Jersey City Ward E Councilman James Solomon wrote a letter yesterday to two top administrators at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey asking to postpone the plans for Grove Street PATH repairs that could occur over the span of 20 weekends.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Considering that weekend ridership has returned to near pre-pandemic levels, the partial closure of Grove St. station will pose a significant challenge for Jersey City residents who depend on the PATH to commute between NYC and JC,” Solomon wrote to Executive Director Rick Cotton and PATH Director/General Manager Clarelle DeGraffe.
“While I acknowledge the importance of avoiding weekday disruptions, this plan should be changed. Given the nature of the work, the ability to keep the station open in both directions on some weekends must be implemented – especially as the PATH is not offering any alternatives such as buses or VIA. We request a postponement of this work until more acceptable solutions are offered to the residents and workers who rely on full access to Grove St. PATH station on weekends.”
Solomon also thanked them for having representatives meet with him and his team.
On Friday, the bi-state transit agency said that station access and service would be impacted to rehabilitate floors, refinish columns and ceilings, as well as install new LED lighting.
In order to accomplish this, they say service will be rerouted for 20 weekends, starting on Saturday, January 6th, 2024.
“Trains will bypass Grove St. in one direction or the other over 20 weekends as listed below. For the first half of the project, Journal Square- and Newark-Penn Station-bound trains will bypass Grove St.,” the agency wrote on their website.
“For the second half of the project, World Trade Center-bound and Hoboken/33 St.-bound trains will bypass Grove St. These bypasses will occur from 6 a.m. Saturdays until 11:59 p.m. Sundays.”
Port Authority spokesman Seth Stein said that while they will not suspend service on holiday weekends and other special circumstances, the project must move forward as planned.
“The Grove Street station needs significant rehabilitation work to deliver our riders the modern space they deserve. We have determined that getting that work done at Grove Street in a reasonable time frame will require partial station closures over the weekend in order to maintain essential commuter service during the work week,” he told HCV.
“In addition, to minimize disruptions, we will be foregoing closures during many heavily trafficked holiday weekends and weekends with certain highly attended public events. We appreciate Councilman Solomon’s concerns and look forward to continuing a constructive conversation as we undertake critical improvements to the PATH system.”
Bus service from grove street should be provided. East bound, from grove street to exchange place and west bound from exchange place to grove street.