Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • September 25, 2013 Ridgewood Village offers new bid specs for parking garage by John Koster No contractors submitted bids for the downtown parking garage proposed by the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce. How- ever, project proponents are now hoping for a new round of bidding. The new specifications are being pre- pared for a second try at finding a contrac- tor willing to build the suggested two-story, 12,000-square-foot facility on Ridgewood Avenue adjacent to The Gap building. The new parking garage, if successfully bid and completed, could provide the ini- tiative for a second structure on Hudson Street. There were no takers on the first attempt to attract bids for the project when the dead- line arrived earlier this month. Two con- tractors picked up the bid specifications, but neither submitted a bid on the project. Ridgewood’s downtown parking has been a topic of discussion for several decades. Local merchants have argued that shopper parking is inadequate. At one point, a moratorium on certain types of businesses, such as restaurants and beauty salons, had been suggested because those types of business took up parking spaces for longer times than retail shops and stores. However, observers noted that before Ridgewood legalized sidewalk cafés, the commercial district was lined with numer- ous vacant storefronts. Sidewalk dining was seen as having revitalized Ridgewood until the present economic slump placed pressure on all retail establishments. Prior plans have included a large build- ing with wrap-around retail stores on the outside of the building and tiered automo- bile parking on the inside. The plan was rejected at the Ridgewood Village Coun- cil level because members of the previous council, headed by former Mayor Keith Killion, argued that a building of that size did not harmonize with the character of Ridgewood. Some years ago, an underground park- ing garage beneath Van Neste Park was No injuries briefly considered, but rejected. One resi- dent brought a copy of a vintage newspa- per to a council meeting some months ago showing that Ridgewood had experienced parking problems as early as 1923. A school bus and two cars collided near the intersection of South Pleasant Avenue and Albert Place in Ridgewood. The school bus was not carrying children at the time; its driver and bus attendant, along with the drivers of both cars, escaped injury. A Honda Civic involved in the crash was towed from the scene. The school bus and the other car were both able to leave on their own power. Ridgewood Police Department Patrol Officers Raymond Tarino and Rosario Vaccarella conducted the accident investigation. Traffic flow on South Pleasant Avenue was unaffected by the crash. (Photo courtesy of Boyd A. Loving.)