(The following story by Evonne Coutros appeared at NorthJersey.com on June 30.)
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — NJ Transit has presented a $27 million plan for the railroad station that adds elevators, shifts tracks, and raises the platforms to coach level so they are handicapped-accessible.
The transit agency has been in talks with the village on and off for almost a decade about plans to reconstruct the Mission Revival-style station.
Three schematics presented at an open house and discussion this week could bring the improvements closer to reality.
Early in the meeting, NJ Transit officials addressed a major concern over saving the 90 parking spaces at the station, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“No parking spaces will be lost at Garber Square or Wilsey Square or North Broad Street when the project is complete,” said William F. Wong, a principal architect of the plan. “We would make it clear in the contract bid documents to prospective contractors that they are absolutely to minimize any impact against existing customer operations, including parking.”
The proposal extends and reconstructs the rail platforms so they are higher and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The existing center platform at the station would be expanded 200 feet to a total of 710 feet from the taxi/ticket office building north across the Franklin Avenue bridge.
A 640 foot side high-level platform would be constructed at the north end of the Franklin Avenue bridge and extend north, or it could be constructed at the south end of the bridge and span north. A third possibility would put the platform at approximately the north edge of the station building and expand north.
The proposal would add 350-foot canopies along the two platforms. They would be installed north of the taxi/ticket office and could house lighting, a public address system, and closed circuit surveillance cameras.
Two elevators are to be built into the underpass wall at the Franklin Avenue bridge. Construction of a wider center island platform would shift some of the railroad track west along the existing right of way. The downside is that the rail relocation could eliminate an existing sidewalk, a plan questioned by residents and that NJ Transit will re-examine.
The station building — like the taxi station and platforms — is owned by the village, and NJ Transit will upgrade the entrance, restrooms and counter space for handicapped accessibility.
The popular pedestrian underpass will remain open. The taxi dispatcher’s office on North Broad Street will remain unaltered, NJ Transit officials said.
NJ Transit officials allayed concerns that parking in the business district will be closed during construction.
“The village made it pretty clear to NJ Transit that the parking situation in the main shopping district here is very hard to come by and we take that into consideration,” Wong said. “When we do bid the job we will instruct the construction companies that bid on the project that they would have to find off-site storage for their materials, minimize impact to the downtown shopping district, commuter parking … shopper parking.”
Longtime village resident Arthur Wrubel said the village should review lighting of the station. Wrubel, the chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission, said lighting is often overlooked.
“We want to be sure that the light is indirect and falls and stays on the platform and doesn’t spill over on the right of way,” Wrubel said.
The reconstruction could begin in two years and last just as long, said village Manager James Ten Hoeve. The new platform lengths would accommodate eight coaches.
NJ Transit officials said new diesel locomotives that reduce noise output significantly are already in use in Ridgewood.
A New Jersey Transit task force has identified 35 stations in the state as key stations due to location and usage. They have been given priority for handicapped-accessibility projects, said a New Jersey Transit spokesman. The Ridgewood station serves 1,300 passenger trips per weekday.