Traffic engineers testify on Ridgewood housing proposals
JUNE 5, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014, 3:40 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
Echoing the earlier findings of a consultant hired by the village, traffic engineers testifying at the latest multifamily housing hearing said that their proposed use would result in less additional downtown traffic than other allowable uses.
About 15 residents, including several leaders of the grassroots group opposing unrestrained development, Citizens for a Better Ridgewood (CBR), attended the hearing on Tuesday in the Benjamin Franklin Middle School auditorium.
In the case of The Dayton, where 106 units are proposed for the abandoned Brogan Cadillac site (currently used as a commuter parking lot), an expert said a residential use would generate less traffic than the current use.
“What’s proposed would not result in a detrimental traffic impact … I think that’s important to understand,” said The Dayton’s traffic expert Karl Pehnke, an associate for Langan Engineering. “The applicant could actually produce less traffic than could otherwise be expected.”
The 52-unit Chestnut Village complex proposed for Chestnut Street, on the site of a former vehicle inspection station, would also generate less traffic than other permitted uses, including medical offices, an expert for the developer said.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/traffic-engineers-testify-on-ridgewood-housing-proposals-1.1030111#sthash.6WrFpIJ6.dpuf
Although only 3 applicants are currently before the board, the Ken Smith site’s property still will fall within the new high density zone. Apparently that property owner is buying up more land surrounding what they currently own. Probably a smart tactic to sit on the sidelines while others duke it out. Either way any zoning benefit will be realized on this site as well.
Add a few more buildings to vacant lots and soon no traffic at all! The perfect solution to our parking and traffic problems. Why didn’t we think of this earlier?
Failure to turn the Ken Smith lot into a parking garage with some kind of overpass walkway to get to and from it would be to miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix much of the parking problem, at least for commuters, for once and for all. VILLAGE COUNCIL–HELLO–THIS IS IMPORTANT. Take out a bond and pay it back with parking revenue.
It will never become a government operated parking garage. They don’t want to lose the property tax revenue.
#3, in addition there would be unintended consequences. A parking lot for commuters would not only alleviate parking problems for current commuters, it would attract more area commuters increasing traffic into the congested downtown area. These additional commuters would be unlikely to increase business in the downtown, they’d jump in their cars to get home.