Yeah well I was almost run down by a police cruiser on Jersey Avenue. No, there was an emergency, at least none that called for lights and sirens. He just kept rolling through despite my being in the middle of the road, in the crosswalk.

MR. HEALY

PUT UP A STOP SIGN AT 8TH AND GROVE/MANILLA

Ever since I have lived in JC, there has been issues with traffic and jaywalking. I know as a driver that I need to be careful of pedestrians. I know as a pedestrian that I need to be careful of drivers. Today I saw something that really bothered me. On Newark Avenue a woman holding the hand of her young child (maybe 4 or 5) was in such a hurry that she walked right into traffic. Not in a crosswalk, or at a light but right while cars are driving around 30mph. The car had to stop very suddenly and the car behind just barely missed him. The little girl had such a scared look on her face, and the mother gave the driver the finger. I encounter this a lot in JC and Paterson (where I work), but today it shook me up just because it was so close. I just want people with children to be more careful, at least use th crosswalk, or cross at a light, or just wait until there are no cars coming. Geez, what a drive home.

At the last Harsimus Cove meeting, (www.harsimuscove.org), a Jersey City Circulation Plan 2050 Comment Card was passed out. Please contact your neighborhood group on how to get one. These will be used in the Transportation Study.

Contact Councilman Steven Fulops's office on the Transportation Study.

Many of us have voiced the same exact opinions for many years and it has been a battle. However, regular dialogue with city officials have gotten the following

Not stop signs, but stop for pedestrian signs on Brunswick and Pavonia
How fast you are going Sign-- placed on areas such as 5th Street or Columbus streets or Erie -- when asked at community meeting
Repainting and trimming of Trees by Jersey City Police AND NJ Dept. of Transportation (I met them at the Harsimus Cove meeting)
Additional Stop Sign (at the cost of the NJ Dept. of Transportation)
Additional radar equipment was acquired due to the Captain's requests to the city
Currently, we are aiming for Jersey Avenue and Wayne Street/Marin to catch speeding cars

So if you have a specific intersection, please go to your neighborhood meeting or council person or police meeting to discuss how to prevent maniac drivers

The next police meeting in the East District is the Captain's meeting on Tuesday, May 27th at P.S. #4. 7pm.

Let's face it, part of the culture of NY and NJ is "you are in my way, move it now."

It's comes out of being selfish, whether you may be a driver, or a pedestrian.

I was born and raised in NJ, but I went to college in rural Virginia. Not too far from the college was an elementary school, which had one of those flashing speed limit signs, alerting folks to drive 25 m.p.h. You know how fast people drove by? I'd say not more than 20 m.p.h. Me and my father saw this when my parents dropped me off my freshman year. We both were in amazement like, 'that would never happen back home!'

After getting to know the culture down there, I realized that behavior wasn't out of fear of getting a ticket. It was a genuine sense of care and respect for the school and the surrounding environment.

As much as I am absolutely ADDICTED to this area, I think I would prefer raising a family in a kinder, more quiet environment.

There are about 3 or 4 stops sings in Pavonia Newport where the Starbucks is. There is a little square and crosswalks. 90% of drivers never stop. If JC cops wanted to make some extra money for the city and made this town safer they would put one undercover cop and fined these crazy drivers. They only chase and fine people who are having coffee (no standing), but never pay attention to those racing diots. What a shame. STOP means STOP.

I'm driving a 2000 lb vehicle so of course I'm going to yield to pedestrians. I get off of work at 11pm and can't tell you the number of times someone jaywalks in front of my car. It's especially scary when the person is wearing dark clothes.

It's a shared responsibility: drivers need to yield to pedestrians but pedestrians need to cross at the designated corners. A few weeks ago I was driving to work. I was making a right turn from Brunswick onto Columbus. I had the green light so the traffic on Columbus was stopped at the red light. Suddenly, maybe, 40 feet from the corner (where there is a crossing guard) a woman with a CHILD darts out from behind a truck and into my lane! Thank God I wasn't going fast and I was able to stop in time. I admit I did yell at her to cross at the cross walk!

sinik: If you read my post, you'd see that I was not disagreeing with the point that that driver is ultimately responsible for hitting a pedestrian, nor was I advocating for those who drive like maniacs. I was simply stating that pedestrians need to follow the rules as well. But the larger point is if your laying dead in the street for crossing recklessly, you're not going to be able to say "see, driver, I was right and you are wrong" now are you? And by the way, if a pedestrian appears in the middle of marin boulevard, nowhere near a crosswalk, while the traffic has a green light, you're telling me there's no risk of a car swerving head on into oncoming traffic? That poor kid in the back seat is in just as much danger as the selfish pedestrian who insists on being "right."

