Expect increased enforcement of the parking restrictions beneath the train trestle on West Milton Avenue.

The barricades that had been in place for weeks were put up before Sept. 11 because of an increased threat level, according to Police Chief John Rodger. Once the county repainted the area last week (after the accompanying photo was taken), the barricades were removed. Rodger said police now will be strictly enforcing the parking restrictions under the trestle were many motorists idle, waiting to pick up railroad passengers.

In a brief interview after a recent City Council meeting, Rodger made the point that while there hasn’t been any specific threat to the Rahway Train Station, the many tracks traversing that trestle are a vital transportation link that includes Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor to Washington, D.C.

We’ve mentioned Walk Score in the past (way back when — an early post) and the Seattle-based organization recently released the top Walk Scores among city’s around the country. Rahway ranked 21st within New Jersey, with a Walk Score of 69 (just ahead of Linden, 67, and behind Elizabeth, 72, in Union County). For whatever reason, Rahway’s score is down from 74 a few years ago. The highest Walk Scores for New Jersey’s cities were found in Hudson County: Hoboken and Union City (92), West New York (90) and Jersey City (85).

The Atlantic had a story this month (Why Walkable Cities Aren’t Always the Ones You’d Think”) by Richard Florida, who analyzed the stats. He said the factors involved in walkability “are leading to something of a convergence across America’s best neighborhoods, a morphing of what we used to think of as suburban versus city life. More and more of our most desirable suburban communities look more like cities, with bustling town centers alive with pedestrian life, while our best city neighborhoods have taken on many of the characteristics we used to see as the province of suburbs: good schools, green spaces, safe streets, and family life.”