This advertisement, which MTR spotted on the back of a New Jersey business journal (we won’t identify who took it out), just goes to show that “better” is a subjective word. The Route 4 & 17 Interchange project, pictured above, expanded both roads. Not long after the completion of the project, the nearby Westfield Garden State Plaza expanded and several big box stores sprung up in the area, bringing more traffic to the interchange (see MTR # 410).
What would be a more suitable image for a future ad campaign? MTR suggests one of the new stations planned as part of NJ Transit’s Northern Branch project. The agency recently submitted a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) to the Federal Transit Administration for its plan to re-introduce rail service between Tenafly and North Bergen.
You are right – The Paramus interchange (4/17/GSP/80) would benefit the Bergen Passaic cross county rail project was more fully developed. First, plans should involve a one seat ride to Hoboken (with plans for access to ARC tunnels and Penn Station). Next lets make sure plans include stops in Saddle Brook, Rochelle Park (for Westfield’s GSP) and Maywood boro. Perhaps future plans could include construction of a spur north to create a massive weekday park and ride at the Plaza. Good for congestion and business at the mall.
Next, let’s grab some of that stimulus and electrify the lines throughout Bergen County.