moving to Maplewood

Hello ,

We would like to move to Mapplewood and already found couple nice home. Our problem is all home are not within walking distant to train. And me and hubby work in nyc .Hubby have to be at work at 6 am. How reliable is the jitney. And if we drive and park the car at train station how can we reserve a space. Please help we are so new with all of these.

Leealli said:

At that hour of the morning, you won't have any problems find a parking spot in the $3.00 a day spots.  These are all the numbered slots and you pay at the machine in front of the station house.  There is another pay lot off of Maplewood Avenue across from the NEW post office. That has a machine at that lot too.   At your early hour, you will always get a spot right at the pay lot right next to the station house.
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 Double check if you can park there that early, even with paying. I'd hate to see you move here thinking you could park and take the train in and then get an overnight ticket by parking before 6am.

spontaneous said:

Leealli said:

At that hour of the morning, you won't have any problems find a parking spot in the $3.00 a day spots.  These are all the numbered slots and you pay at the machine in front of the station house.  There is another pay lot off of Maplewood Avenue across from the NEW post office. That has a machine at that lot too.   At your early hour, you will always get a spot right at the pay lot right next to the station house.
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 Double check if you can park there that early, even with paying. I'd hate to see you move here thinking you could park and take the train in and then get an overnight ticket by parking before 6am.

I believe that the permit parking opens at 5:00 on Dunnell Road, so I assume that is the case for the daily pay NJT lot spaces also. 

The train that would get you to the city in time to be at work by 6 a.m. leaves Maplewood at 5:04.

(Edited to correct departure time.)

Thank you for the information. Just dont know anybody who live there have family and both parent have to work. Thank you we have to research more.

It seems to me that if there are trains before 5:00, then parking ought to be allowed there then.  (Or does that just make too much sense?)

sac said:

It seems to me that if there are trains before 5:00, then parking ought to be allowed there then.  (Or does that just make too much sense?)

 Makes too much sense. People have been ticketed in the past. I'm not sure if they've mellowed out in the past few years (or perhaps there has been a rule change), but this used to crop up as a thread topic pretty regularly. There is no on street parking from 2am - 6am and that includes down by the train station. Permit parking is from 6am - 9am. That said, I'll bet if someone in that bind were to call and tell them, they wouldn't ticket.

new_2_nj said:

sac said:

It seems to me that if there are trains before 5:00, then parking ought to be allowed there then.  (Or does that just make too much sense?)

 Makes too much sense. People have been ticketed in the past. I'm not sure if they've mellowed out in the past few years (or perhaps there has been a rule change), but this used to crop up as a thread topic pretty regularly. There is no on street parking from 2am - 6am and that includes down by the train station. Permit parking is from 6am - 9am. That said, I'll bet if someone in that bind were to call and tell them, they wouldn't ticket.

I know that I'm talking about the spirit rather than the letter of the law, but clearly that rule is to prevent overnight parking so the rule right down by the train station (Dunnell, etc.) ought to allow parking starting 15 minutes or so before the first train.

I'm also not sure if the same rules apply to the NJT lot (or if Maplewood police even ticket it ... isn't that up to NJ Transit police?)

As far as the jitneys go, they are very reliable. If the home you choose is near a jitney stop it'll be  like door to door service.

To park before 6am at the train using a permit, there are specific spots for that at the station but ONLY ON DUNNELL!  NOT on the Maplewood Ave/Durand side....which is ridiculous, but that is that.  Back in the day, it was not an issue, however at some point in time the TC saw easy money and decided to make sure those people...who go to work at 5am...should be punished by getting a ticket.  My husband got one of those tickets, then the next day went around and up Dunnell to a 'proper' spot, but it was pitch black out and didn't park in the proper designated spot...hello 2nd ticket.  

okay, done with rant.  sorry.  

Whatever you do, DON'T call the Maplewood Police Department to ask about parking rules.  Nobody knows and you can get 5 different answers on 5 different calls.  Town Hall doesn't know the rules either.  It's best to learn from the people here who have found out the rules the hard way.

sac said:

new_2_nj said:

sac said:

I'm also not sure if the same rules apply to the NJT lot (or if Maplewood police even ticket it ... isn't that up to NJ Transit police?)

 Maplewood Police patrol and ticket the "NJT lots".  NJT is responsible for the maintenance of the lots (garbage clearing/snow removal, etc.)

If you are a family with young children living at home and two parents who need to get into the City by 6:00 am for work, you need to research childcare options as well as parking regulations and transit options.  I am not aware of any local daycare or school options that allow drop off early enough in the morning to allow you to get to the City on time.  

Maplewood parking regulations, jitney schedules and stops, and NJT schedules (which may be changing shortly), are all available on line and easily searchable to get the information you need.  Check out the Official Maplewood New Jersey website and the website for NJT.

Depending on where you end up living, you may find that a combination of local buses and PATH will work better for you in the morning than taking the train.  NJT and Coach run our local buses.  Their schedules and routes are also available on line.

Another option at that hour if you have available parking in the City would be to drive in.  Traffic is very light at that hour.  Problem would be traffic you would be likely to encounter on the way home, especially if you would be returning during rush hour.

If you're not already you should probably also include South Orange in your search. I live a 15 minute walk from the train and I've seen a few in between me and the station. I usually take the jitney, but it's a great having the option to walk.

The differences between the two towns are pretty minimal.  Most people would think of either downtown as local and we share a school district. You do end up with a whole different set of parking restrictions though. Since I don't drive to the station I don't now all of the ins and outs, but I know for the reserved spots there is a long wait. 

