Who/what is the source for the expected August opening? Anyone know what is holding things up? Thanks!

That's the word. Rode by yesterday and it was still fenced up but from the Newport side, it looks complete. I'm sure they'll have a ribbon cutting announced sometime soon.

August.

Any Idea when this Pedestrian Bridge will really be open?

Quote: That suggestion was mine, but I cannot alone take credit. It grew out of much hand-wringing/ discussioning about the merits of a park alone and my support of public transit, as well as back-and-forth on this site and elsewhere. You can see the idea here: * Embankment into a park, as discussed. * 6th Street one-way westbound. * light rail on 6th street connecting whereever in the northwest to Th. Gangemi/ Newport Mall, and back. * along the way, the light rail would pass by FOUR parks (Mary Benson, Enos Jones, Embankment, and the 6th/ Manila baseball field). http://jclist.com/modules/newbb/viewt ... id=194990#forumpost194990 At the moment, it seems the EPC is pushing first and primarily to preserve the structure. Thereafter, the a light rail aside/ on top will be on the table.

I dont know what the plans are but it could run through the Bergan Arches which is a bit North of Journal Square (next to rt 139.

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Not Journal Square. THE HEIGHTS!!! Most of the heights is pretty cut off from the PATH. You could run it up to the Secaucus junction.

DISCLAIMER: I don't live in the heights but feel it would be a good thing for the city.

Isn't running a light rail connection between Newport and Journal Square a bit redundant being that the PATH train runs exactly that route?

That's why they need to build a light rail extension next to the embankment on 6th street connecting the heights to newport line. Make 6th street one way with the light rail taking up the other lane and sidewalk on the south side.

One of the posters suggested it on the Embankment thread.

Yikes. Ok, so "almost impossible" was overstated. I just meant that from where I am (by Hoboken Ave) I can either walk a mile and a half up to the lightrail on 2nd, take the elevator down and come in the back of Hoboken, walk further up to the ramp on 14th st, or go across Newark ave to Jersey and follow that around (that's a hike).

It's doable, but because I'm right in the middle it would be nice to be able to walk down the ramp on 12th st again; that would be a great way to reconnect this part of Journal Square/the heights with Hoboken and the other end of downtown. Before you jump on me! I know there's a little shuttle that will take you down the hill, but it stops running at 6pm.

Do you know you can get to Liberty State park by taking Jersey Ave all the way to the end there by the lightrail and that rocky lot? There's a bridge that goes into the park....it beats driving all the way down pacific.

winged - there are a million ways to get down from the heghts on foot - 14th street down to the north end of hoboken, paterson plank road down to the south end of hoboken, the elevator down to mid-hoboken... newark ave down to downtown JC.... what more do you want?

What's wrong with walking/biking down the 14th Street Viaduct from Washington Park on the Heights/Union City border right into the Northern part of Hoboken? I've done it many times when I lived in the Heights.

It's easy downhill but a bit of a huffer/puffer uphill on a bike...don't even THINK about it on a track bike.

I snooped last week. As ianmac said the bridge is built. WHAT is yet needed are guard railings and a bed of sand/mortar and pavers to complete the work...and of course cleanup and the removal of the big crane. Yes, you could walk from the Aqua into Hoboken Station today but you'd have to walk around a lot of construction detritus.

I would have thought they'd set some kind of significant date for opening but forget Memorial Day. Perhaps July 4? I HOPE not Labor Day, or Christmas.
I've got my tires pumped up and ready for a delicious ride.

(Now if I could JUST get to Liberty Park and points South without going vial PATHMARK and through a dump...but maybe before I die )

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Its a little difficult to build a waterfront walkway 75 feet above sea level.

This is great news, but I hope this will get people thinking about foot-traffic patterns in the rest of the city as well. Hoboken is just below the Heights but it's almost impossible to walk there without detouring downtown- it would make so much sense to have a connection up here as well.

If they do half the job they did on the west side highway, it will be a treat to walk on come later in the summer!

This is looking pretty close to being done. Anybody know the particulars of when it'll open?

The bridge is built. You could literally walk between Jersey City and Hoboken now. Looks like they need do cosmetic work like pavers and railings. Should totally be finished by June 2012.

The original date was for May 2009, but they just recently pushed it back to June 2009. Hopefully it will be done within the next few months for the warmer weather.

I thought they had said June 2009. About a week ago I was on the light rail and it looked like 2/3 of the bridge was built and most of the walkway on the Hoboken side was ready for concrete.

