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| View from East Milton Avenue |
A new extended stay hotel is taking shape off Routes 1 and 9, with signage recently going up for the Home2 Suites by Hilton.
Tag Archives: Routes 1/9
Hotel taking shape off Routes 1/9
A hotel that broke ground early this year is taking shape along East Milton Avenue, just off Routes 1/9. The four-story complex, adjacent to Best Western on Paterson Street and abutting Lennington Street, is slated to become a 93-unit Home2Suites by Hilton.
Continue reading Hotel taking shape off Routes 1/9
Red light cameras still capturing violations
The state’s suspension of the red light camera system isn’t stopping Rahway from capturing violators because the city’s two cameras had been in compliance, according to Police Chief John Rodger. State Department of Transportation officials said 63 of the 85 cameras in the state had not been tested to check that yellow lights were timed correctly (one second for every 10 miles per hour), according to this report from nj.com last month.
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| St. Georges Ave at Maple Ave |
Rodger said the state’s blanket suspension of the red light program doesn’t affect Rahway because the timing of the city’s existing cameras (at Routes 1/9 at East Milton Avenue and St. Georges Avenue at Maple Avenue) were certified. Violations are still being captured — as they are in other towns that are in compliance — and once the suspension is lifted, violations will be issued. Rodger said the department has 90 days to issue a violation and expects the statewide suspension to be lifted shortly. He estimated about 1,000 violations monthly at Rahway’s two intersections.
Meanwhile, two more cameras are set to be installed later this summer, at Inman and St. Georges Avenues and Routes 1/9 and East Grand Avenue. After a 30-day test and evaluation period, Rodger expects they could be operational by sometime in September.
The $55 fine is split between Union County and Rahway, which receives another $18.50 for court fees (for a total $46). An additional $55 goes to the State Highway Trust Fund, according to Rodger, and the Safe Corridor violation (along Routes 1&9) is $140.
Frame of new hotel rises along Routes 1&9
The skeleton of a new hotel that broke ground earlier this year is beginning to take shape along Routes 1&9 near Lennington Street.
New hotel finally breaks ground off Routes 1/9
A new hotel just off Routes 1&9 finally broke ground last month.
A four-story, 93-unit Candlewood Suites gained approval from the Planning Board in March 2009, which was later changed to become a Home2 Suites by Hilton extended stay hotel. Originally, the plan was to construct a Sleep Inn just off Routes 1&9 at the corner of East Milton Avenue and Lennington Street.
The vacant 4.4-acre site was acquired in June 2008 for $2.35 million and currently pays about $6,000 in property taxes as two parcels (Block 338, Lots 3.01 and 3.02).
The city continues to see increased revenues from the local hotel tax enacted almost a decade ago. About $55,000 was realized in the transitional year 2011 budget, covering July to October 2011. Pro-rated, that would be about $110,000, compared to $103,000 in Fiscal Year 2011, $99,000 in 2010, $58,000 in 2009 and $36,000 in 2008, according to municipal budget documents.
The state imposes a 5-percent hotel tax and municipalities are allowed to impose an additional levy of their own of as much as 3 percent. The hotel tax was created during the McGreevey administration in 2003 and Rahway enacted the local tax effective Nov. 1, 2003.
Routes 1/9 red light cameras in effect
Two years after getting state approval, the city has installed red light traffic cameras on Routes 1&9 and East Milton Avenue.
The cameras went into effect Aug. 11 after a warning phase in July. Construction is supposed to start this week on cameras at St. Georges and Maple avenues, according to Police Chief John Rodger.
A survey by the Police Department at the time state approval was sought indicated as many as 60 violations per hour at Routes 1/9-East Milton Avenue, or almost 200 a day.
8/24 UPDATE: Based on 3,000 violations per month, Rahway would receive $1.6 million in revenue each year from paid violations, according to Rodger. Originally, both intersections combined were projected at 3,200 violations per month but he said Route 1 is far exceeding initial estimates and may do 3,000 monthly on its own. Some drop-off would be expected as people get acclimated, he said. Projections for the next applications the city will submit are close to 200 per day and 150 per day, respectively, though Rodger declined identify those until they are approved.
The $55 fine is split between the county and city, which receives another $18.50 for court fees (for a total $46). An additional $55 goes to the State Highway Trust Fund, according to Rodger, and the Safe Corridor violation (along Routes 1&9) is $140.
The vendor, which is responsible for equipment, software and notification costs, will receive monthly fees of $18,200 for East Milton and $17,000 for Maple, with the city and county splitting the total $35,200 monthly fee ($422,000 annually).
Beware of red light cameras coming soon
Red light cameras could be up and in use sometime next month at two Rahway intersections: Routes 1&9 and East Milton Avenue, and St. Georges and Maple avenues. There would be a 30-day “warning phase” after installation, to get the public accustomed to them before tickets are issued, according to Police Chief John Rodger. He expects them to be installed at some point next month.
Improvements spotted at Kings Inn
It looks like some long-awaited improvements got under way this month at the Kings Inn Motel that ultimately will turn it into a Super 8.
It’s been almost a year since the Redevelopment Agency reassigned the redevelopment agreement on the site along Route 1&9. The plan at that time was to turn the building into a Motel 6 but is now back to a Super 8.
Director of Community Development Cynthia Solomon confirmed that the permits have all been approved but no word on a timeline for completion.
A Howard Johnson had been planned to replace the Kings Inn two years ago before that plan fell through and at one point there was a proposal for an addition as a Super 8. (Thanks to all the eagle-eyed readers who tipped me off to the activity at the Kings Inn site.)
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A story in NJ Biz last month detailed how a Newark nonprofit uses GPS-based bar code system to allow staff, and the public, to send alerts on damaged downtown improvements. It also can “help users locate parking garages, stores, restaurants and parks in the area.”