Vernon council approves study to bring mass transit to township

VERNON-The Vernon Township Council unanimously passed a resolution on Sept. 26, in which council members resolved to explore all available options regarding a countywide bus and rail system, as well as a local Vernon Township transportation plan. “With a population of over 26,000 and an area of 68 square miles, Vernon is the largest town in the county, and the people deserve a good public transportation system,” said Mayor Ira Weiner. The resolution also affirms Vernon’s support for the county’s efforts to convert the current freight train line to a passenger rail system. According to Sussex County Chamber of Commerce studies, more than 66 percent of County residents travel to work outside the county, with perhaps four percent or more traveling to Manhattan. Options include establishing a NJ Transit bus stop in Vernon, implementing shuttle bus service to the park and ride lots in Warwick, N.Y.; reactivating the park-and-ride lot near Veteran’s Park on Vernon Crossing Road; and possibly restoring commuter rail service on the old Lackawanna tracks through Vernon Crossing. The classic Vernon train station at the Crossing is now a successful delicatessen. Today, Vernonites wanting to catch a bus to Manhattan or to destinations along the Route 23 corridor must travel either to Warwick or to the intersection of routes 23 and 515 in Stockholm. Improved public transportation has been a key issue for recently appointed Vernon Councilman Austin Carew, who attended the Sussex County Planning Board on Sept. 28, where the county’s freeholders reviewed a 10-year, 135-page mobility study for the area comprising Warren, Hunterdon, Somerset, Sussex and Morris counties. Passaic County, which has a Democratic government, is soon to be added, according to Sussex County Freeholder Susan Zellman. At a meeting earlier in September, Carew had remarked that the gas-price crisis is a fitting moment to talk about bringing better public transportation to Vernon. “The price of gas has increased over 70 percent in the past 12 months. . . and there is significant potential demand for public transportation to and from Vernon by both residents and tourists,” Carew said. NJ Transit provides 22 buses per day from Warwick to New York City; the Stockholm bus stop offers five. Warwick is the terminus for the route, which winds through Greenwood Lake via Route 17A and also stops at the Willowbrook Mall. “Why shouldn’t the Warwick bus service be extended to included Vernon?” Carew asked. Carew has been talking with Freeholder Director Glen Vetrano about Vernon’s plight, suggesting that part of the five-county mobility study be devoted to a study of the township’s transportation needs. “I was driving around town this weekend and thinking that part of what we are looking to do is to integrate rail service,” said councilman Neil Desmond. “The common artery that bisects township is Vernon Crossing road, and a large segment of our residents use that road. “ Maybe Don [Teolis] and Lou [Kneip, township engineer] could start thinking about establishing a park-and-ride, at a location that’s accessible to the majority of the township.” “I agree that getting the train service reactivated would be a good idea,” said Carew. “I recently talked with the freeholders about adding more bus stops. We should approach the issue by forming a position that defines what is it that Vernon needs to do, what components does a proposed plan have, and what does the state need from Vernon.” In an interview on Sunday, Freeholder Zellman remarked that it is critical to find out what information NJ Transit would need to have from Vernon in order to consider adding a new bus stop. “I know NJ Transit’s executive director George Warrington through a professional association to which we both belong, and I’ve been talking with him informally about what kinds of ridership and other studies NJ Transit would need to have,” she said. Zellman remarked that in the transportation world, “short-term” means five years, “medium-term” 10 years, and “long-term” 25 years. Re-establishing rail services in the county would cost millions of dollars and would be at least a medium-term project and more likely a long-term one. Among the short-term ways to help commuters are better signage identifying the location of park-and-ride lots and increased promotion of such services as TransOptions, a ride-matching program, whose president John Ciaffone says that he doesn’t see why more people don’t give carpooling a try. Deputy Mayor Janet Morrison noted that the township has many goals other than getting people to and from New York. Not only should there be a way to get a person from Vernon to Newton and back, there ought to be a way for people to use public transportation to traverse the 68 square miles that comprise the township, Morrison said. “Establishing some stops through the town would be a good goal to have. A lot of people would like to ride the bus to the town center,” Morrison continued. “My daughter wants to work, and I’m not home to drive her to a job,” said Mayor Ira Weiner. Among the plans county officials are considering are the creation of a shuttle bus line from locations in Sussex County to the NJ Transit train station Dover in Morris County. Also being examined is the expansion of the intra-county bus service to include a line down the Route 94 between Newton and Vernon; enlarging the Blue Heron park-and-ride in Sparta; and restoring the Lackawanna Cutoff rail line.