October - November 2002 Edition 

Broadway Parking  By Chris Neidenberg Mayor David L. Ganz said recently that the governing body has no timetable for finalizing a comprehensive study and report of parking needs in the Broadway region, adding that it wants to make sure the study is  carefully performed before conclusions are drawn. He was referring to a study the Borough Council commissioned recently  with Broadway Associates (via allocating a maximum $28,000) to survey needs along the very busy roadway - the borough's part of Route 4 - and adjoining side streets. The region has been the focus of controversy ever since the council considered in 1999  a sweeping proposal from the Englewood company, Treeco Development Corporation. Treeco pitched a massive and sweeping plan to significantly redevelop a major area of the corridor with new real estate  developments such as stores and even senior citizen housing. The plan was subsequently withdrawn due to massive opposition from residents in the region. Subsequently, the council created and appointed members to the Broadway Advisory Committee (BAC), which studied the corridor's needs and issued  a final report that included some parking recommendations. The council  has yet to act on the recommendations, though the municipality has addressed rezoning issues concerning this area and held a hearing on the subject  in 2001. The issue of Broadway's future remains an open one, even though the Treeco plan is dead. "If Broadway is going to be developed responsibly at all," the mayor explained, "an analysis of the area's parking needs, and any program that could be recommended as a result, are critical to that."  The mayor said that Broadway Associates' final report could recommend establishing additional facilities/space in the area or maintaining the status quo, depending on the type of redevelopment plan the borough might implement (and its effect on traffic). That is, if local elected officials indeed ultimately decide to take such a route. In panning the Treeco proposal three years ago, critics asserted that only modest initiatives  - such as improved maintenance and upkeep of properties - were needed.  During the tenure of the since-departed Borough Manager Barbara Sacks,  the muniipality and BAC even reviewed the possibility of creating a new  parking lot near the Broadway train station with New Jersey Transit (NJT) as a  way to improve the station (which NJT flirted with closing in 1999) and the area's business climate. The station was cited as a potential asset in  an earlier report on Broadway, prepared by the professional planning firm, Heyer and Gruel Associates. "You don't want to impose a deadline on completing a study like this (Broadway Associates) because you need to do a thorough analysis on all the alternatives before making any final recommendations," Ganz said, speaking earlier in August. "They need to take their time in carefully considering all the issues." As for the status of the BAC, the mayor said, "It is currently not active."   Note: Mr. Neidenberg is a talented local writer looking for a job. If you have a job tip for him, send an e- mail to chrisneidenberg@hotmail.com