| Author | Message | ||
     mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 1846 Registered: 4-2002 |
In this month's gaslight there was a survey to help determine the next jitney route. There is also a link on the village web page ( http://www.southorange.org/news.asp?page=2). For all of those who would consider using the jitney, please try and complete the survey. | ||
| Sheena Christine Col Citizen Username: Sheena_collum Post Number: 5 Registered: 4-2005 |
Hello Mr. Rosner, Please know that the VLC will be passing along your survey. Unfortunately, as you probably have noticed... it's not exactly what I would call "student friendly". A lot of the questions do not really pertain to us. Please pass that along. Sheena | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 1849 Registered: 4-2002 |
Sheena: The grants from NJ Transit for jitneys are given to assist towns in getting commuters to and from the train station. We need to address the routes that will allow us to maximize grant money so we can have more jitneys. There is room for comments on the survey so students (or anyone for that matter) should feel free to put their thoughts in writing regarding the jitneys. As for having a jitney for SHU students, that will require a seperate survey and would need to be done jointly with SHU. I am hopeful that once the DMC is formed, they will address the issue of jitney service for shoppers and students. There will be a representative from SHU on the DMC board. However, the funding for that kind of jitney service would have to come from somewhere and that must be addressed. | ||
| SoOrLady Citizen Username: Soorlady Post Number: 2047 Registered: 9-2003 |
Mark - just a thought, but SHU has many employees who won't give up their parking space for the day, but would welcome the opportunity to lunch off-campus if a jitney was an option. Perhaps local restaurants would help fund it. | ||
| Dan Shelffo Citizen Username: Openspacer Post Number: 150 Registered: 6-2001 |
Perhaps some of those SHU employees could take the train to work in South Orange if they had a way to get from the station to the campus. I realize that they would not be South Orange residents but they would still be NJ commuters and that might make us eligible for more Transit funding. Perhaps the survey should go to all those who work in South Orange to see if a jitney could allow them to take the train into South Orange. | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 1851 Registered: 4-2002 |
Dan: The survey is available to everyone. It is in the gaslight which was sent to every home in S. Orange. As posted above, it is available online. The current jitney route passes by fairly close to SHU and I know of at least one SHU employee who uses the jitney regularly. | ||
| Sheena Collum SHU Citizen Username: Sheena_collum Post Number: 8 Registered: 4-2005  |
I would suggest that to maximize the grant, more SHU stops would be necessary. Yes, more faculty would utilize public transportation as oppose to finding parking anywhere on campus (and in SO for that matter). Even better, the businesses (and apparently ALL BOT candidates) believe it's in the best interest to be bringing students downtown. With all the "redevelopment" that is soon to be coming, all this student interest downtown will generate alot of revenue. It really does help the businesses in S.O. Also, if it was solely meant to get commuters downtown - why did the chamber of commerce come up with a route that included SHU several times and then it never got passed? It seems that SHU, the BOT, and the businesses are all on a different page. Thanks again, Sheena | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 1852 Registered: 4-2002 |
Sheena: The grants from NJ Transit specifically talk about commuters. I do not know what route the chamber of commerce came up with but right now the parking authority is running the jitney program. At one point we would like to run a jitney service for residents and students to be able to get to the downtown without a car. Funding is crucial. Would SHU be interested in sharing in the cost of a jitney? Would the business owners be willing to help subsidize a jitney route? How many people (including students and teachers) will actually use a jitney and give up the convenience of their own car? These questions will be addressed (probably by the DMC) but first we have to use the funding available (NJ Transit grants) to get the jitneys running and that means addressing the needs of commuters. Once we have more jitneys we can expand the services as needed. | ||
| Eliot Spitzer Supporter Username: Doublea Post Number: 1017 Registered: 3-2003 |
Sheena - Perhaps on your part you could start discussing with SHU the possibility of SHU operating a passenger van for its employees and students. I know that Monmouth University uses one of its passenger vans from the Facilities Management Dept. to shuttle its employees from off-campus parking (it uses the parking lot of a church for employee parking) to campus. It seems that such a van would certainly get a lot of use from employees and students. | ||
| cmontyburns Citizen Username: Cmontyburns Post Number: 812 Registered: 12-2003  |
