A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION The Westfield Leader and THE TIMES of Scotch Plains – Fanwood Thursday, January 14, 1999 Page 3 Coalition Looks to Continue Planning for Parking Deck and Jitney Service Efforts for Better Commute Top Westfield Mayor’s ’99 Agenda for Council CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 By PAUL J. PEYTON Central Avenue, or behind The Gap “One of the nails in the last agree- hood preservation program in and Mayor Jardim serves as Liaison to and the 9:04 a.m. trains leaving Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times store on East Broad Street. ment (for a taxi service) was insurance around Cacciola Place and Central both groups. Westfield. WESTFIELD — Developing plans Third Ward Councilman John J. costs,” explained Councilman Gruba, Avenue on the south side. “RVLCC is a commuter-based • NJ Transit has said it will launch for a parking facility, jitney bus service Walsh viewed the selection of where to now in his eighth year on the governing The initiative suffered a setback when group,” Mayor Jardim explained. efforts this month to establish desig- and making the town’s Building and build a deck as the biggest task for the body. the state changed the criteria for the “They’re the folks who are doing the nated smoking and non-smoking ar- Public Works Department more cus- council, even above financing such a In terms of changes in the Public program just as Westfield was making commute, day in, day out. RVLCC is eas on the platforms of Newark Penn tomer friendly highlight Westfield’s facility. Works Department, officials said the its application. focusing on improving the day-to- Station. Currently, smoking is al- Mayor Thomas C. Jardim’s blueprint Second Ward Councilman James J. department will be reorganized to focus In terms of TV-36 programming, day commute until we get Raritan lowed throughout the platforms, leav- for the Town Council in 1999. Gruba said the final solution for creat- on “front end services” the department currently organized by the school dis- Direct.” During a special council conference ing additional parking spaces might offers, such as the processing of build- trict, the Mayor indicated he favors ing non-smokers with no smoke-free come from surface, or ground-level, ing permits. including funds for a part-time em- By contrast, he said, the RVRC is places to stand. meeting Tuesday night, Major Jardim, made up of community leaders from beginning his second two-year term, parking as opposed to a garage. Also, the processing of complaints ployee in the budget to help the effort The RVLCC said that, in addition said he would like the council to look A consultant would be asked to pro- received by the Public Works and Build- move forward. along the Raritan Valley Line. The to the lack of direct service and same- Mayor Jardim also said he would group’s focus is more long term – on into the possibility of soliciting private vide estimates on how much it would ing Department will be computerized, platform transfers, some other prob- firms that might be interested in operat- cost to build such a facility, to operate it, with an effort made to better track and be interested in the town starting a getting the money, planning, politi- lems which persist are: and what the town could anticipate respond to such complaints. “Youth in Government Day” pro- • ing a taxi service in Westfield. cal support and infrastructure for The gap between the 6:29 p.m. All in all, Mayor Jardim said he receiving in revenue generated from a Other areas on which Mayor Jardim gram, whereby high school students building “Raritan Direct.” and the 7:12 p.m. trains from New wants the council to be “as efficient as deck. has asked the council to move forward would run a council meeting by play- “There’s a lot to be done,” said York (6:55 and 7:34 p.m. from New- possible,” so that it can be “proactive” “We have a lot of ideas, but we don’t are pedestrian safety improvements, ing the roles of mayor, council mem- Mayor Jardim. “Both groups need to ark) – 43 minutes is too long to wait rather than “reactive” to matters which have a lot of specifics,” explained Mr. providing better programming on bers and officials. Similar programs work at full tilt, together and sepa- for a train during the shoulder of the come before the town. Gottko. Westfield’s local cablevision access are offered by the Union County Free- rately, to achieve our shared goals. evening rush. “I don’t want us to come to these He said the council needs to decide channel, TV-36, and a renewed effort to holders and the Scotch Plains Town- One year isn’t enough time to solve • Trains don’t stop at the same meetings without a clear sense of where on the number of spaces the deck would “breathe new life” into the neighbor- ship Council. all the problems on the Raritan Val- spot at the station every day, so com- we are going to be this year” in terms of have, as well as other pertinent infor- ley Line. We’re still working for muters don’t know where to stand – the council’s goals and objectives for mation. improvements. We hope NJ Transit and, as a result, are constantly run- 1999, Mayor Jardim explained. In terms of a jitney service, Mr. Gottko will work with us.” ning after or to train doors. Council members agreed that plan- noted there that there are currently no Part-time Tax Collector The following improvements have • Commuters still do not get fre- ning for the construction of a multi- plans for the Westfield/Mountainside been made as a result of Westfield quent, accurate train information via tiered parking deck would be the major Chapter of the American Red Cross to RVLCC’s efforts thus far: station and on-train announcements, issue facing the governing body. operate a program of this kind. Hired by Mountainside • A westbound express train (5:55 “We recognize we have a shortage of He said the organization, which re- gate signs and monitors. portedly had been considering running p.m. from New York, 6:23 p.m. from • Platform transfers at Newark are supply” of parking spaces, explained Third Ward Councilman Neil F. a jitney service, was concerned about By KIMBERLY A. BROADWELL Police Officer Allan Attanasio has ap- Newark) – serving Westfield, made more difficult by heavy stairway Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times plied for