Start of commuter lot construction hailed Will bring 300 spaces, most designated for Sayreville residents only BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer A $1.6 million project to bring some much-needed commuter parking to Sayreville is officially under way. Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday at the future site of the commuter lot on Raritan Street, and Defino Contracting Co. Inc. was expected to begin construction immediately. The lot will give many commuters an alternative to parking on residential streets, a contentious issue that was brought up at several Borough Council meetings last year. In response to the concerns of residents over commuters parking on their neighborhood streets, the council approved an ordinance requiring permits on more than two dozen residential roads that are near bus stops. The ordinance will take effect when the park-and-ride lot is completed in the next few months. The new lot will have 300 parking spaces, of which 180 will be strictly for Sayreville residents, according to Council President Thomas Pollando. Commuters will have to pay an undetermined fee to use the lot, but the fee will be reduced for borough residents, he said. Council members, borough professionals and state Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski were on hand for the groundbreaking event on Tuesday. "For the many residents of Sayreville who commute into New York City every day, this park-and-ride will make their commute and their lives a little bit easier," Wisniewski said. "Our residents will greatly benefit from the decreased congestion and increased quality of life that this will bring." The new lot will be located behind the Dunkin' Donuts on the corner of Main and Raritan streets, adjacent to an access ramp for the Garden State Parkway. The parking spaces designated for out-of-town commuters will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the press release. Pollando said the New Jersey Department of Transportation provided $300,000 for the project and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority gave $500,000. "We are committed to delivering our promises," Pollando said. "We are people of action." Borough Engineer Jay Cornell told the Suburban that the facility will include an overhead shelter for commuters. Councilman Daniel Buchanan, who is liaison to the Commuter Advisory Board, spoke of the need to strike a balance in meeting the needs of commuters and residents. "We are getting commuters off residential streets," he said during the ceremony. Buchanan told the Suburban that the borough will pay about $800,000, half the cost of the project. This money will be generated through fees for use of the parking lot, he said. "We have to calculate it," he said of the cost of parking for commuters. "We are pretty certain the fees are going to be comparable, if not better than surrounding area fees." Buchanan said the bus stop will be an addition to other stops around the borough, and the fee commuters will pay is to recuperate the cost of building and maintaining the facility. "This is not going to be paid by taxpayer dollars," Buchanan said. "It will be user-generated dollars."