In response to last week’s article about possible development near the Secaucus Junction train station, a New Jersey Meadowlands Commission spokesperson contacted the Campaign to emphasize that the housing element of the development would be a short walk or bike ride from the station, making mass transit readily available. Further, he suggested that the Commission could use its "zoning authority – over parking for example – to channel use of the site toward car-alternatives." The extent of the parking supply would indeed heavily condition any development’s car dependence.

The Commission also defended the concept study – which will be reviewed by Secaucus residents and the public in general – as a vision for redeveloping brown-fields and protecting the existing wetlands. He said the study calls for preserving 114 acres of wetlands in the study area.

But the overall question remains: is it appropriate to build a large-scale development in the heart of the Meadowlands? The brown-fields in the vicinity could be rehabilitated as natural areas and state infrastructure spending could be focused on transit villages in existing population centers.

Transit Village or Swamp Thing? September 29, 2003

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