By BRIAN ABERBACK

This article originally appeared in the Bergen Record on August 8, 2004.

RAMSEY - The backlash was swift and strong when NJ Transit announced two years ago that it would build a regional train station along Route 17 at the northern end of Island Road.

Residents in the Island Road/Finch Park area had complained about traffic in their neighborhood long before the $39 million project came into play. Many have said they're wary of letting their children walk to the park because of traffic congestion and speeding. The busy roadway is an outlet to Route 17.

So when residents heard a regional rail hub with a five-story, 1,251-space parking garage was coming, they predicted an all-out traffic nightmare. NJ Transit's assurances that the station wouldn't significantly increase the volume of traffic on Island Road did little to allay skepticism.

Now, with the station set to open Aug. 22, some residents see a brighter future for the neighborhood.

The Island Road/Finch Park Traffic Calming Committee has worked the past year with a non-profit planning agency to prepare a host of recommendations that they say would ease traffic and improve the quality of life in the area.

We got a lot of community input," said committee chairman Joe Carey, an Island Road resident. "The train station will have more impact on the borough than anything that's been done in the past 25 years."

Cutting down on speeding and easing traffic flow isn't an end in itself, Carey said. The group also wants to make a more pedestrian-friendly neighborhood by building new sidewalks, fixing old ones, and adding more crosswalks.

Committee member Linda Dunne said most drivers don't view Island Road as a residential street. "The cars just don't stop for pedestrians," Dunne said. "I think it's really important that we can walk around as pedestrians and feel safe."

The report, submitted to NJ Transit last month, also suggests narrowing road width to reduce speed. For instance, the study recommends that the turning radius be reduced at three areas: Island Road onto the Spring Street bridge, Island Road onto Church Street, and North Central Avenue onto Gertzen Plaza.

"The way these curves work, you can coast through the turns without ever touching the brake," Carey said. "We want to make them into 90-degree-angle turns." That could be done in the short-term using plastic stakes or other moveable barriers in the middle of the road, Carey said. Curb extensions and landscaping work would provide a permanent solution, he said.

NJ Transit hired Project Public Spaces to work with the Island Road Committee as part of the agency's promise to help address residents' concerns associated with the station. An NJ Transit spokeswoman said the report is under review and that NJ Transit officials hope to meet with the borough in the next couple of months.

Cynthia Nikitin, Project Public Spaces assistant vice president, lauded the Ramsey group's commitment and level of detail in preparing the study.

"They're the most activist-minded, intelligent group I've ever worked with," Nikitin said. "Every community should have such devoted, visionary residents."

Among the recommendations listed in the report:

• Install a sidewalk on the south side of Gertzen Plaza immediately after the intersection with North Central Avenue. Widen the sidewalk on the north side of Gertzen Plaza.
• Widen the sidewalk along Finch Park by moving it farther into the park. Build a decorative guardrail for further protection of pedestrians. Expand and landscape existing buffers.
• Make sure all crosswalks in the area connect to sidewalks. Some do not.
• Build sidewalks on Island Road leading to Tisdale Elementary School.
• Improve sidewalks, bicycle routes, and crosswalks on both sides of Island Road near the Spring Street intersection that lead to the new station to encourage riders to use alternative means to reach the station.
• Put new crosswalks on Church Street at the entrance to Finch Park, at the T intersection of Island and Church, and at the intersection of Amanda Court and Island Road.
• Install a pressure plate on Ferguson Place that will trigger the new traffic light at Spring Street and Island Road, making it easier for residents to leave their block.

The report doesn't address the cost of the improvements, but they would likely run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Carey said. Because most of the work recommended is on borough streets, the town would be responsible for a large chunk of the price.

Carey said there are many federal, state, and county grants that the town could take advantage of to offset costs.

Mayor Richard Muti said the borough public safety committee would be reviewing the report this month. "I think they've made a number of very good suggestions," Muti said of the Island Road group. "We want to make that roadway more pedestrian friendly and many of the ideas I think will eventually be adopted."

Muti said it could take several years to implement all of the suggestions.

Police Chief Bryan Gurney also supports the report. He added that there would be an increased police presence in the area once the station opens.

NJ Transit said it had to build the station to handle an expected increase in ridership now that the Secaucus Junction transfer station is open. That station provides a quicker commute to midtown Manhattan than the PATH station in Hoboken.