Only my husband has to be in that early. I start work at around 9 ish. But I do need to drop off my kid to kindergarten and find an afterschool. Thanks for your tips

joan_crystal said:

If you are a family with young children living at home and two parents who need to get into the City by 6:00 am for work, you need to research childcare options as well as parking regulations and transit options.  I am not aware of any local daycare or school options that allow drop off early enough in the morning to allow you to get to the City on time.  

Maplewood parking regulations, jitney schedules and stops, and NJT schedules (which may be changing shortly), are all available on line and easily searchable to get the information you need.  Check out the Official Maplewood New Jersey website and the website for NJT.

Depending on where you end up living, you may find that a combination of local buses and PATH will work better for you in the morning than taking the train.  NJT and Coach run our local buses.  Their schedules and routes are also available on line.

Another option at that hour if you have available parking in the City would be to drive in.  Traffic is very light at that hour.  Problem would be traffic you would be likely to encounter on the way home, especially if you would be returning during rush hour.

j_r

Do I have an out of date schedule?  I show the first train from Maplewood NYC bound leaves 5:04 AM, arriving (hopefully) at 5:44.

Yes, that's correct. (Thanks, I just updated my Embark app and edited my post above.)

You can get a permit for street parking near the train station. It's only $200+/- per year. Much better deal than the $3/day NJ Transit lot. I also could never get a spot there anyway unless I showed up before 7 or 7:30am. I used to drop off two kids at two different schools and try to get to work at 9am in the city. It almost never happened. 9:30am yes, but 9:00am, maybe once a month I was that lucky. The YMCA offers before school and after school care either at the elementary school or at one of the YMCA buildings, so you'll be fine there if you can drop off by 7:30am. And you can pick up as late as 7pm at the Y.

Are there any trains that will get you to work at six am?  I always was an early bird, but the best I could do with NJTransit was getting to the WTC around six thirty.

Someone posted that there is a train that gets into Penn at 5:44, so I guess it depends on how long it takes to get to the workplace from there.  (My spouse is a ten minute walk from Penn but some people have half-hour subway rides or worse.)

That's what got us.  Once you have to get from Penn to Brooklyn or Queens you're sunk.

Thanks. Good to know. Just worry with the unknown and dont want to make mistake 

ArchBroad said:

You can get a permit for street parking near the train station. It's only $200+/- per year. Much better deal than the $3/day NJ Transit lot. I also could never get a spot there anyway unless I showed up before 7 or 7:30am. I used to drop off two kids at two different schools and try to get to work at 9am in the city. It almost never happened. 9:30am yes, but 9:00am, maybe once a month I was that lucky. The YMCA offers before school and after school care either at the elementary school or at one of the YMCA buildings, so you'll be fine there if you can drop off by 7:30am. And you can pick up as late as 7pm at the Y.

Thanks for sharing..my daughter will be in kindergarten. We need to make sure a lot of things...

ArchBroad said:

You can get a permit for street parking near the train station. It's only $200+/- per year. Much better deal than the $3/day NJ Transit lot. I also could never get a spot there anyway unless I showed up before 7 or 7:30am. I used to drop off two kids at two different schools and try to get to work at 9am in the city. It almost never happened. 9:30am yes, but 9:00am, maybe once a month I was that lucky. The YMCA offers before school and after school care either at the elementary school or at one of the YMCA buildings, so you'll be fine there if you can drop off by 7:30am. And you can pick up as late as 7pm at the Y.

As soon as you close on your house, you should register your daughter at the BOE office on Academy Street.  Somewhere in the district website is a page listing the required documentation you will need to bring with you.  You don't want to wait until right before school starts.

There are a few things to consider based on the information you provided.  One is before/after care.  The Y slots fill up quickly.  Some schools may already be filled for next year.  You will need a plan B just in case.

You need to consider the number of vehicles you will need and make sure you have the garage and/or driveway space to accommodate them.  If you are not within what you consider to be walking distance to one of our train stations, you will need one vehicle for the family member catching the first train out (unless the other family member can get up, drag along a sleepy kindergartner, and drive the early departing family member to the train) and a  second vehicle to drive the kindergartner to school and then drive to work or to mass transit, if the second family member works in the City.

When house hunting keep in mind that not all sections of town receive jitney service.   Even those that do are unlikely to have a jitney stop right in front of the elementary school.  Don't assume the jitney will be there or that the jitney schedule will work for you unless you verify this first.

Even if you are able to get before/after care for your kindergartner, you will need to have arrangements in place for half days, days the school is closed altogether and days when the child is sick.  

As pointed out above, just being able to get to NYP by 6:00 am may not allow enough time to get to work by 6:00 am, even on days when there are no train delays.  Factor in all forms of transportation in addition to the train (including time to get out of the station and walking time to destination or connecting mass transit) to see if commuting by train will work for either or both of you.  If not, the family member with the very early start time should look into driving, bus/PATH, or other solutions to see what would work best.

I don't know if this helps but if I had to be at work by 6 I would drive - either into the city or to Newark and take the PATH. This is more expensive than the train - the Hudson River tolls, parking in the city, car costs. I am fortunate that my work provides the car and all the tolls, gas, and parking. I leave at 6 am and usually sit down at my desk by 6:45 downtown. I leave anywhere between 3-4 and am home with plenty of time to get the kids. There is no traffic at that hour of the morning but I do not know how much this actually costs - I think the garage is $500 a month, the tolls are about $17 a day plus gas so def much more expensive.

I've heard that some people drive to Harrison to take the PATH train.  supposedly easier (cheaper?) parking.  Can someone who does this elaborate?

As of a couple of months ago, parking at harrison is between 7 to $11 per day depending on which lot you pick.  It can be cheaper than NJT and faster if you work near a path station.

chopin said:

I've heard that some people drive to Harrison to take the PATH train.  supposedly easier (cheaper?) parking.  Can someone who does this elaborate?