by Woodcrest295
NJ Transit promises improvements to Annandale train station
By Curtis Leeds / Hunterdon County Democrat
January 25, 2010, 7:09AM
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-demo ... vemen.html (article might not be online forever)
CLINTON TWP. — Residents who are tired of the cracked pavement, potholes and helter-skelter parking at the NJ Transit train station at the edge of Annandale are finding that maybe they really can fight city hall.
In fact, local government is helping the 20 residents who are part of the Annandale Citizen Advisory Committee get the attention of state transit officials, who have promised a new “concept plan” to fix the eyesore.
Mayor Kevin Cimei created the CAC to help advise Township Council about Annandale’s ongoing problems, which include the train station and traffic that ignores the posted 25 mph speed limit. CAC member John Lazarus says all the village’s problems are related.
“What we need to do is get the multiple chorus of voices to sing from the same hymn,” said Lazarus, who’s working to improve the landmark property. “Right now, it’s in horrible condition,” he said. “It looks like London during the blitz.” Commuters park in the lumber yard, which is private property, they park on the gravel and they park on the dirt, he said.
“It’s screaming out for attention,” he said. “There’s no rhyme or reason to the way
people park… the sheer neglect of the (train) station speaks for itself.” He called the station “the most heavily used and dilapidated station in the region” that is “offensive to the historical character of the village.”
How historic is the station itself? “Exceedingly,” said Brian Mullay, chairman of the township’s Historical Preservation Commission. “Annandale wouldn’t have happened without it.” First called the Town of Clinton Station, it was renamed Annandale in 1873, Mullay said.
The original building was razed around 1983 and replaced with a shelter that Lazarus described as “a phone booth on steroids” that doesn’t fit with its surroundings.
Lazarus said he doesn’t want something for nothing. If the state is willing to make improvements, he and his neighbors promise to officially “adopt” the site and help keep it free from litter and debris.
Lazarus said the progress that’s been made so far is the result of a team effort. After his group studied the matter, Township Council adopted a resolution last year urging NJ Transit to pave and stripe the parking lot and “optimize” parking capacity. Although about 130 vehicles park there now at peak times, the site’s capacity is only 77 spaces, he said.
He then won support from a string of allies. County Planning Board Director Sue Dziamara, who lives in the township, urged NJ Transit to return “this historic rail station to a well-maintained, pedestrian-friendly facility” and called it “the most heavily used station in Hunterdon County and the largest free station parking lot on the Raritan Valley Line.” Freeholder Matt Holt and HART Commuter Information Services are also on-board with seeking improvements, Lazarus said.
NJ transit’s executive director said in a letter to Dziamara that work to improve the property could begin this year, Lazarus is hopeful, but cautious. “I’ll be happy when I see some asphalt,” he said.
By Curtis Leeds / Hunterdon County Democrat
January 25, 2010, 7:09AM
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-demo ... vemen.html (article might not be online forever)
CLINTON TWP. — Residents who are tired of the cracked pavement, potholes and helter-skelter parking at the NJ Transit train station at the edge of Annandale are finding that maybe they really can fight city hall.
In fact, local government is helping the 20 residents who are part of the Annandale Citizen Advisory Committee get the attention of state transit officials, who have promised a new “concept plan” to fix the eyesore.
Mayor Kevin Cimei created the CAC to help advise Township Council about Annandale’s ongoing problems, which include the train station and traffic that ignores the posted 25 mph speed limit. CAC member John Lazarus says all the village’s problems are related.
“What we need to do is get the multiple chorus of voices to sing from the same hymn,” said Lazarus, who’s working to improve the landmark property. “Right now, it’s in horrible condition,” he said. “It looks like London during the blitz.” Commuters park in the lumber yard, which is private property, they park on the gravel and they park on the dirt, he said.
“It’s screaming out for attention,” he said. “There’s no rhyme or reason to the way
people park… the sheer neglect of the (train) station speaks for itself.” He called the station “the most heavily used and dilapidated station in the region” that is “offensive to the historical character of the village.”
How historic is the station itself? “Exceedingly,” said Brian Mullay, chairman of the township’s Historical Preservation Commission. “Annandale wouldn’t have happened without it.” First called the Town of Clinton Station, it was renamed Annandale in 1873, Mullay said.
The original building was razed around 1983 and replaced with a shelter that Lazarus described as “a phone booth on steroids” that doesn’t fit with its surroundings.
Lazarus said he doesn’t want something for nothing. If the state is willing to make improvements, he and his neighbors promise to officially “adopt” the site and help keep it free from litter and debris.
Lazarus said the progress that’s been made so far is the result of a team effort. After his group studied the matter, Township Council adopted a resolution last year urging NJ Transit to pave and stripe the parking lot and “optimize” parking capacity. Although about 130 vehicles park there now at peak times, the site’s capacity is only 77 spaces, he said.
He then won support from a string of allies. County Planning Board Director Sue Dziamara, who lives in the township, urged NJ Transit to return “this historic rail station to a well-maintained, pedestrian-friendly facility” and called it “the most heavily used station in Hunterdon County and the largest free station parking lot on the Raritan Valley Line.” Freeholder Matt Holt and HART Commuter Information Services are also on-board with seeking improvements, Lazarus said.
NJ transit’s executive director said in a letter to Dziamara that work to improve the property could begin this year, Lazarus is hopeful, but cautious. “I’ll be happy when I see some asphalt,” he said.
