>The opposition to Valley started as an argument about the impact on the property values of Valley’ neighbors. That group (the neighboring homeowners) then masterfully played on the emotions, fears, and paranoia of the Travell and BF parents to create broader opposition and paint Valley as the “evil Empire”.
The reality is that no kids were injured the last time Valley expanded in the 1980s. Dozens of current Ridgewood homeowners attended BF at the time, including some of my neighbors, and I have never heard anyone mention any way that that construction adversely impacted their education or that of their brothers and sisters. None have ever mentioned any long-term health problems related to dust from the last expansion. You must keep in mind that Valley will have a hospital full of patients while the expansion is occurring. They will have to mitigate dust and asbestos out of their own self-interest in order to not harm those patients and provoke litigation.
The traffic argument is lame. 90% of the traffic on Linwood has nothing to do with Valley. The expansion adds no additional rooms. The only additional traffic will be from additional outpatient business, which may increase traffic by 3-5%. Not a big deal. The Van Dien intersection will get expanded, but Valley already owns a couple of the homes involved.
I also am tired of the argument that an expansion of Valley will result in Ridgewood declining and turning into Hackensack or Engelwood. Hackensack hasn’t neen an upscale town for over 50 years, and has always been far more industrial than Ridgewood. The homes around Valley are zoned residential. You couldn’t turn one into a medical building if you wanted to.
I am a Travell parent, live within a few blocks of the hospital, and am in favor of Valley’s expansion. I think that the weak state of the downtown business district, our ridiculously high property taxes, and the current fiscal situation of the town and school system are much more important issues in Ridgewood.
