Residents near Valley worried about truck traffic
Saturday, June 1, 2013
BY BARBARA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — With six years of major construction looming should The Valley Hospital get approval to double in size, residents told the Planning Board they are worried about the truck traffic the project will create.
Homeowners want to know how many trucks will travel through the residential streets every day while the hospital grows from 562,000 square feet to 995,000 and adds a 245,000-square-foot parking garage. They also want to know if the hospital’s new design will leave ample space for delivery trucks to turn around on the hospital campus.
Chuck Olivo, a traffic expert with Stonefield Engineering and Design hired by Valley, spent a good portion of the three-hour meeting Thursday night talking about the hospital’s plan for 1,870 parking spaces and the possibility of offering 2,000 spaces. Valley will be adding only three beds but will be transforming all 454 to private rooms and upgraded treatment areas.
Yet when residents had the opportunity to speak, they quickly peppered Olivo with questions about truck traffic. Construction will be completed in two stages, taking three years each. About 170,000 cubic yards of soil and rock will be excavated and trucked from the site during construction — requiring, according to previous testimony, 11,250 truck trips.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/209766811_Residents_near_Valley_worried_about_truck_traffic.html
While truck traffic will be a nightmare for 6 years the result will be a permanent traffic nightmare. How can anyone suggest that adding 2,000 parking spaces at the corner of Van Dien and Linwood Avenues will IMPROVE traffic? Valley continues to lie to us and the Planning Board seems to be buying it.
I firmly believe the fix is in . Valley doesn’t seem to care how outlandish their bs is , It’s as if they know the outcome already and they are just going through the motions.
time to sell your home if you live close to valley. if you think they will stay the same size for the next ten years you are fooling your self.
The smart folks sold their homes years ago. The new residents thought they could ‘get such a deal’ on a cheap house, then defeat Valley, and reap the financial rewards. oh well! Heads I win. Tails you lose.
I agree , time to get out
Without telling you what outpatient services they are planning on moving off site Valley says it will have 400 less car visits a day. Why would anyone believe them? They continually tell the truth according to VAlley which has never been the truth according to Ridgewood. Their experts told us how they would improve the intersections of Van Dien and Linwood and Van Dien and Glen yet that is not up to them. Did they ask anyone else what they thought? Not the village, or the BOE, the residents or the county who controls the roads. Who do they think they are?
Linwood is already a parking lot with traffic backed up from the hospital to Paramus Rd.
Valley’s usage will change over time. Even if they say fewer outpatient services today, who is to say what will happen in 3-5 years?
It is time to get out of Ridgewood. Valley supporters can deal with the extra traffic and pay higher taxes to support the additional infrastructure required to support a larger hospital.
Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of town #7.