The Ocean County Board of Freehold-ers recently reaffirmed its commitment to help bring passenger rail service to Lake-wood.
"We are still the fastest growing county in New Jersey. Today more than ever before, we need this rail line," Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said.
The proposed Monmouth-Ocean-Mid-dlesex (MOM) passenger rail line would link Lakewood to the Northeast Corridor Line and provide service to northern New Jersey and New York.
Freeholder James J. Mancini said rail service is the only way to provide transportation to Ocean County’s commuters without placing more traffic on Route 9 and the Garden State Parkway.
"It’s been talked about for years; now let’s get it done," Mancini said.
Vicari sent a letter to New Jersey Transportation Commissioner James Fox expressing the county’s total support for the project.
"I can assure you that the MOM project has been, and will continue to be, one of the top regional transportation priorities for this Board of Freeholders," Vicari said in the letter.
The state is working on an environmental impact statement for the rail line and is studying several possible routes for the trains.
Vicari also expressed concern that the state could return to its earlier view that the county’s transportation needs can be met by adding more buses to Route 9.
"The last thing we need are more buses clogging Route 9 and polluting the air," Vicari said.