...also get ready for the backlash to people who don't believe Seton Hall should be allowed to share the same air as South Orange Taxpayers, let alone a jitney. (I'm not one of those people, in case you didn't know.) Regardless, seems to be a moot point here, as the town is trying to spend money from a NJ Transit grant aimed at commuters. | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 1853 Registered: 4-2002 |
By the way, I want to add that I am glad SHU has astudent like Sheena who really does want to be a part of the village. She has participated and spoken at meetings and I think it is great that she is looking to get SHU and the village to improve services. If/when we have jitney service that includes SHU as a regular stop, I hope the other students and SHU employees thank Sheena for efforts. | ||
| Eliot Spitzer Supporter Username: Doublea Post Number: 1018 Registered: 3-2003 |
mark/sheena - Does SHU already have any passenger vans that it uses for its sports teams? It just seems like this should be looked into until/if there is jitney service. | ||
| doran Citizen Username: Doran Post Number: 8 Registered: 10-2001 |
Mr. Rosner I have a child who takes the train to Morris County College everyday. She is planning to attend Montclair State Univ. in a couple of years and using the train connection from So. Orange to the Broad Street Station in Newark to Montclair. Would she be considered in the grant from NJ Transit or does the grant only refer to commuters going to jobs not commuters going to schools? | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 1855 Registered: 4-2002 |
Doran: NJ Transit is trying to make it easier for people to get to the train station and use the trains, especially where there is limited parking. They want to know how many people will use a jitney to catch a train (or to get home after arriving by train). My point was they were not providing grant money for a jitney to bring shoppers to a downtown area. | ||
| Sheena Collum SHU Citizen Username: Sheena_collum Post Number: 13 Registered: 4-2005 |
Mr. Rosner: What I nice post! And to think I was under the impression none of BOT folks liked me all that much... However, I still think there a lingering questions about the Jitney that need to be addressed. Let's look at it this way. If the goal of the jitney is to address the problem of "limited parking" - that really doesn't just affect commuters. All people, including SHU students, bring their cars downtown and make parking congested. To maximize the use of the Jitney, would it not be reasonable to assume that people should "use it for anything - just don't bring your car" (to put it bluntly). By limiting the usage of the Jitney to only commuters, you really only addressed one aspect of the problem you initially stated about parking. Again, just some food for thought... | ||
| Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 8258 Registered: 5-2001 |
My daugheter attended college in Chicago. The school ran an extensive van/bus service to accomodate their students. I can look out my office window and see NYU busses shuttling students around. Why does it appear that SHU is dependent on the Village to provide this service? | ||
| e roberts Citizen Username: Wnwd00 Post Number: 346 Registered: 3-2004 |
shu used to have a service called the "shuttle" with several passengar vans however I believe it was suspended in 2001 or 2002 due to a lack of ridership. | ||
| Eliot Spitzer Supporter Username: Doublea Post Number: 1020 Registered: 3-2003 |
sheena - Can you comment on this? | ||
| Jeff DuBowy Supporter Username: Jeffd Post Number: 77 Registered: 11-2003 |
Sheena, As we have discussed it is very important to the success of any Jitney to plan properly and gauge demand. I think SHU should do a survey specific to your demands. Anticipated # of riders, hours needed, what modes of transport currently used, etc. This should be put out to the whole SHU community. As SOPA currently operates the Jitney, your data should be presented to SOPA. As Rosner states - the grant money is for commuter jitneys. I believe the needs of SHU and commuters probably do not overlap - and something could be worked out. I once again encourage all to attend a SO Parking Authority meeting if there are questions. Our meeting are hardly ever attended by the public, yet there is much discussion about parking and jitneys in the community. As we have previoulsy also discussed. There is currently limited jitney service available to SHU. The current ridership is lacking - is this do to lack of interest or advertising? We need to work together if this is to be successful. jeff dubowy www.jeffdubowy.com | ||
| cmontyburns Citizen Username: Cmontyburns Post Number: 813 Registered: 12-2003 |
By the way: There is a jitney stop pretty close to the main entrance to Seton Hall, on Central Ave. Depending on where you live on campus, however, it could be faster just to walk downtown. Another limitation of the jitneys is that they only run for a few hours each day. I realize this is to some extent the point -- ferry people between the train station during rush hour. But it does mean they're not a great choice for "getting more people downtown." |
