>So this is the story, the village wants to be able to build a garage looking ad over 300 parking spaces to the down town. Interesting, the fly would like to know how exactly anyone came up with this 300 number. What was the methodology? Is there really this much of a parking shortage all the time in the village or isn’t this just going to be used by out of town NJ transit customers using the trains into the city and adding nothing to the local economy ? Why has the village not reconfigured some of the street parking to add more spaces? Yes I know this would not add 300 spaces but it might be enough to alleviate parking problems at peak times. What times of the day does the most acute parking shortage happen? Or is it really that the garage needs 300 spaces to be profitable? And what happens if it’s not? Yes the fly is well aware that from time to time the parking can be difficult but do we really need 300 more spaces all the time?
Those of you who will be perturbed at the fly’s insistence on questioning the higher powers in the village on this project should understand before hand that any reasonable person would ask any of these questions and any reasonable person would have answers and expect to give them forthrightly. So save the obstructionist cracks and engage in a productive discussion.
>Fly…this is exactly the confrontational hog wash we have come to expect from you. If you really wanted to know the answer to your questions, you could have contacted the Village Manager directly and asked how many parking spots they feel the Village needs and why. You are entitled to a reasonable answer. But, the truth is, you don’t really care about the answer. You just want to bitch about the Village Council.
I don’t know where the 300 number came from. But, my guess is that your looking at it from the wrong perspective. Other than to go to the bank, grocery store or post office, how often do most residents visit downtown during a typical day? Probably rarely. I would not be surprised if the average resident spends less than two hours in town per week. However, most resident would gladly spend their time (and money) in Ridgewood if they had a reason to do so. What would give residents a reason to want to come downtown? Why do higher-end retailers like Williams-Sonoma leave Ridgewood or not come here at all? Maybe we should be planning for what Ridgewood “could be”, not what it is today?
>residents are going to go downtown just to get a parking space ,I’m with PJ on this one NJ Transit is getting the parking they want
>just like you said PJ ,its so easy to piss these Know -it-alls off …hehehehehehehe
>”Hog Wash” you mean we should go and ask the people did the great job on the village hall …we all live in a a yellow submarine ,a yellow submarine …heheheheheh
Throw Tenhove a life preserver…
>With responses like those at 11:14, 11:16 & 11:23, you idiots deserve the “downtown” we have right now…a struggling comercial area with little appeal. Way to go!
>I think questioning the 300 space need is extremely valid. Another good question is how much the projected cost will be to park in this new garage? Most people inherently do not like paying excessively for parking. This should probably be decided before spending millions of dollars on construction and associated costs.
Look at the fiasco that happened when NJ Transit built the Ramsey Rt 17 garage several years ago. Nobody is parking there! They built too many spots and it costs too much to park there. Last year I read that car dealerships on RT 17 are using the RT 17 Ramsey garage to store excess new car inventory.
>Has anyone ever figured the number of parking spots taken by people who work on a daily basis in all the stores and restaurants downtown? I would imagine it’s quite a large number. Perhaps finding a localized lot just for them would increase the public’s parking in the downtown area.
>The question is valid. Let’s hear the answer before passing judgement.
>arnt we going to lose space due the train station renovation ? looks like njt is getting there way ,these guys in the village council just roll over all the time …
>arnt we going to lose space due the train station renovation ? looks like njt is getting there way ,these guys in the village council just roll over all the time …
>to mr ramsey,dont you wont to have a parking lot so you can park your car,
>The bottom line is this and dont deny it. Everyone is just too dang lazy to walk a little bit. Its just eaiser to pick up the phone and bitch about it. I am a resident of North Murray and I am in the down town a lot. Let me tell you some people in Ridgewood need to walk a few extra steps everyday!
>Downtown is struggling because of general reatil trends through the country. The only things most people come into town these days for is banking, eating, and maybe a haircut. Clothes and any other products are the domain of the mega malls and online ordering. Much of the demand for parking space is mainly from out-of-towners who come 2-3-4 towns over to spend a lunch or dinner in Ridgewood. I’m not so sure that locals will want to pay “parking garage” rates, when right now it’s either free or at worst, a quarter. If the garage becomes home to NJT users, then so be it. Ridgewood will enjoy the benefit of collecting a lot of parking fee money.
>1. What is the Wells Associates trying to do in Ridgewood? They are trying to lease the Pease Library from the Village for no fee; except to restore it over a ten year period for their estimate of $1 million dollars. Why did we let it go to state of disrepair?
2. Wells also purchased the “Towne Garage” on Franklin Avenue; I believe to secure property for a Parking facility. The town has been talking about building a parking garage and I don’t see why they don’t build it on an already existing parking area (there is one adjacent to Towne Garage) that the Village already owns without spending millions on a new property.
3. We should have a moratoriumon the amout of eating establishments because customers spend too much time in these establishments causing most parking problems.