The Hoboken City Council heard a presentation on a 15th Street Hudson-Bergen Light Rail feasibility study at the beginning of Wednesday’s meeting.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
Community Development and Planning Director Chris Brown explained that the project was funded by a grant to redevelop the North End section of the city.
He noted that the Northwest Redevelopment Plan included a proposal for a 15th Street light rail station many years ago and the council approved a feasibility study in July.
“The 15th Street site avoids some of the significant challenges at 17th Street,” noted Feasibility Study Project Manager Will Sherman.
In the North End, they expect 5,800 additional residents to move in, along with 900 people who will work there, once it is fully redeveloped.
Sherman further explained that they also studied the feasibility of station at the intersection of Madison and 15th Streets that would cost around $28 million.
However, adding an elevator and stairs to create a clear path to Union City would raise the cost up to $59 million, which is a tall order consider the funding stream is unclear at the time.
He added that it could be one of the busiest stations on the line and acquiring properties would likely be necessary.
“How do you get ridership estimates for a place that has no buildings currently?” asked Council President Jim Doyle, to which Sherman said they used NJ Transit projections and U.S. Census data to calculate the projected growth.
He later said they tried to project anticipated traffic all the way through 2045.
“Why 20 years from now?” 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher questioned, to which Sherman responded that it would take time to develop the station and the surrounding area.
Additionally, 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos was curious why 17th Street was not a suitable light right station location. Sherman said the Palisades would significantly interfere with construction and developing there would be expensive, if possible at all.
“Do we derive any revenue from the ridership?” Doyle wondered. He was concerned about whether the city was going to pay for the station as well.
Fisher interjected that she felt the city was having “a one-sided conversation with NJ Transit” and said the early stages of planning were “myopic.”
“These estimates don’t include $20 million plus paying for the property … [State] Senator [Brian] Stack will be a part of it,” she continued.
“We did not investigate the return on investment to Hoboken,” Sherman admitted.
“Did we investigate the cost analysis?” 3d Ward Councilman Mike Russo asked.
Sherman responded that the 17th Street site doesn’t make sense from a financial perspective due to many utilities and the potential third Hudson tunnel on a narrow strip of land.
“Did we do any analysis of the cost of the prop that would have to be required?” Russo inquired.
Sherman said it was too early in the process for that. He suggested they could make a deal with them.
“This was a study the council authorized. The suggestion that we’re doing it myopically in a vacuum without NJ Transit’s involvement is not accurate,” 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen said, criticizing Fisher’s earlier remarks.
“I didn’t say that,” Fisher responded.
“Well, you said myopic,” Cohen said back.
After some more back-and-forth, Cohen noted the site study was necessary for potential NJ Transit funding, which would help reduce the number of cars in the city in the long run.
“Just so I can correct what he said … Only recently did we interact with NJ Transit,” Fisher argued.
Brown added that he has periodically been in talks with NJ Transit.
“We’ve known the feasibility study is step number one. We had to pay for the feasibility study,” he said.
Sherman said the next steps are working with NJ Transit and Union City and gauging their interest in partnering, which will help them assess the where the funding will come from. An alternative analysis may also be necessary at a later date.
The council took no formal action n the matter at the meeting.
