HOBOKEN REPORTER, JANUARY 18, 1998

Dear Editor,

Having lived in a neighborhood adjacent to a stadium (in Baltimore). I can attest to what Hoboken would probably look like on a typical game day if the plans to build a sports arena atop the path station materialize. Put mildly - a mile square traffic jam!

Let's face it - hordes and caravans of fans would make their way into the city (with its attractive sports bars), with their cars and kids to drink, dine and shop in Hoboken before and after the game. This volume would overcrowd Hoboken's already crowded one-lane streets and make it even more impossible for Hoboken's residents to find parking. Why should residents have to compete with sports fans for parking?

One fan, in my old neighborhood, who noticed that I had a garage, offered to rent it on game days (so as to be close to the stadium). People in the neighborhood began making money selling resident spaces to fans illegally. Fans avoided roadblocks and orange cones routinely and went onto neighborhood streets to find spaces. Residents had to deal with police detours from traffic on game days and non-sports enthusiasts' weekends were turned into chaos. Why should residents have to compete with sports fans in Hoboken - it's only a Mile Square City!

Lisa Oelfke