Frequency of trains should only depend on demand and that's it. If the JSQ trains are packed and the Hoboken trains are empty then they should make the Hoboken trains come less frequently, and the JSQ trains run more frequently.

The Port Authority is SO frustrating.

Years ago, there was much more demand from Hoboken than Jersey City, because there were more people commuting to Manhattan from Hoboken than from anywhere in Jersey City. Now I would say that this is no longer the case.

There should NEVER be a nearly empty train at rush hour, yet it happens all the time. Give some of those Hoboken trains to the JSQ line!

I have never thought of the Hoboken PATH trains as running in concert with NJT. Those trains, like the ones on the JSQ line, run on an arbitrary schedule at fixed intervals.

Quote:

Totally agree but wouldn't that affect connections with NJT trains with Hoboken?

Believe me, nothing pisses me off more than seeing a Hoboken train with empty seats pull into Christopher Street during PM rush hour and then not be able to get onto a JSQ train that follows 5 minutes later.

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yes unfortunately, id say about 90% of people who get on at jsq plan to go to the city, so though HBLR wouldnt hurt, it wouldnt help much either. the PA wont do anything big until its an absolute unusably crowded line and some govt agency forces them too. They arent exactly worried about the needs of customers per se.

"hi is the twin tower in 1. to be built in the area north of JSQ path where there used to be a bunch rundown small shops include KFC, then everything was demolished but nothing ever got built? thanks"

** *

Yes that empty lot that had the Hotel on the Square, McD and KFC. The lot that Mayor Healy promised not once but twice that construction was to begin. (right before his elections)

Agreed about the JSQ PATH lines being close to packed at all hours. In fact, I used to bring my bicycle on board with me in the past, but seldom do so now, as the crowding is such that I am simply inconveniencing too many people and I rather not have to deal with the stares, stink eyes, and such. But, whenever I do bring the bike into the city, I ALWAYS come back via Hoboken. Those trains are almost always empty, even during rush hour.

The PA should modify the rush hour schedules to run two less HOB trains per hour and instead make those JSQ trains.

Quote:

hi is the twin tower in 1. to be built in the area north of JSQ path where there used to be a bunch rundown small shops include KFC, then everything was demolished but nothing ever got built? thanks

If you look at the Google Earth, it is technically possible to extend the HBLR to / near Journal Square. There are currently active and abandoned rail right of ways that could be utilized.

If an extension were possible, it would take some load off the PATH (those not commuting all the to Manhattan).

The design with the bridge reminds me of the Petronas Towers.

I've lived in Van Vorst area for a decade and yes, the trains are exceedingly congested. There are times I cannot get on at Grove Street. The Port Authority has to deal with the onslaught with all the new people moving here in the foreseeable and distant future. I think they are elongating platforms and adding trains at certain stations. They need to increase frequency of trains (if feasible) and hopefully one day PATH will just be consolidated into the MTA.

I take the Path, and for one night each week, I leave at around 10 pm. Swear to GOD the train is packed like as if it was 6 pm. Once JSQ gets developed and more people go live there, it will be a complete nightmare for people who take the Path, as if it wasn't already.

If the end result is anywhere near those renderings, that would be a HUGE boon to the JSQ area. Those glittering buildings will surely drive a huge improvement for all of JSQ. It will also lead to a ton more people riding PATH. As it is, getting a seat at the Newport stop (let alone just getting into the train) is already hard on some days during the height of rush hour. I normally board at Grove and I am always surprised by the amount of people in the trains as late as 10 AM. I can't imagine what the trains will be like in 2020, or 2025.

To clear up any confusion? there are TWO separate projects being talked about in Journal Square in this thread.

Using Stringers posts below..

1 - Renderings released for long-stalled Journal Square twin towers project
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
on March 13, 2014 at 4:47 PM

This one is on the vacant lot across from the Loews that has been empty for 8 years. A two tower project mentioned is called ?City Center Towers?. This project has still not started. The picture is correct.


2- Start of something big
Land cleared to make way for ?J2? development
by Al Sullivan
Reporter staff writer -- Jan 19, 2014

This is the KRE Group three tower project called Journal Square Center Towers, or ?J2? near Pavonia and Summit avenues almost above PATH. This project has started. The picture is not correct.

