Vince Lombardi Park & Ride

View of the Meadowlands showing Little Ferry Yard, Vince Lombardi Service Area, and New Jersey Turnpike western spur crossing the Hackensack River as seen from Mount Moriah Cemetery in Fairview

The Vince Lombardi Park & Ride is located on the New Jersey Turnpike in the Meadowlands in Ridgefield, Bergen County, New Jersey. The park and ride and separate service area to south of it are dedicated to and named after Vince Lombardi. Located at the edge of the Little Ferry Yard it has been viewed as a potential rail station location since the 1990s and as of 2021, it is under consideration by NJ Transit as part of the Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project.

Park and ride

Exit on southbound Eastern Spur (Interstate 95)

The park and ride and service area opened in 1974.[1][2][3] They are situated between the eastern and western spurs at the northern end the turnpike (+/- mile marker 116) just south of the Overpeck Creek bridge, where the turnpike officially ends.[4][5][6] They are operated by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.[7]

They are named for Vince Lombardi, who worked at St. Cecilia's High School in nearby Englewood as a Latin and chemistry teacher and later become a legendary coach in the National Football League.[7][8]

As of 2017, about 1.6 million used the service area annually.[9] It was closed for refurbishment from September 2020 to July 2021.[10][11][12]

The park-and-ride has 1022 parking spaces, of which 20 are accessible.[13] NJ Transit bus 321 provides service to Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. It was closed in March 2021 due to low-ridership caused by COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey, but has since re-opened for weekday parking at $9.75/day (including transit).[14]

Proposed rail station

Vince Lombardi
Park & Ride
Light rail DMU
General information
LocationNew Jersey Turnpike
Ridgefield Park, New Jersey
Coordinates40°49′46″N 74°01′32″W / 40.829511°N 74.025482°W / 40.829511; -74.025482
Owned byNJ Transit
Construction
Parking1042
History
OpenedProposed
Proposed services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
91st Street
toward Tonnelle Avenue
 Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit
(TBD)
 Mount Vernon Street
toward Hawthorne

Location

The park and ride lies south of the New York, Susquehanna and Western (NYSW) Edgewater Branch at the periphery of Little Ferry Yard.[5][4] Passenger service had once passed through the yard the on New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (until 1966) and West Shore Railroad (until 1959).[15] The right-of-way (ROW) is now a primary freight corridor for the NYSW Main Line and CSX Transportation (CSXT), the West Shore Railroad line having become CSX River Subdivision.[16]

HBLR

Original minimum operating segments of HBLR

Vince Lombardi Park and Ride is part of the "circle of mobility", as originally proposed NJ Governor Thomas Kean in 1989, to describe a comprehensive transportation network for in metropolitan Northern New Jersey.[17]

Initial plans called for a Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) terminal station at the Vince Lombardi Park and Ride, which would be built as part of the third and last MOS (minimum operating segment) of the light rail transit (LRT) system.[18][19][20][21][22][23]

West Shore Region Study

The West Shore Region Study was initiated in 1996 by NJ Transit and other stakeholders to examine multiple modal opportunities in the region that had once been served by the West Shore Railroad and the other railroads in Bergen, Hudson and Passiac counties. An alternatives analysis report published December 1999 identified three projects: the Northern Branch corridor (LRT), the Cross County corridor (LRT) (along the NYSW right of way), and the West Shore corridor (commuter rail), the last of which did not advance.[24] Vince Lombardi Park and Ride was seen as a potential interchange station for the HBLR, the Cross County LRT, and West Shore.

Cross County LRT, Passaic–Bergen Rail, Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit

A station stop was considered as part of Cross-County LRT which would have been an extension of the HBLR to Maywood. By 2003, the project was referred to as the Passaic–Bergen Rail Line. A different terminus of the HBLT extension had been decided and the availability of Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) compliant diesel multiple unit (DMU) precipitated a project re-conception, namely running from Hawthorne station in Passaic County to an eastern terminus Hackensack, but not along the NYSW alignment at the park and ride.[25][26] By late 2010s the project had further evolved to the Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project along the NYSW right-of-way in Passiac, Bergen and Hudson using newly built, FRA-compliant DMU rail cars.[27][28][29] The project was not included in NJ Transit 10-year capital plan.[30]

NJ Legislature

As defined by the New Jersey Legislature in the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority Act of 1984, P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-1 et seq.), the "Circle of Mobility" is an essential group of related transit projects that include the New Jersey Urban Core. The station was added in the early 2000s.[31]

