostly oblivious to this whole thing, mostly focused on their kids, their jobs, their social lives, their vacations, etc. This is how it works. It’s not a Ridgewood thing, it goes on everywhere. However, what makes this work well is that towns like Ridgewood are affluent, and therefore, this kind of thing is a good place to do it. It also helps that Ridgewood is a transient town, where people move in raise kids, then move on. Ridgewood is the perfect set of circumstances for these opportunists.
Previous Village Councils failed to listen when residents said:
1. Don’t build the new fire headquarters in a flood zone (during Tropical Storm Floyd, the building was inaccessible).
2. Don’t rebuild Village Hall in a flood zone (the renovated building flooded within 30 days of its grand opening and has flooded on several occasions since).
3. Don’t approve the construction of high density housing in the Central Business District (still waiting to see what happens, but we think we know – disaster).
So what makes anyone think that this Village Council is going to listen to reason. Take it to the bank, THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO REASON. COUNCILS NEVER DO.
If the the ultimate goal of those looking to build the garage is to revitalize the CBD..how does one not first realize that you need the stores/products that will actually draw customers to come shopping in this town. I don’t know about what everyone else thinks but Mango Jam and others aren’t really a big draw in the retail world. If we’re looking towards the future, larger brands with name recognition (similar to Tices Corner) is what will draw shoppers to the CBD. Building a garage in the hopes that it will miraculously cure the shopping malaise that retailers in town seem to be going through and somehow make the trinket shops in town the next new thing is a total pipe dream. Building this garage is similar to pushing for an increase in public pay phones in the early 1990s when cell phones were just picking up. If the council wants to revitalize this village, we don’t need to build this garage, simply change the retail landscape that suits 2018 not 1980, a parking garage will go empty if we continue to rely on mom and pop stores to draw shoppers in. Oh, and if anyone on the council is reading this, YOU DON’T HAVE THE MONEY TO SPEND ON THIS HORRENDOUS IDEA.
There seems to be some confusion here…
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Let me clarify the position of the Council:
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THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT THE RESIDENTS
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Everybody understand now?
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Great.
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And yet another infamous blunder on the part of a previous Village Council (perhaps the BIGGEST of all):
In conjunction with the conversion to high level platforms at Ridgewood’s train station, NJ Transit initially offered to build a LARGE parking garage (not just a single level deck) AT NO COST TO THE VILLAGE. The site selected by NJ Transit was the Ken Smith property.
The sitting Village Council back then balked at the idea. The owners of Ken Smith Lincoln Mercury had no interest in selling their property and the Village Council did not want to use eminent domain and be known as the Council that forced Ken Smith out of business.
As you know, Ken Smith was subsequently forced out of business when Ford Motor pulled their franchise and the property is now being developed as mixed use retail and high density housing.
COUNCILS NEVER LISTEN TO REASON. IT’S A FACT JACK.
You know what I say people screw let them build the Taj Mahal a. Taj Mahal parking garage. Who cares gonna do what I want anyway . I want to see them too because I want to see it half full. Who cares I’m moving out of this Over. Taxed town. Build it real big.
Yeah , can’t wait for the next shit storm. It’s going to be great.
Contributers, there is one big problem that I see. The Council doesn’t read the Blog or else doesn’t think it’s for real. They are relying on an old survey done before other means of transportation and of shopping were available. As many people have said, they’re living in the past and can’t see the realities of today. We may actually need a garage for the parking at these new apartments as the builders don’t want to provide enough. Why should Ridgewood taxpayers be forced to pay for their needs? If the Ridgewood council really honestly think we need parking then why aren’t they considering what may actually be used–two parking decks at different parts of town? And why don’t they enforce employees parking, which has for years and still is, as close to their stores as they can get? That would eliminate the need for any garage for the sole use of non-Ridgewood residents. Non-residents are the only ones who’ll find that garage convenient, except, of course,, all the new residents in the apartments. Please, take of the blinders and remove the ear plugs AND LISTEN to this generation of people, NOT THE PAST. THE GARAGE IS NO LONGER NEEDED BY RIDGEWOOD SO WHY SHOULD WE PAY FOR IT FOR OTHERS?
It’s like watching a 30-year-long horror movie…you see the big monster walking slowly toward the little town…NO, NO, NO…the little people are doing their daily tasks…they do not see the monster, yet it keeps coming…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!