Time for light rail in northwestern N.J.

Recently, a big contingent of elected Democrats from North Jersey met in Englewood to discuss funding fixes for the light rail, and they want money to extend light rail into Bergen County. The train line currently cuts across much of Hudson County ending at its most northern most station in North Bergen, according to the Bergen Record.

Construction has been stalled into Bergen County, because Tenafly, does not desire to have a station, a very myopic move in my opinion. My home town of Ridgefield in Bergen County wanted that station, as it would create jobs and commerce. There is much disappointment that the system is called the Hudson-Bergen line, and, yet, there is no extension into the most populous county, as of this writing.

I no longer live in Bergen County. In fact, I have lived on and off in Sussex County for almost 50 years. It is time beyond bluster for Republican office holders in Sussex to not argue for the Wayne line to be extended for an additional 12-mile share. Sussex County leadership has typically made the county an appendage of Morris, but that does not help our citizens in a nightmarish commute, and we already have seen the disaster from a mismanaged solar project, handled by Morris.

We have lost our one true visionary in Sussex County with the death of Senator Littell, who proposed monorail systems for our region. In baseball parlance, we have a lot of ham-and-eggers, really not ready for prime time, but it is time for citizens of all political persuasions to know their taxes go to other counties for light rail, and we get squat.

Bill Weightman
Hardyston