Ridgewood Council members offer opinions on parking proposal
Monday August 27, 2012, 1:40 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Preliminary plans to construct two parking garages and a new large anchor store in the heart of the Central Business District (CBD) have been met with varying reviews, but the overriding feeling from most villagers is that the existing downtown situation needs improvement.
The proposal, as developed and presented by members of the business community earlier this month, calls for parking facilities at the corner of South Broad and Hudson streets, and another facing the Franklin Avenue corridor in the North Walnut Redevelopment zone.
Along with the parking structures, the group, which includes Chamber of Commerce members, also envisions a new storefront built on the current lot next to The Gap on East Ridgewood Avenue, according to plans unveiled during the Village Council’s work session meeting on Aug. 8.
This week, members of Ridgewood’s governing body offered their initial thoughts about the downtown proposal, weighing in on what they believed was the good, the bad, the ugly and the unknown, while offering some suggestions to make the plan more viable.
The overall pitch is laced mostly with good ideas, some council members told The Ridgewood News this week. They applauded the group for “its innovative thinking and ideas,” according to Mayor Paul Aronsohn.
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