Martin Luther King Drive (HBLR station)

Martin Luther King Drive
The Martin Luther King Drive station in April 2015, facing the eponymous street.
Location	Martin Luther King Drive and Virginia Avenue Jersey City, NJ
Coordinates	40°42′44″N 74°04′38″W / 40.7121°N 74.0773°W / 40.7121; -74.0773Coordinates: 40°42′44″N 74°04′38″W / 40.7121°N 74.0773°W / 40.7121; -74.0773
Owned by	New Jersey Transit
Line(s)	West Side–Tonnelle
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	April 22, 2000
Electrified	750 V (DC) overhead catenary
Services
Preceding station   Hudson–Bergen Light Rail   Following station West Side Avenue Terminus West Side–Tonnelle Garfield Avenue toward Tonnelle Avenue

The Martin Luther King Drive station of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (West Side Branch) is located adjacent to the Hub in the Jackson Hill neighborhood of Jersey City, New Jersey. The station opened on April 22, 2000, with a memorial to slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. at its entrance.^[1] and other related public art throughout the station.^[2]

History

1915 view of Jackson Avenue station

The original cut of the Newark and New York Railroad Branch of Central Railroad of New Jersey excavated through Bergen Hill in 1869 with service running until 1946. The unrenovated former CNJ train station was still standing as recently as the Autumn of 2011,^[3][4] but has since been demolished. The new station was raised to a level crossing.

Service and transfers

Direct northbound service is available to the Tonnelle Avenue terminus in North Bergen. Northbound service to Hoboken Terminal requires a transfer at stations between Liberty State Park and Pavonia-Newport. Southbound service to Bayonne requires a transfer at Liberty State Park. As of 2009, westbound service terminated at West Side Avenue. Connection to PATH trains to Midtown Manhattan and to New Jersey Transit commuter train service are available at Hoboken Terminal. Transfers to PATH trains to Newark, Harrison, and Downtown Manhattan are available at Exchange Place.^[5][6]

Bus service is provided by New Jersey Transit bus routes NJT 6, NJT 81 and NJT 87.^[7][8][9] through Greenville to Merritt Street, with the NJT81 continuing to Bayonne. Northbound the NJT6 and NJT87 travel to Journal Square, with the NJT87 continuing through Jersey City Heights to Hudson Place (Hoboken). The NJT81 travels through Downtown Jersey City to Exchange Place. Service is also provide on Bergen Avenue by A&C Bus Corporation.

Vicinity

Martin Luther King Drive was once called Jackson Avenue, and until 1947 Public Service Railway's # 7 Jackson streetcar line ran along it. A small block called Jackson still exists that was not included in a realignment.^[10] It was later named in honor of the slain civil right leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who had twice spoken in the city.^[11] The drive has been the heart of the African American community in Jersey City for decades, and has sometimes been called "The Hill",^[12][13][14] though the area is not within the state designated Bergen Hill Historic District. The 100th affiliate of the National Urban League is located on MLK Drive.,^[15][16] which is one of the city's shopping districts.^[17] The Cunningham Branch of the Jersey City Public Library, the city's newest named for former mayor Glenn Dale Cunningham, is located on MLK Drive.^[18] Lincoln High School and St. Patrick's Parish and Buildings, listed on National Register of Historic Places is nearby at Grand Street and Bramhall Avenue.

References

External links

• Station from Google Maps Street View.