Editor’s note, March 11, 9:47 p.m.: the NJ Transit strike has been averted for now, as NJ Transit officials and its rail unions reach a tentative agreement on their contract dispute, a day before a strike was looming. Read more in this article from NJ.com.
Local leaders in Maplewood and South Orange have been keeping their fingers crossed that union reps for NJ Transit rail workers and the transit authority come to an agreement this weekend to avoid a rail strike starting 12:01 a.m. on Sunday.
Meanwhile Mayor Vic DeLuca of Maplewood and Village President Sheena Collum of South Orange have posted information offering alternatives to residents.
See South Orange’s contingency plans here.
See Maplewood’s contingency plans here.
Both towns are organization ride-share or carpooling sites. They’ve also re-organized local jitneys to get local residents to bus depots or light rail/PATH in order to get residents to Manhattan.
In Maplewood, the town has designated carpooling locations at the town pool parking lot and DeHart Community Center. South Orange is asking residents to use its carpool Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/socarpool/. (See Maplewood’s carpool Facebook page here.)
In South Orange, locals can take jitneys from SOPAC to NJ Transit Light Rail in Newark connecting to PATH trains. Jitneys leave from 5-10 a.m. and return between 5-10 p.m.
In Maplewood, jitneys will run between Town Hall and the Irvington bus terminal, leaving between 5-9:00 a.m. and returning between 6-9:30 p.m.
But Maplewood perhaps has hit on the best solution. The final paragraph of its contingency plan provides an alternative for residents to work locally:
Maplewood Library Work Space:
There are three rooms at the Main Library that can be used for meetings and conferences. The Hilton Branch also has meeting space. Please contact the library to reserve work space. Wi-Fi is available at the library. (Find out more about the library here: https://www.maplewoodlibrary.org.)
Village Green recommends staying local if at all possible. If you get stir crazy, residents may want to take a look at some local coffee shops that provide Wifi. See our our story here.
