Ridgewood Parking Garage Referendum Approved For November Ballot

Voters will get a chance to decide if the village should bond up to $15 million to construct a new parking garage on Hudson Street.

The Village Council approved placing a non-binding referendum on the November ballot asking residents if they support building the parking garage.

The bonded funds will be paid for ”principally — if not entirely — with parking revenues,” the ballot question states.

The referendum states:

“Do you support a proposal to finance and build a downtown parking garage on the Hudson Street lot — located on the corner of Hudson Street and South Broad Street — by bonding up to $15 million in public funds, which will be paid for principally — if not entirely — with parking revenues.”

The project would be funded from one or more of the following sources: The Village’s Parking Utility, Bergen County, and the state, including New Jersey Transit.

Parking revenues would be used to pay off debt associated with the project.

The results of a recent independent study show that a self-parking style garage would “satisfy most parking demands” while costing an estimated $11 to $12 million. An automated garage — one with machines that would place vehicles into individual slots — would cost more,estimated $17 to $24 million, but have more parking spaces.

Officials anticipate that a five-level self-parking garage would add 274 parking spaces to the 76 that currently exist on Hudson Street while a four-level garage would add 201 spaces. Automated parking garages could provide an additional 318 or 322 spaces.

This interpretive statement will also appear on the ballot:

“This non-binding referendum seeks to gague public sentiment regarding the development of a multi-level parking garage at the intersection of Hudson Street and South Broad Street. The purpose of the garage would be to provide additional parking options for commuters as well as Ridgewood residents and visitors, who are shopping and dining and utilizing services available in the central business district. Funding for the garage would come from one or more of the following soures: The Village Parking Utility, the County of Bergen, and the State of New Jersey, including New Jersey Transit.

It is anticipated that the parking garage would provide a net increase of about 300 spaces at this location, while having no negative impact on local property taxes. (Parking revenues would be used to pay off debt associated with the project.)“