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New vision for Camden's hectic transit hub

CAMDEN - On a typical weekday, motorists and pedestrians engage in a chaotic and sometimes dangerous dance outside the Walter Rand Transportation Center.

Drivers navigating along Broadway and Martin Luther King Boulevard have to make their way past public buses lumbering into and out of the transit hub. Pedestrians make their way through crosswalks partially obstructed by construction signs and fencing toward Rand and the nearby NJ Transit RiverLine station, anxious to catch the next bus or train.

The intersection is so confusing and crowded, especially during rush hour, that Camden County police officers are stationed there to help with street crossings.

And, as Camden's "eds and meds corridor" continues to grow and as more workers flood into the downtown institutions, it's only going to get worse.

But where some see a jumbled mess of buses and bodies, car traffic and trains, county officials and others see the potential for a transit hub unlike any in South Jersey.

"Not many urban centers have a system like this that includes so much: Camden has two rail lines (the RiverLine and PATCO Hi-Speedline), buses and highways, all surrounding an inner city," said Kris Kolluri, recently named CEO of Cooper's Ferry Partnership and CEO of the Rowan-Rutgers Camden Board of Governors.

"Certainly nowhere else in South Jersey is there a place with such a rich asset class as Camden."

County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said overhauling the Rand center is crucial to the continued growth of the city's downtown.

"We need to change the way the city looks," Cappelli said. "There is a lot of growth coming in and a lot of dilapidated buildings are gone, outdated uses are gone, and being replaced by new uses that will help Camden grow.

"Any urban center needs a modern transportation center to facilitate growth," Cappelli added. "And the growth is coming — we need the facilities to support it."

After public input and presentations in the spring and fall of last year, engineering firm AECOM offered a concept design for the Walter Rand Transportation Center that included 25 bus bays, off the street and under cover to allow for safer, more orderly boarding and transfers.

A walking bridge over Broadway would connect the center to the RiverLine station across the street, making it easier for commuters who want to transfer to the Camden-Trenton line from buses or from PATCO.

Preliminary cost estimates are in the $150 million to $175 million range, most likely from a public-private partnership, Cappelli said, with the city, county and transit agencies teaming with a private company to redevelop the site.

Rowan and Rutgers will finance street-level improvements, Kolluri said, including signage at the intersection, pulling back construction barriers for better visibility.

But the Rand site wouldn't just be a transit hub in this version of its future.

As many as six stories of office and residential space are possible, giving Camden a mixed-use hub that officials believe will be in high demand.

More: http://www.courierpostonline.com/sto...hub/990296001/