Some 45,000 units have been added to Hudson County’s residential housing stock since the early 1990s, when the county’s real estate boom began, with at least 2,000 more units planned.
This translates to thousands of new residents and commuters flowing through Hudson County everyday.
And there’s more on the way.
Just two weeks ago NJ Transit unveiled a plan to redevelop a portion of the Hoboken rail yard along the southern edge of the city, a plan that could bring more than 1,000 new jobs. Meanwhile over in Jersey City there are plans to remake Journal Square into a revitalized mixed-use commercial and residential district, a vision that would again bring thousands of new residents and workers to another growing urban area in the county.
Not surprisingly, this growth has stretched portions of the area’s public transportation system – most noticeably the PATH system – to its limits. With the system already spread thin, it’s unclear whether it can accommodate the anticipated new growth that’s already being planned.
Ridership up
According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 75 million riders used the PATH system in 2008, a number that has been rising steadily for years at a time when many public transportation systems nationally report declining ridership.
Just a few years earlier annual ridership was 72.6 million passengers, according to the Port Authority.
The increase hasn’t been lost on commuters.
“I get on at the beginning of the train [route at Journal Square]. I used to never have to stand up,” said Jersey City resident Janice Reed, who works at a Duane Reade in New York City and who takes the train to 23rd Street every day. “I could always get a seat. Coming back [home], too. Now, I never get a seat. I have to stand the whole way.”
Hoboken resident Hellie Carlson noticed similar changes in her own commute from Hoboken to the World Trade Center station.
“Some days I can get a seat, but usually not,” she said. “I’m just happy it’s a short ride. I have noticed a difference, though. There are way more people using the trains than there used to be. Maybe it’s the economy. Maybe people who used to drive aren’t driving right now. I don’t know, but I feel like the trains are always crowded, no matter what time I travel.”
‘Transit villages’ growth coming
Although plans are still preliminary, NJ Transit is entertaining an offer from an unidentified company that wants to build an 18-story office building on the transit agency’s 52-acre rail yard in south Hoboken, adjacent to the Hoboken PATH station. According to information released at a public forum two weeks ago, the commercial development would create 800 temporary jobs during the construction phase and another and 1,740 permanent jobs after completion.
In addition to the proposed commercial space, NJ Transit would also like to develop a restaurant- and shops-oriented plaza and a new open air bus terminal in place of the bus depot that currently exists outside the rail yard.
The proposal must still be reviewed and approved by the Hoboken City Council and Mayor Dawn Zimmer has vowed to hold several public hearings before moving forward with the plan.
Another PATH location – the Journal Square PATH Station – is also expected to see new development in the near future.
Under the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan, the Jersey City wants to “foster the redevelopment of Journal Square, Jersey City’s central business district, by providing for transit oriented development of new housing, offices, commercial, and public open spaces within walking distance to the Square and transit facilities…The [Jersey City] Master Plan calls for ‘station areas’ around Jersey City’s mass transit facilities to be up-zoned to include higher density residential, neighborhood retail, restaurants, and other uses compatible with a mixed use transit oriented station area.”
The Jersey City City Council approved the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan in August, a plan that will remake 1.5 acres of land at Journal Square.
The city has also approved plans for One Journal Square, a two-tower mixed residential and commercial high rise development that will include about 70,000 square feet of retail space and approximately 1,615 residential units.
Is that all?
All of which will undoubtedly translate into increased ridership on PATH.
In response to this growth the Port Authority – a private entity that is run quite differently than the public NJ Transit agency – says it is investing in infrastructural improvements to increase capacity and relieve congestion.
“Under the Port Authority’s Capital plan we are investing millions of dollars and other resources to modernize our technical infrastructure,” said Port Authority spokesman Ron Marsico. “This will enable us to increase rider capacity by 20 percent because it will enable us to safely run trains closer together.”
About $580 million will be spent to update old mechanical train controls on the 101-year-old system. In their place the system will get new computerized signals, a process that will continue through 2017, which will allow trains to run more frequently and handle more passengers.
Other obsolete components in the system are also being replaced with modern upgrades and the Port Authority has been slowly retiring its old fleet of railcars with new trains.
The Port Authority, Marsico added, will eventually be able to accommodate 10-car trains on the Newark-World Trade Center line, which will also increase rider capacity.
The agency also is making a heavy investment now to rebuild and upgrade the demolished World Trade Center Station, which was destroyed in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
But Jersey riders question whether these improvements will be enough.
Said Hoboken resident Sam Sweitzer, “That all sounds well and good. But my question is: Does this mean we’re not going to see any new stations anytime soon?”
In response Marsico said, “No. There are no plans to build any new stations at this time.”
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.