Bergenline Ave Station Reportedly Nearing Completion

[JLo]

According to the Ledger, the Bergenline Avenue station is nearly complete. $150 million for one station. Whew! That's half of MOM's projected cost (low end). I think HBLR is an excellent project, but I still question the need for such an expensive station. I guess time will tell if the investment is worth it.

Our own "wantsrail" gets his shot in on the fact that the line should be using the Edgewater Tunnel.

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/in ... 258631.xml

[Lackawanna484]

Nice article, thanks for posting.

There was a lot of discussion about whether the mid-tunnel station was necessary, but in the end it turned out to be a political decision. Whether it turns out to be a good decision remains to be seen.

[Douglas John Bowen]

So much is made on how use of the Weehawken Tunnel was a political decision -- and of course it was. But HBLRT's route through it also works in terms of population.

Are so many so insistent on saying HBLRT shouldn't serve a community holding (roughly) 50,000 people per square mile? Edgewater, no matter how inviting, can't offer that.

And, as it turns out, Edgewater hasn't been inviting HBLRT to its borders. It didn't in the mid-1980s, and it still isn't doing so.

NJ-ARP (ad nauseam) respectfully reiterates its belief that Union City will benefit from HBLRT, and vice versa. In fact, we'd note it's one of the few "established" ridersheds HBLRT critics all too often claim HBLRT has too few of. For once, HBLRT goes where the people are, the market already is -- and it gets slammed? Consistency, please...

[Lackawanna484]

So much is made on how use of the Weehawken Tunnel was a political decision -- and of course it was. But HBLRT's route through it also works in terms of population.

Are so many so insistent on saying HBLRT shouldn't serve a community holding (roughly) 50,000 people per square mile? Edgewater, no matter how inviting, can't offer that.

And, as it turns out, Edgewater hasn't been inviting HBLRT to its borders. It didn't in the mid-1980s, and it still isn't doing so.

NJ-ARP (ad nauseam) respectfully reiterates its belief that Union City will benefit from HBLRT, and vice versa. In fact, we'd note it's one of the few "established" ridersheds HBLRT critics all too often claim HBLRT has too few of. For once, HBLRT goes where the people are, the market already is -- and it gets slammed? Consistency, please...

My comments referred only to the mid-tunnel station, not to the use of the tunnel itself, as a rereading of the post will confirm.

But, the decision is done, the work is almost done, so we'll have to see whether the one big, expensive station is better than two, much cheaper stations at either end of the tunnel.[/b]

[JLo]

My comments referred only to the mid-tunnel station, not to the use of the tunnel itself, as a rereading of the post will confirm.

But, the decision is done, the work is almost done, so we'll have to see whether the one big, expensive station is better than two, much cheaper stations at either end of the tunnel.

Ditto.

[Douglas John Bowen]

NJ-ARP appreciates the clarifications made, and the distinction of concern between reuse of the tunnel and building a new station within it. However, as JLo himself noted earlier, antipathy toward the tunnel is a given; to wit:

"They should have never gone through the Weehawken Tunnel," said Al Cafiero, an aide to state Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen). "It's too expensive. It's not worth it. They should have gone farther north."

That statement, if NJ-ARP reads it correctly, appears to encompass the entire local infrastructure, not just a station in the tunnel.

At the risk of appearing to nitpick, we might also note that the choice is (or would be) two stations at each end of the tunnel without a center/tunnel station, or two such stations with a central location.

We're not sure if anyone is in fact arguing that northern Union City could be served by something other than the current arrangement, although we suppose anything is possible. (The southernmost reaches are within walking distance of Ninth Street/Congress Street Station.)

That said, we'll add our "ditto also" to those who believe we now will watch, wait, and see what happens.

[/u]

[Lackawanna484]

I'll accept that clarification as well stated. Menendez wanted a tunnel station, he got one.

For me, the real question is how the tunnel station integrates with an overall transport program in the Union City area. I hope it works well, and brings a connection betwen bus and fast rail. There were better alternatives, they're over now.

The Edgewater honchos voted NO on transit a decade ago, and zoned projects which make future transit difficult. OK, time to move on. Making a good Waterway link is the next challenge.

[AndyB]

Doug,

In one line you changed my mind.

[Are so many so insistent on saying HBLRT shouldn't serve a community holding (roughly) 50,000 people per square mile?]

I have, to this point, felt that this tunnel station was a waste of money. Money that I thought would be better spent in extending the line into Bergen County. To quote myself "the money being spent on that station could take the line to the New York State line".

Sir, you are right. This is the only station on the line built with a large potential ridership right there. It does not have to wait for communities to be developed around it. I now look forward opening day and seeing its potential develop.

AndyB

[alewifebp]

Not to beat a dead horse even further, but it was a boneheaded move for Edgewater to oppose it then, and especially now. But I digress...

I had not realized that the Bergenline Avenue station was going to cost so much, but it really is in a great location, particularly in an area that is constantly trying to get more people in to for shopping (with notoriously limited parking options). Going where the people are is certainly prudent, and anyone who has actually travelled through North Bergen and Union City in that area can certainly attest to population density.

I will say that this will be a success, but I do wonder what the ridership numbers will look like at Tonnelle.

As I've driven through the waterfront area, I've seen workers in the tunnel even later at night on weekends, so it would appear that the opening of the next segment is certainly fast-tracking (pun-intended) at this point. Do we think that we may see service by the end of the year?