In recent months there has been a great deal of media coverage devoted to NJ Transit and how eager it is to bring benefits to the communities that host its train stations. I recently read of an extensive effort to restore and renovate historic stations throughout the state.
It seems a mystery to me, then, why NJ Transit has been such a poor neighbor to Matawan. We no longer are the official site of the train station since it was relocated several hundred feet down the tracks into neighboring Aberdeen two years ago. Nonetheless, as the busiest station on the North Jersey coast line, we experience all the drawbacks of having a station (increased traffic and its related problems, overflowing parking lots, hazardous pedestrian and vehicular conditions, etc.) while receiving almost no benefits. Most notable to passers-by is the decrepit condition of the "historic" train station building, which will no doubt collapse one of these days due to severe neglect.
Several local volunteer organizations worked together two years ago to receive a "transit friendly communities" designation for Matawan/Aberdeen that would have provided the services of professionals to evaluate the existing problems and provide a comprehensive plan for their rectification. Also included in this grant were funds dedicated to the repair of the historic train station.
Unfortunately, and without the knowledge of the participating organizations, this designation was transferred into a promised traffic study. While a traffic study is important to assessing and correcting problems at the train station, it is just the beginning. What we need from NJ Transit is a comprehensive plan and resources to implement it.
Virginia Lamb Falconer
Matawan