Mount Arlington Station

Excellent ideas. Time to flood NJT's e-mails for comments/suggestions.

Nasadowsk wrote: Done right, Mt Arlington could provide a good, cheap short term reflief. What's needed is a bit more speed, and a lot of trains. With Penn capacity right now, Hoboken's gonna be a logical location for a lot of trains, but that shouldn't be a disadvantage - actually, if we look at revived Hoboken/Jersey city, it very well could be an advantage...

Absolutely!
Unfortunately, parking is at a premium along the entire M&E, and unless they do something about the lack of parking at Mt Arlington, well... it is just going to be a waste of money.

I used to drive from Hackettstown to West Orange every day along the I80 route. and a lot of times it would take me 2 hours... sometimes more! (it took me 7 hours to get home once during a snowstorm) add the stress of driving, wear and tear on the car, it makes the train sooo much more palatable. but if we can't find a place to park? guess what we have to do... drive.
if the idea of getting cars off the road was the force behind Mount Arlington... get some darned parking to make it happen.

Madmage, In Dover we do have parking permits for the lots next the to M&E. simply go to town hall, pay a fee and you have a space wherever you want to park in the town's lots. Dover so far from what I've sen has the most spaces even though they are not in one area but it's parking none the less. Dover is even in the midst of planning their transit hub which includes a paln to add a 3 or 4 deck parkign garage over the Cresent Field Lot. The other lots like the one across the street and the two on Dickerson will still be one level as lack of space doesn't permit a parking structure.

NJTRailfan wrote:Madmage, In Dover we do have parking permits for the lots next the to M&E. simply go to town hall, pay a fee and you have a space wherever you want to park in the town's lots.

Good to know... Im not sure about denville, but i know that permits past that are nonexistent or very hard to come by.. i know someone trying to get one for years.

i'd rather not drive to the train if i can avoid it, you know?

madmage wrote:I used to drive from Hackettstown to West Orange every day along the I80 route. and a lot of times it would take me 2 hours... sometimes more! (it took me 7 hours to get home once during a snowstorm) add the stress of driving, wear and tear on the car, it makes the train sooo much more palatable. but if we can't find a place to park? guess what we have to do... drive.
if the idea of getting cars off the road was the force behind Mount Arlington... get some darned parking to make it happen.

What's wrong with taking the train from Hackettstown and transferring to a bus in Orange? Generally this parking people are clamoring for is not to make a commute possible, it is to make it less unpleasant -- the options are already there. That is, frankly, what bothers me about this stuff. I can understand adding more transit to reduce commutes, but enticing people to drive farther by creating convenient park and ride lots, to me, does not solve the problem. Getting people off the road for the last few miles is not the desire, it is taking cars off the road for, at least, the majority of the trip.

ryanov wrote:What's wrong with taking the train from Hackettstown and transferring to a bus in Orange? If driving took you two hours, why is that unpalatable? Generally this parking people are clamoring for is not to make a commute possible, it is to make it less unpleasant -- the options are already there.

wont it take longer to do that? what about traffic? what about fare?

keep in mind, my commute is 3 hours each way as it is now.. I want it as fast as possible. and, really, I didn't think that was an option for me. (and i had no idea i could)

Drove by the station today and it looks to be completed. I wonder if they're finished with the big sign stand next to the enterance/exit? Will it have one of those decorative clocks or lettering welcoming people to the Mt Arlington P/R?

madmage wrote:

ryanov wrote:What's wrong with taking the train from Hackettstown and transferring to a bus in Orange? If driving took you two hours, why is that unpalatable? Generally this parking people are clamoring for is not to make a commute possible, it is to make it less unpleasant -- the options are already there.

wont it take longer to do that? what about traffic? what about fare?

keep in mind, my commute is 3 hours each way as it is now.. I want it as fast as possible. and, really, I didn't think that was an option for me. (and i had no idea i could)

You'd have to check the NJT Trip Planner (though sometimes if you know the area, you can do better than it can). Any populated area of NJ is fairly well covered by transit. If you have a monthly pass, the bus fare is covered. If you do not, it's $1.35 each way on the bus, but that doesn't really break the bank.

