N.J. commuters hog our park-and-rides while we're banned from their roads

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

http://www.silive.com/expo/erry-2018/03/7b93fb23bd/new_jersey_commuters_hog_our_p.html

New Jersey doesn't want New York drivers on their roads?

Fine. We don't want New Jersey commuters in our park-and-rides.

Go down to the two park-and-ride lots at Huguenot Avenue and  Drumgoole Road East any workday and you'll see what I mean. One New  Jersey license plate after another, including a veritable conga line of  them on Drumgoole Road itself.

Here's the drill: The Jersey drivers pop over the bridge and park so  they can jump on the X17 and X19 express buses at Drumgoole Road.  Frequently, we're told, they take the Staten Island Railway back to  Huguenot station at night to pick up their cars.

These are our park-and-rides. Paid for with our tax money. And did I mention that the spots are free?  So these New Jersey drivers are really making out on the deal. They  must feel like real heroes when they pass this information among their  friends back in the Garden State.

On a recent workday, I counted 21 cars with New Jersey plates in the lot that's closest to the train station. 

At the newer lot across Drumgoole, there were 76.

But the real revelation came when I walked down Drumgoole Road itself. 

Out of the 46 cars I counted parked there, 36 of them had New Jersey  plates. So clearly the secret is out. But wait, it gets better.

It's not just the park-and-ride spots that get taken up. New Jersey  commuters are also taking up precious parking spots on several  neighborhood streets within walking distance of the express bus stop and the train station.

Sure enough, we counted a total of 41 cars with New Jersey plates on  streets like West Terrace, Ellsworth Avenue, Ashland Avenue East and  Hawley Avenue. This is a neighborhood where parking is at a premium. The  area is not only near mass transit and the Korean War Veterans Memorial  Parkway, but also a public library branch and the Huguenot town center itself.

"Here is my bone of contention," neighborhood resident Carmen Barone  told me. "Many Sunday nights after taking my family to the Jersey beach,  or picking pumpkins, I have to sit in traffic for sometimes hours  because our Jersey neighbors won't allow us to use their side streets to  navigate our way to the bridges ... But I will bet you  dollars-to-donuts that the residents in the Jersey towns near the  bridges are the same people who are parking all day in front of my house  and taking the train or bus to Manhattan."

He said, "If the Jersey police don't allow N.Y. plated vehicles to access the bridges  from neighboring town's side streets, why do we allow Jersey plated  vehicles to park for 10 hours on Staten Island side streets?"

Good question. We all know how seriously people on Staten Island take  their parking spaces. Bad enough when a neighbor parks in the space in  front of your house. But an interloper from New Jersey? This aggression cannot stand.

City Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) has also been among the outraged.

"It's  just fundamentally unfair," he told me. "They are using our free  park-and-rides, using our taxpayer-subsidized express buses and, as a  thanks, prohibiting Staten Islanders from using their roads. It's a  shame that it has come to this and that we are essentially powerless."

This interstate battle started last summer, you'll recall, when Perth  Amboy police blocked exits off of Route 440 near the Outerbridge  Crossing. The reason? Too many New York cars returning from the Jersey  Shore or shopping trips were using local roads as shortcuts, causing traffic in town.

Then Leonia, N.J., banned out-of-town vehicles from using their roads  as a shortcut to the George Washington Bridge, imposing a $200 fine on  nonresidents.

It's pretty selfish of our Garden State friends, but so be it.

But they should also walk the walk and keep out of our park-and-ride  areas. Because while we may cause some temporary traffic on their roads,  their drivers are taking up spots in our parking lots all day long.

Better yet, New Jersey should relax and let us come and go on their roads as we please.

[checkmatechamp13]

People are driving from Leonia to Huguenot to reach Manhattan? Must be some people trying to fan the X17 

It would help if NJT provided direct Downtown service from that part of NJ (I suggested the 115 to Downtown via the HOV lane on I-278 or Holland Tunnel depending on traffic). Not sure what Academy offers on Route 9 but the NJT bus and train routes only go to NYP/PABT

[Gotham Bus Co.]

Maybe some of them are Staten Island residents who fraudulently register their cars in New Jersey. It's been known to happen in other parts of the city. 

(About one-quarter of all accidents involving Pennsylvania-registered cars happen in Brooklyn.)

[trainfan22]

Aren't all the NJ - SI bridges toll bridges? NJ residents are paying a toll to enter or leave SI just to use MTA express buses, if I was them I'd just stick it out with NJT to avoid paying those tolls.

