Commuter parking lot
planned for Sayreville
BY JOLENE HART
Staff Writer
SAYREVILLE — Efforts to alleviate a shortage of commuter parking for borough residents may fall to Sayreville Economic and Redevelopment (SERA) commissioners if a Raritan Street redevelopment area is targeted for a commuter lot.
The Raritan Street site, near the intersection of Washington Road, is one of a handful of sites being considered for the commuter lot, a necessity as far as officials are concerned. One other option for the lot is at Main Street and Crossman Road.
The Raritan Street site will likely be chosen for the lot, according to SERA Executive Director Randy Corman.
"The Old Bridge park-and-ride has long been overfilled," Mayor Kennedy O’Brien said. "Our resident commuters can’t find a place to park."
If chosen for the lot, the land would be treated as a redevelopment area, falling under the guidance of SERA, borough engineer David Samuel said. The site is owned by the state and the borough.
"Since Sayreville has no parking authority, rather than create one parking authority, it made sense to go to SERA," O’Brien said.
Concept plans for the lot indicated between 200 and 260 parking spaces, of which 40 percent, roughly 80 to 100 spaces, would be reserved for Sayreville residents, since 40 percent of the land is borough-owned.
The lot would contain permit parking only, O’Brien said.
Plans would include the placement of an Academy bus shelter on Raritan Street and a NJ Transit bus shelter near the ramp to the Garden State Parkway.
About 100 borough residents park in the empty Home Depot parking lot on Route 9 now and walk to the Old Bridge parking lot, SERA members said. This situation will become complicated as a new store opens in the building and parking spaces are used by customers.
SERA also would decide how parking regulations would be enforced at the lot, a consideration that is not common for the organization.
"If the mayor and council want us to take the lead on this, then we’ll be happy to do so," Corman said.