membership to the Plainfield and beyond – was added to Sullivan, Jr., noting that the council has ridership. doors. NJ Transit should replace the realized it needs to regulate the current Mr. Gottko noted that the Red Cross Mountainside Borough Council Mountainside Volunteer Fire Depart- the evening schedule. doors, prop them open or adjust the • parking system, while also adding ad- would only be interested in providing representatives met Tuesday evening ment. Also, Gloria Dickerson was ap- Some schedule changes were hinges so the doors are easier to open. ditional spaces. transportation for senior citizens if it for their first work session of the new pointed to represent the borough on the made to better accommodate the time • There is still a need for a dis- Town Administrator Edward A. did operate such a program. year. Before items on the agenda were Union County Arts Council and Heri- needed for RVL commuters to make counted ticket option for regular com- Gottko indicated that the most viable If jitney service is to become a reality discussed, officials mentioned two tage Committee. connections at Newark Penn Station. muters (such as working mothers) as a transportation mode to the down- functions which will be held this Sat- Finally, Mayor Robert F. Viglianti dis- • locations for a deck, at this point, ap- The 90-minute gap between who take the train three or four days pear to be at North and Central Av- town for commuters as well as seniors, urday, January 16, at the L’Affaire cussed an underground seepage prob- westbound trains after 9 p.m. was a week instead of five. enues, behind the Rialto Theatre on Mayor Jardim said the council will Restaurant on Route 22 in lem that was reported on Outlook Drive reduced to one hour. have to fund a portion of the costs in the Mountainside. West. The Mayor indicated that there • The ticket window at Westfield municipal budget to cover labor ex- The first is a retirement dinner for might be an underground river, stream station now accepts credit cards and penses. Detective Steve Semancik, who has or spring that was causing the seepage ATM (Automatic Ticket Machine) New Morning Train Service Councilman Walsh said the govern- served the borough’s police force for 33 and that Borough Engineer Michael cards. ing body first needs to ensure that a years. The other is the annual dinner- Disko was presently looking into the • ATM (and a stamp machine) were jitney service is “appropriate” for dance for the Fire Department. problem. installed at Westfield Train Station. Introduced By NJ Transit Westfield before moving ahead with Under other business, it was an- Mayor Viglianti also indicated that a • NJ Transit will now give some WESTFIELD – On January 11, NJ tor Stanley Rosenblum said, “The year any specific plans. nounced that a part-time tax collector possible solution might be to put in ticket refunds at the ticket window Transit added a new train during its of the Raritan Valley Line has been While Mayor Jardim has proposed was hired, effective January 5. Connie some additional storm sewer drains. He instead of only by mail. morning peak period which departs about customer service. During the that a jitney bus service be operational Ludden will be working for the bor- stated that Mr. Disko will give the coun- • by January 1, 2000, Councilman ough approximately 14 hours per week. cil a full report on his findings within A NJ Transit information win- the Plainfield Station at 8:30 a.m., year, we made improvements to ser- the next two weeks. makes stops at the Netherwood, vice and facilities for the more than Sullivan said he would like such ser- In other news, it was announced that dow was opened in New York Penn vice initiated by Labor Day. Station. Prior to this, NJ Transit com- Fanwood, Westfield, Cranford and 8,000 riders who use the line each day. Roselle Park stations, and arrives in “This additional train is in response Mayor Jardim said the council may muters seeking information had to want to take a look at current restric- Mackie Furniture wait on a line with tourists at the Newark at 9:01 a.m. to requests from the Raritan Valley tions imposed by the town for the Amtrak booth. Passengers who will continue to Rail Coalition and Westfield commut- operation of a private taxi service in • Some new monitors have been travel on to New York will connect ers to fill a gap in service to make our the municipality in terms of fees 320 Somerset Street, North Plainfield installed at Newark and New York with a Northeast Corridor Line train at train service more convenient for com- charged. Penn Stations. 9:06 a.m., and arrive in Manhattan at muters,” he revealed. (908) 756-3274 • An extra mid-afternoon train 9:30 a.m. The new train was made possible by was added to the Raritan Valley Line State Transportation Commissioner completion of the $33 million Hunter westbound schedule for such “holi- and New Jersey Board Chairman James Connection project. The project in- day eves” as Christmas Eve, New Weinstein stated, “The investments we volved realignment of the existing ONLY 4 DAYS! COME EARLY FOR BEST SELECTION! Year’s Eve and the day before Thanks- made in upgrading the Raritan Valley 5,400-foot ramp linking Conrail’s ONLY 4 DAYS! COME EARLY FOR BEST SELECTION! giving. Line infrastructure will now reap op- Lehigh Valley Line with Amtrak’s • NJ Transit has said that in 1999, erational benefits. Northeast Corridor Line. it will refurbish the interiors of the He said the new train has been NJ Transit trains will use the con- train cars used on the Raritan Valley introduced “with no additional per- nection to gain access from the North- Line. sonnel costs and will be a major help east Corridor to the Raritan Valley • A new morning train – serving to working parents, who must catch a Line. The project also included con- points east of Plainfield – has been later train after dropping children off struction of a new 1,700-foot passing at school or at day care facilities.” track. The new alignment will improve promised for early 1999 to reduce the operational flexibility on the line. 52-minute gap between the 8:12 a.m. Acting NJ Transit Executive Direc- GOING OUT Grand Opening ParkPark AvenueAvenue CaféCafé OF BUSINESS! ParkPark AvenueAvenue CaféCafé ALL BOOKS, TOYS, TRAINS, MUSIC, ETC... 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