[checkmatechamp13]

22 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

Aren't all the NJ - SI bridges toll bridges? NJ residents are paying a toll to enter or leave SI just to use MTA express buses, if I was them I'd just stick it out with NJT to avoid paying those tolls.

NJT fares are higher than MTA fares and the service is generally less frequent. For example, NJT costs $12.25 from Perth Amboy to NYP (the bus to PABT is slightly cheaper at $10.75) and it doesn't offer transfers like the subway. Monthly passes are cheaper per-trip ($267 for a bus pass or $353 for a train pass) but still more expensive than the MTA with more limited destinations and less frequent service.

[B35 via Church]

I'll spare the rant for now, because I can easily go IN on this one.....

50 minutes ago, Gotham Bus Co. said:

Maybe some of them are Staten Island residents who fraudulently register their cars in New Jersey. It's been known to happen in other parts of the city. 

(About one-quarter of all accidents involving Pennsylvania-registered cars happen in Brooklyn.)

Wouldn't doubt it, but at the same time, I'm inclined to believe that a lot of them are actually Jersey residents utilizing NYCT express routes - exuding the mindset of, since some of them "travel on our roads we pay taxes for" (referring to the via NJ expresses) we may as well benefit from them.. Hee hee 

1 hour ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

People are driving from Leonia to Huguenot to reach Manhattan? Must be some people trying to fan the X17 

It would help if NJT provided direct Downtown service from that part of NJ (I suggested the 115 to Downtown via the HOV lane on I-278 or Holland Tunnel depending on traffic). Not sure what Academy offers on Route 9 but the NJT bus and train routes only go to NYP/PABT

Academy has a route 9 route called "route 9" that runs to Wall st.... Ends somewhere on the other side of the Lake, south of Lakewood terminal....

[Future ENY OP]

4 hours ago, Gotham Bus Co. said:

Maybe some of them are Staten Island residents who fraudulently register their cars in New Jersey. It's been known to happen in other parts of the city. 

(About one-quarter of all accidents involving Pennsylvania-registered cars happen in Brooklyn.)

..... You may want to add Queens into the equation. However, you are accurate with the PA plates in Brooklyn. Also, Virginia and Florida. 

[traildriver]

There may already be some regulations that could help the situation, if only they were enforced...not sure....

If not, city ordnances could be enacted to limit park and ride parking to local permit holder's only...the same with street parking.   I haven't seen this in any of the borough's, but do see it frequently in various parts of Nassau County....    

You can 'lobby' your local city councilperson, if you feel strongly enough about it....

[Lil 57]

On 3/14/2018 at 8:03 PM, Gotham Bus Co. said:

Maybe some of them are Staten Island residents who fraudulently register their cars in New Jersey. It's been known to happen in other parts of the city. 

(About one-quarter of all accidents involving Pennsylvania-registered cars happen in Brooklyn.)

that's illegal and people that register their cars not in the state they live in can get into trouble if caught.

[BreeddekalbL]

How long till someone sues leonia saying their ban is unconstitutional?

[Gotham Bus Co.]

10 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

that's illegal and people that register their cars not in the state they live in can get into trouble if caught.

Except that nobody gets caught, so it is (effectively) legal.

[P3F]

11 hours ago, BreeddekalbL said:

How long till someone sues leonia saying their ban is unconstitutional?

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/02/01/leonia-traffic-ban-lawsuit/

[mfs NJT459]

Isn't it true that some SI Commuters park their cars at 22nd or 34th St HBLR stations or take the S89 bus to 34th St for the HBLR to the PATH?

[checkmatechamp13]

11 hours ago, mfs NJT459 said:

Isn't it true that some SI Commuters park their cars at 22nd or 34th St HBLR stations or take the S89 bus to 34th St for the HBLR to the PATH?

Yes, it is true. Which makes it even more stupid (It's one small town banning non-resident drivers, not the entire state). Bayonne or Central NJ (Perth Amboy, Woodbridge, and all those other areas by the Outerbridge that have residents using the Huguenot station) have nothing to do with it.

[bobtehpanda]

9 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

Yes, it is true. Which makes it even more stupid (It's one small town banning non-resident drivers, not the entire state). Bayonne or Central NJ (Perth Amboy, Woodbridge, and all those other areas by the Outerbridge that have residents using the Huguenot station) have nothing to do with it.

It should also be noted that this is one small town banning people who don't also live in their small town. It isn't state discrimination. But leave it to Staten Islanders to make an issue about themselves.