Secaucus and exit 15X

Some interesting tidbits in this article:

www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/
base/news-2/1124085072251350.xml&coll=1

Turnpike scrambles to salvage a new exit
$250M project lacks a major destination
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As work on the interchange winds down, key state officials -- none of whom were in office when the initial decisions were made on the Secaucus complex -- have changed course and are looking to put parking at the train station.

"It's an issue that has the governor's attention," said Kelley Heck, spokeswoman for acting Gov. Richard Codey.

In the past, officials said putting a parking garage at the rail complex, which is a few miles from the Lincoln Tunnel, would exacerbate traffic jams in the area. In their view, the Secaucus Junction station -- where seven rail lines intersect -- would be a place where people came and went by train, transferring from one train to another.

After George Warrington took over as executive director of NJ Transit in 2002, the agency became more receptive to adding parking to Secaucus Junction.

Edison Properties, which owns land near the Secaucus station, has had discussions with NJ Transit about providing parking at the site, said the company's owner, Jerome Gottesman.

"The public agencies already have invested a substantial sum of money in the site," Warrington said. "At this point, we're looking to encourage private investment in the parking."
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Warrington said the impending opening of Interchange 15X has helped renew interest in the commercial development. Over the years, Allied Junction has struggled because its plans for Secaucus far exceeded its bankroll.

Marc Joseph, the company's chief operating officer, said his firm is nearing a deal with a high-profile national developer which would pretty much take over the project.

"They bring two important things to the table -- a great deal of experience and a great deal of money," said Joseph, declining to name the other company because negotiations are ongoing.

In addition to the Allied Junction project, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, the agency that oversees growth in that region, has designated 231 acres nearby as Secaucus Transit Village, a project that could include 1,850 housing units, a hotel and conference center, restaurants and shops. No one knows when or if the parking and commercial developments will be built. Until then, the new Turnpike exit mainly will handle traffic heading to Secaucus' warehouse district.

The map is quite interesting, too.

Using the former BCL as an extension of Seaview Avenue.

Elevating County Road over the rail line.

If NJT is looking for a use for their NJTP ramp, maybe a bus hub for service from SEC to the Park Avenue / 59th street area, 7th Avenue and 50 street, 34th and Third, etc would be a good idea.

Lackawanna484 wrote:I am upset from a theoretical perspective. It does not affect me personally. My trains are not being cancelled

Hey Lackawana, regarding your tag line, I expect attribution when quoted and we can discuss royalties later!

That must be NJTransitSpeak for: It's the Xanadu/Sports Complex shuttle parking lot.

In the past, officials said putting a parking garage at the rail complex, which is a few miles from the Lincoln Tunnel, would exacerbate traffic jams in the area. In their view, the Secaucus Junction station -- where seven rail lines intersect -- would be a place where people came and went by train, transferring from one train to another.

And it still WILL exacerbate traffic. People are so clueless sometimes.

Mark Schweber wrote:

Lackawanna484 wrote:I am upset from a theoretical perspective. It does not affect me personally. My trains are not being cancelled

Hey Lackawana, regarding your tag line, I expect attribution when quoted and we can discuss royalties later!

I was highly impressed with your succinct comment, and felt it deserved to be memorialized.

ryanov wrote:

In the past, officials said putting a parking garage at the rail complex, which is a few miles from the Lincoln Tunnel, would exacerbate traffic jams in the area. In their view, the Secaucus Junction station -- where seven rail lines intersect -- would be a place where people came and went by train, transferring from one train to another.

And it still WILL exacerbate traffic. People are so clueless sometimes.

Yes, cause people in power have gotten stupider as the years have marched on!! There is no common sense today! We live in trying times!!!!

Steve

Building parking decks at Exit 15X/Secaucus Transfer would make the area a Metropark North, one of the most successful park-ride locations in the state. And spur commercial development around Secaucus Transfer. I don't understand why so many object to building parking decks at Secaucus Transfer. No one who can get onto a train in their town is going to ge onto the highway and drive to ST. Rather, the parking decks at ST will spur commuters to travel via rail to the jobs at near office towers, ala Metropark.

It could also be a "last exit" option for some commuters who usually drive into Manhattan...that is, they could decide last-minute to avoid tunnel traffic and do a park-&-ride.

pateljones wrote:No one who can get onto a train in their town is going to ge onto the highway and drive to ST..

That is completely false, as we've seen in quotes in newspapers and on the NJ.com forums as well as other places. "I live in Lyndhurst and I want to drive to Secaucus -- it's only 10 mins or less into the city from there!" That is what a sizable population, for whatever reason, wants to do. In fact, check the archives on this board -- I believe that sentiment is expressed there too.

Really kind of hard to say whether it would be good or
bad. On the one hand, people may drive further to get
there and just use the train to get into Manhattan,
increasing traffic volume in Jersey. On the other hand, it may get more people to ride the train into Manhattan,
taking cars out of the Lincoln tunnel and Manhattan
itself. It would be good if someone would study this
in detail to see more precisely what the effect would
be.

Several of my neighbors drive into NYC every day.

Drive PAST the Little Falls train station and the MSU station. Drive near the billion car Willowbrook Park/Ride and the Allwood P/R. They're going to locations that would be difficult to reach via mass transit (First and 48th, Fort Hamilton Pkwy, etc).

ryanov wrote:

pateljones wrote:No one who can get onto a train in their town is going to ge onto the highway and drive to ST..

That is completely false, as we've seen in quotes in newspapers and on the NJ.com forums as well as other places. "I live in Lyndhurst and I want to drive to Secaucus -- it's only 10 mins or less into the city from there!" That is what a sizable population, for whatever reason, wants to do. In fact, check the archives on this board -- I believe that sentiment is expressed there too.

I use to drive past several stations to get to MetroPark because I knew they had available dailiy parking there and it was accessable to major roads. I would have preferred parking at Princton Junction and taken the Clockers or the super express. I did the same commuting to Philadelphia. I drove past several stations to get to one that had convenent and ample parking right off of I-95.

Couldn't help but post the following from the Record:

Even current New Jersey Turnpike Authority officials say Interchange 15X was an ill-conceived boondoggle from a previous administration.

"The deal certainly wasn't good from a turnpike standpoint," spokesman Joseph Orlando said. "By the time this administration took over ... we had already fronted $78 million to the project. What do you do at that point? Stop?"

The paper also shows plans for a 6-level parking deck with a pedestrian crossing over the Turnpike directly into SEC.
Hopefully it will all come together sometime in the future with the overpass over the freight lines, Parking deck(s), Hotel(s) the Transit Village, MedowlandsRail Link etc..

so...
no one did an environmental impact statement for parrking and creating an exit at SEC???