Related Link:

New Jersey has some of the "dumbest" drivers.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/22/autos ... tm?postversion=2008052310

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Pedestrians don't need to read the rules of the road. A little common sense goes a long way. (Should go a long way. I can't recall a pedestrian vs auto incident where the car loses.)

As for drivers... see this: NJ MVC Driver Manual

Drivers have very specific instructions as to who has the right of way.

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First, I personally fall into the "timid pedestrian" category, not the "brazen jaywalker" category.

Second, I think one problem with the pedestrians in Jersey City is that a lot of people have never driven a car, or at least have never taken a U.S. driver's ed class, so they really have no idea how a driver is thinking.

Along the same lines, a lot of drivers here probably have never learned much about the local rules of the road and have no idea that pedestrians in crosswalks have right of way.

Maybe one solution would be to post a lot more explanatory signs around town. Example: by a few busy corners with a lot of pedestrians, put up signs in English, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic explaining that pedestrians in crosswalks have right of way.

Similarly: take one of those LCD-side "rolling board" vans that goes around the city during political campaigns and have it run multilingual explanations of why jaywalking across a busy street in Jersey City is suicidal.

i have to say that although pedestrians might have the right of way they also have to be conscious of moving cars and use some common sense.
My favorite offenders are the stroller moms who when crossing have the stroller out in the street before they are sure its safe. As if a stroller is some magical devise that can stop moving vehicles.
Or the folks who you do stop for who walk slower than a geriatric patient,dial cellphones mid street, text message mid street, do not pick up their precous tykes to cross streets when that would be the wise thing to do etc.....
Pedestrians are not always the innocent victims.

This is one of the reasons we sold our place and are moving out to the country...I walk down Erie street every morning at 5:15am (a nut who goes to the gym before the sun comes up) and I would say 4 times a week a car has to stop short because they are cruising threw stop signs...In the state of NJ, pedestrians have the right of way in EVERY crosswalk. I recently visited Rome and walkers are on their own...I just followed the crowd. In fact, most crosswalks were removed over the past few years...I guess we are headed that way.

Once I was talking to a co-worker/fellow JC resident and I mentioned that police station makes me a feel a little bit safer, to which he replied "I got mugged right in front of that police station a year ago"

So I guess other people know the cops in there are just too busy to stop crime.

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What annoys me the most is seeing officers speed through the crosswalk at First and Erie, right by the Jersey City Police Department headquarters, even on sunny weekend days when parents are trying to push babies across the street in strollers to get to the ice cream parlor.

I can understand why, in the real world, pedestrians can't REALLY have the right of way whenever they feel like stepping into a crosswalk, but you'd think that a police department would at least symbolically enforce the crosswalk rules right in front of its headquarters, on sunny days when it's obvious that a lot of babies and small children will be in the crosswalk.

Ugh, I don't understand why there aren't more cops out in the *morning* looking for speeders. Hell, it'd be a great source of revenue for the city! I live on Grand Street, and let me tell you, drivers who get off the Turnpike then hurtle down Grand Street to Exchange Place have no clue that they've entered a RESIDENTIAL neighborhood and thus need to reduce their speeds a tad. I wonder if they speed through their suburban streets at the same speeds? Thank god for the crossing guards at the OLC school, or else I'd probably be dead.

In Downtown the cops are some of the biggest offenders. They routinely run STOP signs and fail to signal turns. I often see cops chatting on their cellphones while exceeding the speed limit. Why would they enforce laws that they don't seem to understand themselves?

the point is this: you as a driver are completely responsible if you hit a pedestrian. Pedestrians should be responsible too, but if you are unable to react to a pedestrian that behaves unpredictably, like for example a child that might run out from between parked cars, then you need to think about that. If you think that you will be happy with yourself if that happens to you then carry on as you are. I think your children in the back seat presumably with seat belts should be reasonably safe if you hit someone at 25mph because you are paying more attention to them than you are to road conditions.

