BAYONNE — In time, it could be one of the most exhilarating and unusual rides from New Jersey. But first things first. Before there can be a rail connection between New Jersey and Staten Island via the famed Bayonne Bridge, NJ Transit today opened the nearby 8th Street Station in Bayonne and continued Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service on a...
BAYONNE — In time, it could be one of the most exhilarating and unusual rides from New Jersey.
But first things first.
Before there can be a rail connection between New Jersey and Staten Island via the famed Bayonne Bridge, NJ Transit today opened the nearby 8th Street Station in Bayonne and continued Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service on a 1-mile extension beyond the light rail’s previous southernmost boundary at 22nd Street.
Possibilities down the tracks include extending the service to Staten Island over the Bayonne Bridge, which will be lifted to allow taller cargo ships to pass under.
"That would be phenomenal," said Bayonne Council President Terry Ruane, who as a youngster used to take his bicycle over the distinctive bridge, the longest steel arch span in the world when it was completed in 1931. "The Port Authority has been floating the idea. But we’re going to go one step at a time."
And to the students, politicians and rail advocates who gathered outside the new station at 8th Street and Avenue C today, the latest step was a giant one.
Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith was in high school when that part of downtown Bayonne waved goodbye to train service nearly 33 years ago. "The last time a train rolled out of here was in August of 1978, headed for Cranford and points west," he said.
For 113 years previously, Smith said, Bayonne had been part of the reliable Jersey Central railroad system that linked the state.
Suddenly, in 1978, Smith said, "connectivity from the city of Bayonne to the rest of the state had been lost. Our ability to get to places like the Jersey Shore, Cranford and points west, gone forever — or so we thought. We were truly isolated."
Now, for $2.10, a rider can hop on a light rail train at 8th Street and be at the bustling Hoboken Terminal transportation hub a half-hour later. The 24-station line, which began service in 2000, continues to North Bergen, and plans are in place to extend it north to Bergen County.
"Bayonne may be the Peninsula City, but it is fully connected today," said U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).
The system’s newest customer is Mary Tremitiedi, principal of the Holy Family Academy, a couple of blocks from the new station. She has been driving from Hoboken to the school, but will instead take the light rail, as will many of her students.
Joined by students wearing their school uniforms, Tremitiedi also said extending the rail line from Bayonne to Staten Island could help expand the student body of her school.
Others touted the increased property values, less stressful transport to school or work and the light rail’s green benefits — environmentally and financially. The new station was designed as a walking station for residents in the immediate area, but there also is a so-called "Kiss and Ride" area with 10 short-term parking spaces for riders wanting to get dropped off or picked up at the station.
A mural of Bayonne by Richard Haas adorns the entrance of the new station, part of the $100 million project.
In a snow-weary city where plowed-out parking spaces were at a premium, U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-13th Dist.) said: "Days like this, it just proves our point that we need the train to get around, we need the light rail to get around."
The new station was dedicated to the late Bob Burrows, a longtime Bayonne community servant and light-rail advocate.