Residents who have sat in traffic, searched endlessly for a parking spot or wanted to fish at the new park on the waterfront have wondered when the projects that are in various states of construction will be finished.
Some projects have recently broken ground, while others are nearing completion.
There are two new public transportation avenues on the way: the light rail train, and an uptown ferry stop. Two parking garages are in the works, and a bypass road has been proposed for the west side of town. Construction on the new Castle Point Park also is underway.
Information on the projects is as follows:
Light rail
On Hoboken’s west side, the sound of bulldozers fills the air. They are clearing the way underneath the Palisades to make room for the Hudson-Bergen light rail train, which will run from Bayonne to Bergen County.
“They began this January installing the drainage system for the light rail,” said NJ Transit spokeswoman Anna Farneski last week. “The system is scheduled to open in September 2003.”
There has also been light rail construction at the southern border of Hoboken, which, along with construction projects in Jersey City, has helped snarl traffic in that area. City Director of Administration George Crimmins said that the city deploys as many as six police officers in that area per day to help.
Some believe that the proposed light rail system has already had a significant impact on the city, encouraging new homes on the west side of town. But others believe the train itself will not impact present residents much.
“I don’t think it will hold much benefit to the residents of Hoboken,” said Director of Human Services Robert Drasheff. “[On Hoboken’s west side] there are only going to be stops at Second and Ninth streets, so while some people in the northwest portion of town might take advantage, I don’t think many others will.”
Crimmins said that the biggest effect that the light rail might have on the area is road improvements. “I think one of the biggest impacts of the light rail will be that NJ TRANSIT will repave several of the area’s roads,” he said.
Jackson Street resident Wilma Nunez said last week that she was worried about the noise and commotion the light rail will bring. “It’s already started,” said Nunez looking over the light rail construction site. “Those bulldozers are out and going, making noise and stirring up dust. I hope all this construction is worth it in the end.”
But for real estate agents, the light rail has been a windfall. “Everything is going so fast,” said Claire DiMeola of Harbor View Properties. “Once the light rail was announced, all most all the properties on the route were bought up immediately.”
Traffic in the south and west
Environmental Services Director Tim Calligy said the stifling traffic on Hoboken’s south border is mainly due to construction in Jersey City. “I don’t want to place blame,” Calligy said, “but most construction is happening on Jersey Avenue and Henderson Street in Jersey City, and that is what is creating a bottleneck. From what I understand, most construction that is going over there is utility work, and so far there has been very little coordination between [Hoboken and Jersey City]. As of right now there is very little that [Hoboken] can do to improve traffic in that area.”
In the northwest part of the city, the various developments that are planned there will have an impact on the traffic flow, but Drasheff believes the city has planned responsibly and that effect will be minimal. “The creation of a west side bypass will be the most effective means to help alleviate traffic,” Drasheff said. The bypass proposal was introduced only recently, as part of a traffic study produced by the Hoboken Parking Authority earlier this month. The purpose of the bypass is to deflect people coming through Hoboken from the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel away from the residential areas, allowing them to pass through the west side of town.
Drasheff said the city intends to apply to the state for $6.6 million, the entire cost of the project, and that grants will be awarded Nov. 1. If the project gains funding, Drasheff said, it would take only 10-12 months to complete, which puts a possible opening of a west side bypass at the end of 2002.
New ferry route
On the eastern side of town, uptown residents will get a new ferry service. NY Waterway announced that the stop will open on April 2. The service, which will be at the end of 13th Street, will take passengers to NY Waterways dock on West 38th Street in Manhattan. The official ribbon cutting for the site will be on March 29 and the ferry will be free of charge for its first week.
Parking lots
A new 740-space garage is under construction adjacent to St. Mary Hospital between Third and Fourth streets on Clinton Street. Under the terns of a lease that was signed Dec. 21, 2000, the hospital will lease 300 of the 740 spaces to the nurses doctors, and staff, operate the ground floor medical office space. The remaining 440 spaces will be set aside for hospital visitors and Hoboken residents.
The garage is a public-private partnership in which the hospital donated the bulk of the land to the Hoboken Parking Authority under a 99-year lease arrangement, and in turn the Authority will build, own and operate the facility.
The building should open around the beginning of 2002. It will have five stories and a brick fa