I was impressed by how it looks. However, I do find it troubling that with all of the money it cost, I've heard there is no bathrooms or indoor heating. Just space heaters.

The only problem I have with it is that the platforms are not long enough to accomodate a 6-8 car train when NJT knows that a few years down the road they will extend electrification the PM Yard to store more trains.

But the way this station looks it's alot better then Denville. Denville has no heaters at all so space heaters are better then nothing. Plus there is better covered shelter space and better lighting that makes you feel alot safer unlike those glorified bus shelters with dimmer lighting used in Denville.

Also Mt Arlington has the nice tile murals at the enterance to the tunnel and inside that represents the towns history focusing on Bertrand Island Amusement Park which makes the town look good in the eyes of a visitng commuter. Denville's is pretty bland.

Grease the monkey.

Dedication is 1/20 at 11am. Have fun guys. I guess this trend can be closed once the station is opened.

boxcar

Thanks. I'll be there for the opening. but the thread will be up for another week or so since even the Newark LR thread was up for months after it was operating.

Will it have one of those decorative clocks or lettering welcoming people to the Mt Arlington P/R?

Great idea !

Heck, what's another couple hundred grand added to the taxpayor's millions already spent on this porker.

Point it towards I-80 and add a NO VACANCY sign under it so thousands of motorists will know that the teensy little parking lot is full.

On my way to my Uncle's house in Mt Arlington I stopped by the station and aside from some dust it was finished. The baracades were gone along with the construction netting. My Dad and I went about exploring the place. The station is very beautiful and it had eight tiled murals on the town's history with Bertrand Island Amusement Park. The place is well lit and security cameras all over the place which is a big plus. I wish Dover was like that. From the platform you have a pretty good view of Rt 80 and a clear view of the tracks. The conrete ties gave the station a modern touch but with the masonry on the inside of the tunnel and the station itself gave it more of a natural look to it.

Heres the problem. The parking lot had several rows of parking while Dover's was a bit more considering tht they have a small parkinglot across the street on an incline. The main lot has a couple of rows where it goes end to end on the side closest to the tracks. with Mt Arlington's not only does their ground lot have to be the size of Dover's two lots put together but a structure must be built 7-12 rows high since they are next to Rt 80 and close to Rt 46 and 10 and they will be the fist choice to get to due to gridlock from congestion or an accident along convieniance to those highways unlike Dover which is further from 46 and 10 and far from 80 plus you have to go through Downtown Dover. With Mt Arlington it's a quick ride down Howard BLVD.

Another issue is the short platforms. At most you can fit three cars but that's it. Both platforms should be extended from the eastern side of the station to accomodate a 6-8 car train.

NJTRailfan wrote:On my way to my Uncle's house in Mt Arlington I stopped by the station and aside from some dust it was finished. The baracades were gone along with the construction netting. My Dad and I went about exploring the place. The station is very beautiful and it had eight tiled murals on the town's history with Bertrand Island Amusement Park. The place is well lit and security cameras all over the place which is a big plus. I wish Dover was like that. From the platform you have a pretty good view of Rt 80 and a clear view of the tracks. The conrete ties gave the station a modern touch but with the masonry on the inside of the tunnel and the station itself gave it more of a natural look to it.

Heres the problem. The parking lot had several rows of parking while Dover's was a bit more considering tht they have a small parkinglot across the street on an incline. The main lot has a couple of rows where it goes end to end on the side closest to the tracks. with Mt Arlington's not only does their ground lot have to be the size of Dover's two lots put together but a structure must be built 7-12 rows high since they are next to Rt 80 and close to Rt 46 and 10 and they will be the fist choice to get to due to gridlock from congestion or an accident along convieniance to those highways unlike Dover which is further from 46 and 10 and far from 80 plus you have to go through Downtown Dover. With Mt Arlington it's a quick ride down Howard BLVD.

Another issue is the short platforms. At most you can fit three cars but that's it. Both platforms should be extended from the eastern side of the station to accomodate a 6-8 car train.

As dumb as it sounds, a longer platform would have raised the price.... considerably probably.