Dear Editor:
Hudson County’s freeholders have approved a $60,000 study to advance light rail transit (LRT) to Xanadu. Some Hudson County freeholders object. Hudson County’s print media cover the event and chime in with their own opinions. All well and standard Hudson County politics.
But has anyone asked neighboring Bergen County what it wants? After all, the “B” in HBLRT stands for “Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit.” Bergen County’s opinion certainly might matter.
As the state’s leading advocate of LRT, the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP) welcomes the continued local interest in light rail. But NJ-ARP also is dismayed by Hudson County’s unilateral nearsighted focus.
Xanadu may be in Bergen County, but last time we checked, Bergen County’s preference was for extending HBLRT via Northern Valley branch to at least Tenafly. (To its credit, the Hoboken Reporter’s Feb. 15 edition dutifully does note this.)
Maybe Hudson County officials should actually ask their Bergen County counterparts for an opinion. For that matter, support from rail advocates such as NJ-ARP is not a given, and shouldn’t be assumed. Ignore us at your own risk.
Douglas John Bowen, president
New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP)