Be still my heart, it looks like there’s a possibility that the stairs at the Train Station could be repaired by spring.

A recent addition to the board blocking access to the center stairs, near the taxi stand, is a poster that reads similarly as this station advisory on the NJ Transit website (though neither are dated specifically (so let’s hope it’s not a stretch that I’m assuming it means mean May 2011):

“The stairway serving the center of the inbound/eastbound platform (near the elevator) remains closed for necessary repairs. NJ Transit is working through the required permit process and expects construction to begin mid-March and continue through early May.”

An April 2, 2010 advisory noted that the stairs would be closed until further notice for “necessary repairs.” A year later and it would appear the “necessary repairs” were slowed up by the permit process, necessary approvals and paperwork. Just a guess, as there’s no word from NJT.

The most information I could come up with were in the comments to this blog post last year, where readers posted the responses they got from NJT’s customer service: Something about a re-design and approval required from the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA). Who knows, maybe it had to re-bid as well, which would cost a few months at least. I say, let’s have an anniversary party.

It’s about the slowest week of the year so you’ll forgive me for posting about the center stairs at the train station — which have been closed for most of this year without any tangible evidence of any repairs whatsoever. Two emails this summer to NJ Transit inquiring about the stairs have not been answered.

There’s this station advisory dated April 2 indicating the stairs will be closed “until further notice for necessary repairs.”

I shared the elevator with a frustrated rider on Saturday afternoon who also was amazed by the slow pace of the elevator.

The Garwood Borough Council recently adopted an ordinance that “prohibits monetary and in-kind donations and pledges by redevelopers ‘to any Garwood candidate or holder of public office…having responsibility for arranging, entering into, or approving a redevelopment agreement on or appointing those who enter into the agreement on behalf of the municipality.'”
According to the Cranford Chronicle story on nj.com, the mayor and borough attorney said the measure wasn’t related to any redevelopment plan but part of “an overall effort to prevent conflicts in development in the future.”