Dear Sinik: I agree with Brewster. Expecting drivers not to ever get distracted for a second is ludicrous. Some of us have kids in the back seat, others have allergies and sneezing fits, etc. Regardless of whether the distraction is something that YOU deem legitmate or not, the reality is that drivers, even the best of them, are imperfect human beings who can make mistakes. Furthermore, your "pedestrian is always right" attitude is simply reckless. While it is true that drivers should all be conscious that their vehicles can be deadly to pedestrians, that does not mean that pedestrians have a free pass to behave recklessly.

On the contrary, pedestrians who defiantly cross without regard to crosswalks and/or walk lights have just as much potential to cause a serious accident. Every morning on Marin Boulevard, there are pedestrians who choose to play frogger on one of the busiest roads in this city by crossing wherever and whenever they feel like it. If a driver has to swerve to avoid a pedestrian who unexplicably is in the middle of the road while you've got a green light, it could easily cause a serious accident. The driver could swerve into oncoming traffic, or even end up swerving onto the sidewalk, hitting pedestrians who were actually following the rules. (You seem to worry about children being hit while crossing the street, but what about the children in the back seat of their parents' cars?)

The point is that both drivers and pedestrians have an equal obligation to follow the rules. If we could all put our stubbornness aside and try to respect the laws that are in place for all of our own safety, we can all make the roads a safer place for EVERYONE (even the jerks who fly through stop signs!)

I'm so glad that someone brought up this topic. After living in downtown JC for four years and almost getting hit by cars as a pedestrian a number of times, it finally happened last week. I actually got hit by a car which attempting to cross the street. Luckily it was more of a bump than actually getting hit...nothing more than a bruised knee.
I was crossing York St at Grove on my way to the PATH in the morning and a driver trying to make a right on red decided to look left to see if there were cars coming, but couldn't be bothered to look right to see if there were pedistrians trying to cross at the red light. I will say that he did stop and ask if I was ok, and to be honest I think he was shaken almost as much as me, so I hope he learned his lesson. I'm only sorry that I didn't call the cops. I've been regretting that ever since, if nothing else than to prove to the JC police that they really need to improve pedestrian safety.

ladybug -
re: car rentals, I find enterprise to be the cheapest. they have a location at the Doubletree Hotel on Washington St & 6th Street.
If you go to enterprise.com Address is 455 Washington.

No he stopped and was actually a very nice man.
Although that was the first thing I shouted as i pulled over and got out of my car. "You better not leave"
I reported the accident immediatly to both of our insurance cos. and here I sit 9 hours later with my car at the body shop and a rental. My stomach is still turning and I have a headache from HELL.....What a day

Ladybug..

Did the guy at least stop or did he speed off?

Well my car was hit at about 7:35 this morning at the corner of 1st and Jersey on my way to work....Thankfully no one was hurt although my stomach is in a knot still, I am left with an undriveable vehicle for who knows how long and I had to use my last sick day because of this crap......
Anyone know a good place to rent a vehicle downtown? I know there is a Budget on 1st and Marin and the place by A&P...please share any info you may have on these two places.

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These are the times I wish I was a cop....pull over !

Best one I've seen this week was this morning while I was crossing Jersey Ave from Mercer St. The red light was backed up, and a car heading up Jersey (towards Columbus) stopped so as not to block the crosswalk. I was crossing in front of that car, almost to the sidewalk, when out of nowhere, a woman who wasn't even in a lane came up on the side of that car trying to cut them. I guess she was feeling generous, though, because I received an angry gesture that indicated I could continue to the sidewalk.
...I guess it's better than the other week when I was cursed at by a driver for crossing on a walk signal at Jersey and Columbus because they wanted to make a turn.

I love when i'm trying to cross the street at 9th and Manila and NOBODY yields to the pedestrian...its almost like you have to step out into the street to get the cars to stop. And half the time nobody even stops at this two way stop intersection. I had a guy try to get around me(when i was the driver) for stopping (at the stop sign) and i guess he got so mad he couldnt he actually got out of his car and started coming towards mine and smacked my window...i dont know why i attempted to get out of my car (adrenaline making me make a stupid decision), but the guy actuallty shoved me back in my car, slammed my car door on me and took off. The police of course were no help (and thats after I gave his lic. plate #) Seriously people, you take your life in your hands around here being both a driver and a pedestrian!!

I stop when there's a stop sign and if there are people about to cross at a crosswalk. Otherwise I keep moving.

All mine, no sniglet reader here.