In 2017, the Legislature directed the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to conduct studies for a station along the NYSW right-of-way.[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ Phalon, Richard (6 February 1974). "Lombardi Service Area Dedicated on Turnpike". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  2. ^ Phalon, Richard (August 31, 1974). "Turnpike's Park-Ride Program Is Off to a Slow Start". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Burks, Edward C. (June 15, 1975). "Park-and-Ride Buses Seeking Customers". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b New Jersey Department of Transportation. "Route 95W Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  5. ^ a b New Jersey Department of Transportation. "Route 700 Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Miller, Jonathan (May 14, 2006). "A Dozen Roadside Attractions". The New York Times.
  7. ^ a b "Service Areas & Commuter Lots | NJTA". www.njta.com.
  8. ^ Knackmuhs, Ginny (February 22, 2004). "SOAPBOX; The Rest (Stop) Is History". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Maag, Christopher (August 31, 2017). "Garden State of Mind: A Night at The Vince". North Jersey Media Group.
  10. ^ "Turnpike, Parkway rest stop makeovers evoking mixed feelings". WTOP. Associated Press. September 24, 2017.
  11. ^ Cruz, David (August 31, 2017). "Major upgrades coming to Turnpike, Parkway service areas". NJ Spotlight News.
  12. ^ Nieto-Munoz, Sophie; Higgs, Larry (August 28, 2019). "3 N.J. rest stops to close for major renovations after Labor Day". NJ.com.
  13. ^ Medina, Toni. "Vince Lombardi Park & Ride | NJ TRANSIT | New Jersey Transit Corporation | New Jersey". NJ TRANSIT.
  14. ^ Wilson, Colleen (March 27, 2020). "Reduced NJ Transit bus schedule announced over coronavirus concerns". North Jersey Media Group.
  15. ^ Kaminski, Edward S. (2010), New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad in New Jersey, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7385-7367-0
  16. ^ "Rail Freight Capacity and Needs Assessment to Year 2040". www.njtpa.org. North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.
  17. ^ Romano, Jay (January 26, 1992). "Vision of Rail and Office Complex Moves Nearer to Reality". The New York Times.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. (December 9, 1994). "Light-Rail Line Construction May Start in New Jersey in '96". The New York Times. p. B6.
  19. ^ "Jersey City, Hudson River Waterfront Transportation Corridor Improvements, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit System (HBLRTS), Hudson County, Bergen County: Environmental Impact Statement". March 3, 1996 – via Google Books.
  20. ^ Hernon, Richard F. (November 12–15, 1995). Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit System Joint Occupancy-Joint Use (PDF). Seventh National Conference on Light Rail Transit. Baltimore.
  21. ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (April 22, 1997). "New Jersey Celebrates Start of Work on $1.1 Billion Light Rail Line on Hudson". The New York Times.
  22. ^ Chen, David W. (September 10, 1995). "NEWS AND TOPICS: ROAD AND RAIL; On the Waterfront, a 20-Mile Trolley Chugs Closer to Reality". The New York Times.
  23. ^ "DBOM Contract: Proper Delegation of Major Tasks". Federal Transit Administration. January 31, 2016. The HBLRTS is being constructed in three Minimum Operable Segments (MOS) designated as MOS-1, MOS-2, and MOS-3.
  24. ^ "Northern Branch Corridor DEIS December 2011".
  25. ^ Bergen-Passaic Rail (Cross County Rail). Annual Report on New Starts: Proposed Allocations of Funds for Fiscal Year 2004 ... : Report of the Secretary of Transportation to the United States Congress Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5309(o)(1) (Report). Federal Transit Administration. 2005.
  26. ^ Discussion Points NJ Transit (PDF), Department of Transportation and Motor Vehicle Commission, 2018, archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2020, Previously NJ TRANSIT conducted a study related to a rail station at the Lombardi Park and Ride. It was included in the initial alternatives to be evaluated as part of the West Shore Corridor Major Investment Study, as noted in the study's Final Scoping Document (completed in December 2001). The study included a broad range of options for the introduction of rail or light rail service on lines to provide access to locations such as Hoboken and Secaucus Junction, including the Northern Branch to Tenafly; the West Shore Line to West Nyack, NY with potential further northward extensions (to Haverstraw, NY and beyond); and the New York, Susquehanna and Western to Hawthorne. As the study advanced, the project was refined to focus on two projects: the NYS&W between Hawthorne and Hackensack, and the Northern Branch to Tenafly. Neither of these options included a Lombardi Park and Ride station since neither alignment is near that facility.
  27. ^ "Passaic Bergen Hudson Transit Project". Projects & Reports. NJ Transit. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  28. ^ "Passaic-Bergen-Hudson Rail Project". North Jersey Rail Coalition.
  29. ^ Wilson, Colleen (February 5, 2021). "Officials want to reconnect a Bergen-Passaic commuter line. Here's how to weigh in". North Jersey Media Group.
  30. ^ "NJTPlans.com". njtplans.com.
  31. ^ Assembly, No.951: Section 3 of P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-3) amendment, New Jersey Legislature (210th), 2002, Specifically, the definition would now include...a connection from the Vince Lombardi Station to Saddlebrook and Edgewater for the Hudson River Waterfront Transportation
  32. ^ Senate, No. 2153 P.L.2017, CHAPTER 195, August 7, 2017, This bill directs the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (authority) to study and prepare a report, for submission to the Governor and the Legislature, concerning the potential options for the construction of a rail station at the Vince Lombardi Park and Ride facility (facility) in Ridgefield, Bergen County. The proposed rail station is to allow the New Transit Jersey Corporation to provide rail passenger service connecting the proposed rail station to the existing rail station in the Borough of Hawthorne, Passaic County, and to the light rail station at Tonnell Avenue in North Bergen, Hudson County, through the use of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway right-of-way.

40°49′36″N 74°01′43″W / 40.8265742°N 74.0285719°W / 40.8265742; -74.0285719