I know they said May, 2009 for this thing, but I just walked by and it looks woefully incomplete. any updates?

That's a shrewd marketing ploy on Lefrak's part and in fact, the new AquaBlu and the planned Ellipse are far closer to the Hoboken station than most of Hoboken, a couple city blocks.
In fact, the Aqua Blu might well be equidistant from Hoboken station and the Newport PATH station.

Pedestrian link from JC-Hoboken almost ready

by Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter Staff Writer

A 175-foot pedestrian bridge from the Newport section of Jersey City to the Hoboken train terminal is scheduled to open in four months.

The $6.4 million NJ Transit project is considered an important segment of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, a state-mandated master plan to connect municipalities via a path running 18.5 miles from Bayonne to Fort Lee.

Commuters can already travel between the Newport Mall area and Hoboken train terminal via PATH train or light rail, but the bridge will allow extra options. NJ Transit estimates more than 50,000 people use the Hoboken terminal each weekday, which could mean regular traffic for the bridge.

One potential user is Jersey City resident Dan Levin, who bicycles from his Jersey City home each day to his framing shop, Fastframe, on Washington Street in Hoboken.

?It is great mobility for people who are walking or bicycling to and from Hoboken,? Levin said.
_____________

An estimated 30,000 residents live within the 600-acre Newport community.
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Simpson & Brown, Inc., of West Cranford, N.J., is responsible for the construction of a bridge that will feature lighting, railings, and signage, as well as a surface of brick pavers to match the portion of the existing Waterfront Walkway that it will connect to. It will be constructed from pre-cast and cast-in-place reinforced concrete.

Bridge to somewhere

An estimated 30,000 residents live within the 600-acre Newport community on the Jersey City side of the bridge.

In Hoboken, the city is pursuing a plan for NJ Transit to build a large office tower and condominiums by the train station, although development activists are protesting the size of the proposal.

A NJ Transit spokesperson was asked last week if there will be security measures in place to watch over late-night users of the bridge. The spokesperson said Hoboken Terminal has 24-hour security provided by NJ Transit police and there are security cameras placed throughout the terminal monitoring the area.

Encouraging mobility without car

The LeFrak Organization, which built Newport, has actually taken to creating a ?playful? ad campaign called ?Newport Loves Hoboken? to promote the bridge and Newport as well, said Managing Director Jamie LeFrak. A billboard with that slogan can be seen near the Hoboken terminal.

LeFrak said his company has built out a portion of the Waterfront Walkway running through Newport leading up to the bridge?s entrance on the Jersey City side.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (a Hoboken resident) helped push a federal transportation bill a few years ago that brought $800,000 in federal money to the project.

?I?m thrilled because the more options that we give people to get out of a car and to have access, whether it?s through pedestrian bridge, bikeways, or mass transit,? Menendez said.

Hoboken Councilwoman Theresa Castellano represents Hoboken?s 1st Ward which covers much of the south end of Hoboken where the bridge is located. She also runs a business on lower Washington Street. She looks forward to the bridge opening, making trips to Newport Mall easier.

?I am so used to most of the time not using a car when I am in Hoboken, only when I am going out of town,? Castellano said. ?Now, I have another reason not to use the car.?

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.

It would be wonderful to have a river side walk / bike path from Bayonne to the GW. Unfortunately poor planning by many of the Gold Coast cities has made this virtually impossible.

Hopefully this stretch will be more successful.

Walkers, bikers and joggers have been coexisting fairly peacefully for many years on the Southern stretch of the walkway. Why would it be different once Hoboken is thrown into the mix.

In fact the Hoboken stretch of the walkway has always been the nicest part of town...nice people, nice cameraderie.

(The morons stay in their cars!)

I see no problems joining the two, if it is EVER going to come to pass.

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Days? Try hours.

What is the over/under on how many days it takes for walkers, bikers, bladers (roller and knife), joggers, and skateboarders to start fighting over the WALKway?

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From HP I find it quicker to walk to Washington Street via Marin than it is to walk through the Mall and take the light rail, particularly on a weekend morning when the light rail service is abysmal. If you are lucky enough that the first train that comes goes to Hoboken Terminal rather than 2nd Street it's still quite a hike to Washington

On the flip side you may frequently get accosted for money on the other side of the Tunnel and then when you try to cross Observer Highway drivers turning right from Marin will not yield even if the light is in your favor and you are in the walkway [I trust it's not any of you lot ]