Renderings released for long-stalled Journal Square twin towers project

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
on March 13, 2014 at 4:47 PM

Is the twin towers project long ago promised for Jersey City?s Journal Square finally on its way?

The towers were proposed years ago for a 1.5-acre lot directly across the street from The Jersey Journal?s old headquarters. Formerly the location of the old Hotel on the Square and some dilapidated stores, the site was cleared after demolition in 2009. Back then, former Mayor Jerramiah Healy said two residential towers would replace them within three years.

Five years and two mayoral elections later, the lot is still vacant, a glaring symbol of the city's inability to restore Journal Square's former glory.

But now there is a small sign of hope that the long-stalled project is back on track, with architectural firm Humphreys & Partners posting new renderings of the proposed development, known as City Center Towers, on its website.

Read more from the Jersey Journal

Start of something big
Land cleared to make way for ?J2? development

by Al Sullivan
Reporter staff writer -- Jan 19, 2014

Although the project has not yet had its official groundbreaking, Journal Square Center Towers, or ?J2? as some call it, has begun with the first series of demolitions near Pavonia and Summit avenues.

?They started taking down the buildings this week,? said Councilman Richard Boggiano, with a note of regret at the loss of a venerable old structure.

The massive project is the next step in revitalizing the area around the Journal Square PATH and bus station, ushering the district into a new era and allowing it to compete with the Jersey City waterfront for prestige as an urban hub.

The City Council voted in November to approve a 30-year tax abatement for the project. The project fulfills a campaign promise Mayor Steven Fulop made last spring when he said his administration would push ahead with long-delayed development in that part of the city.

In 2012, the city Planning Board approved three residential towers to be constructed in an area bordered by Magnolia Way, Summit and Pavonia avenues that was until recently occupied by a number of apartment buildings, a parking lot once used for New Jersey Transit personnel, and a former office building owned by Verizon.

To be constructed by the KRE Group, the project when completed will have 1,840 residential units in three towers ranging from 54 to 70 stories in height, far exceeding any building that currently exists in that part of the city. The KRE group previously built Grove Pointe, a large-scale residential development near the Grove Street PATH Station.

Demolition started just prior to the end of the year, and became more intense after Jan. 1 with the removal of four apartment buildings on Pavonia Avenue.

To be built in phases

The development is expected to be constructed in three parts and will eventually include about 36,000 square feet of retail space and 920 parking spaces. Phase I is expected to be completed and its luxury rental units available within three years, officials said.

This phase will include a 54-story, 540 residential rental unit tower that will include a pedestrian/community space out front similar to Grove Plaza at the Grove Street PATH Station.

Magnolia Way, which currently serves as an access point for workers and others in the transportation hub, will become a plaza.

The final phase is expected to be completed by 2029.

The $666 million total project has been granted a 30-year tax abatement as well as $10 million in bonds that were authorized by the City Council last year. The developers have negotiated annual payments to the city in lieu of taxes, but none will be paid to Hudson County or the local school district.

KRE has also agreed to pay $515,000 to the city annually over 25 years to amortize the $10 million bonds. Also as part of the agreement, KRE has agreed to donate $2.5 million to help restore the Landmark Loew?s Jersey Theatre, located nearby.

City officials said KRE estimates a total of $11.1 million in net annual income once the three towers are complete and fully rented.

Boggiano, who represents the area on the council, said he was somewhat saddened by the loss of one of the apartment buildings, saying that it had been well-maintained. But like many, he saw this as the eventual start of long-needed restoration of a key part of the city.

Although the abatement on the project sparked a lot of debate, moving ahead with the project serves as a primary example of a new philosophy for expanding development projects beyond the downtown and waterfront areas of the city.

Vacant lots of previously demolished buildings on Journal Square became symbols of the city?s inability to restore the one-time hub of business activity, and one of the principle campaign issues during Fulop?s election last May.

Fulop promised during a debate in the Loew?s Theatre prior to the election that he had a plan to get the Journal Square redevelopment back on track.

The KRE project plus others proposed for Journal Square almost guarantee a steady flow of construction and later permanent jobs in the area, as well as the replacement of aging buildings with new, modern and appealing residential and business spaces.

The official groundbreaking is expected to take place once the demolition and cleanup of debris is done, city officials said, most likely within a few weeks.

http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_s ... nt--?instance=jersey_city

http://newyorkyimby.com/2014/03/revealed-city-center-towers.html