Project backers have maintained that the American Dream Meadowlands megamall’s projected 150,000 daily visitors won’t cause traffic problems, but they may have reason to reconsider: earlier this week, North Jersey traffic ground to a halt as 90,000 eventgoers made their way to MetLife Stadium, which sits adjacent to the development project.
During the gridlock, reports circulated of people leaving their cars on the turnpike and walking the last half mile to the stadium. These reports arose even though there was a traffic mitigation plan that included train service beginning at 4pm. As an NJDOT traffic advisory predicted, the gridlock wasn’t just in the immediate lead-up to the event. At 6pm, the Star-Ledger reported that the area “near Exit 16W on the New Jersey Turnpike is at a standstill.” Over two hours later, the paper described continuing issues: “[e]ven at 8:11 p.m., there was still a 6-mile delay on the New Jersey Turnpike from Exit 15W in Kearny to Exit 16W in East Rutherford.” People that weren’t traveling to the event experienced delays, and over 10 NJ Transit bus lines had to be rerouted in response to the issue.
While traffic to the American Dream Meadowlands might be more evenly distributed throughout the day, the congestion for an event that attracted only 60% of the mall’s projected daily visitors reinforces the need for a comprehensive traffic study for the project. In 2004, a joint government commission found that the project needed a study that examined its impact on roads within a four-mile radius of the site (at minimum), but none has been completed.
Beyond traffic studies, the developer must publicly commit to funding public transportation to the site, a practice that has precedent across the country. A spokesman affiliated with the project alluded to a “tremendous upgrade in mass transit opportunities” at the site earlier this week, but with NJ Transit cutting routes, the agency is not in the best position to pay for the levels of service that will mitigate congestion in the area. The site’s developer must help meet the increased need for transit.
[…] North Jersey Gets Preview of the Traffic Nightmare That Will Accompany “American Dream” (MTR) […]
Given the geography, does the American Dream Mall make sense? If it is on a spur of the rail lines, it probably won’t be adequately served. Given that most of the carriers on the bus lines on route 3 have only interstate rights and would be loath to short haul themselves, is it realistic to expect decent bus service. While going to New York it would be relatively easy to catch a bus, in the reverse direction buses serving the area would be leaving from different platforms so not a great way to go.
Given the geography, does the American Dream Mall make sense? If it is on a spur of the rail lines, it probably won’t be adequately served. Given that most of the carriers on the bus lines on route 3 have only interstate rights and would be loath to short haul themselves, is it realistic to expect decent bus service. While going to New York it would be relatively easy to catch a bus, in the reverse direction buses serving the area would be leaving from different platforms so not a great way to go.
While it is a pipe dream, having a rail line in the right of way of US 46 and New Jersey 3 from the Willowbrook Mall to New York using existing tubes of the Lincoln Tunnel might be a cost effective way to get both local transportation and better connections to New York. Strategically placed stations and use of connecting buses could eliminate many buses into New York. It would also provide much needed New Jersey to New Jersey service.
[…] Meadowlands-area mayors—Just as a weekday event at MetLife Stadium thrust the Meadowlands into gridlock, 14 area mayors have joined together and called for the completion of a traffic study for the […]