I have sent this message to Mayor Healy and Councilman Fulop in the hopes of improving access and safety for pedestrians in Downtown JC.


I am a Hamilton Park resident and avid pedestrian on 10th Street in Downtown Jersey City. I also commute on the PATH at Pavonia/Newport. I would like to bring to your attention some SERIOUSLY dangerous pedestrian situations on the streets of Downtown Jersey City.

Situation #1 - see green circles on map
Much needed traffic signals along Marin Blvd, specifically between 9th and 10th Streets. There are many pedestrians that use this area to cross to and from walking to the PATH at Pavonia/Newport. There is a traffic signal only at 8th Street. There is a school at 9th Street and hundreds of residents on 9th & 10th streets. Cars come from both north and south bound speeding along Marin Blvd. I have personally witnessed and experienced several near fatal accidents of cars speeding and hitting pedestrians along Marin. Hundreds of pedestrians cross Marin everyday in order to get to/from the PATH, as there is no other easy access. This is a very dangerous situation. Not to mention there is a school on 9th Street & Marin. Crossing guards are posted during school mornings only and offer very little if any safety for pedestrians at night. In fact last Summer, one of the crossing guards was hit by a car and she had to be hospitalized. I witnessed this accident and I fear for life when I cross Marin at 9th or 10 Streets.


Situation #2 - see red color line on map
Getting around Newport Mall is a dangerous situation for a pedestrian. For many Downtown JC residents who live west of Marin Bldv anywhere between 6th & 10th Streets who wish to avoid the Newport Mall by walking around it are given little to zero options in safe pedestrian access. Yes believe it or not, some people do not wish to walk through Newport Mall in order to access public transportation such as the Light Rail or Pavonia PATH station. Additionally if one is walking late nights, the Malls closed at some exits and thus forces people to take a much longer route. If I am to walk around the Mall, walking along Barnum St/Newport Pkwy is very dangerous. Pedestrians must navigate a dangerous multi-route intersection at Washington Blvd and Newport Pkwy in order to cross the street to the north side of Barnum St/Newport Pkwy. Why this is so is beyond me since most pedestrians will be heading south once they arrive at Marin Blvd. If pedestrians do not cross to the north side at Newport Pkwy & Washington Blvd, they must cross over to Barnum Street at Mall Drive East or West along Newport Blvd where there are NO traffic signals and unimpeded cars speeding east and west along Newport Pkwy. This is an extremely dangerous area for pedestrians and no concession for pedestrians has been made in this area. There should be a pedestrian crossing bridge on the south side of Newport Pkwy that goes over the Newport parking entrance so pedestrians do not have to cross this very dangerous roadway or the very scary intersection at Washington Blvd & Newport Pkwy.


Situation #3 - see light blue circles on map
Downtown JC residents living south of 12th Street must cross the most dangerous streets (12th & 14th Sts, Holland Tunnel) in the neighborhood in order to access the large public shopping centers such as A&P, Target, Staples, Pier 1. It is unconscionable that residents must cross the dangerous gauntlet of 12th & 14th Streets in order to access this major shopping center. There should be pedestrian overpass bridges located at Erie, Grove/Manila, Marin/Henderson Streets crossing 12th & 14th Streets. The traffic signals for crossing 12th & 14th last maybe 5 seconds. I have nightmares imagining a slow walking senior citizen would have to go through taking their life into their hands crossing these major streets. Often times many residents must cross these dangerous streets with shopping bags or carts coming from A&P. It is truly frightening to cross here. This is probably the most dangerous pedestrian crossing in the entire city and no serious consideration to pedestrians crossing 12th & 14th Streets is given. In fact it's an insult to have crossing signals that last a few seconds before they blink red. Pedestrian bridges would solve this dangerous situation easily.

Please take into consideration the situations I have pointed out to make Downtown JC a SAFER pedestrian environment. Jersey City's populations has exploded and not all residents have cars or drive, like myself. Nor should we have to as Downtown JC is billed as one of the most pedestrian friendly cities in the US. But sadly this is not so in all cases. I am disgusted that the Newport Mall was built with no consideration for pedestrians and nearby neighborhoods. It seems only cars and funneling people into the shopping Mall were on the planner's minds when the Mall was built. Downtown JC needs to keep up with the times and the pedestrian population and nature of Downtown JC.

They really need to stop Downtown being used as a shortcut to the Holland Tunnel and the suburban shopping at the Newport Mall, the Target, the BJ's etc. They need to put cameras on traffic lights on Newark Avenue, Columbus & Grand and enforce the traffic lights. SLOW TRAFFIC AND YOU LIMIT TRAFFIC!

why don't you just cross at 8th?

i agree they need more lights on Marin but i think it's for the cars not the pedestrians. I use them as my shield to avoid the lights on 6th.

I think these overheard passages are a waste of money. if you are elderly or disabled you would just cross at street level since walking up stairs is either painful, difficult or impossible.

"It seems only cars and funneling people into the shopping Mall were on the planner's minds when the Mall was built. Downtown JC needs to keep up with the times and the pedestrian population and nature of Downtown JC."

do you how difficult they have made it to get into the mall with those fences they put up that are too high because all these idiots were cutting across the street.

I am one for walking to lights on major roads. they can't put a light everywhere. I used to ride my bike to pavonia or grove street everyday from 7th and jersey and I had no problems.

Thank you Robocub and Grove Path.
You take your life in your hand when you try to cross these streets. The crosswalks on Marin are ignored by the cars speeding along.
Jersey City could balance the budget just by ticketing speeders on Marin.

If the city thinks that traffic lights are too expensive for these streets, perhaps they should look at this.

http://xwalk.com/

I concur with everything Robocub wrote. I too am car-less and walk mostly everywhere. I try to cross at 9th and Marin every morning and most weekends I'm trying to get to Target, A&P or Home Depot. These large streets are dangerous.

Aren't we supposed to get a traffic light at 9th and Marin soon? Anyone know any updates? There are no signs of any construction being started...

From Councilman Fulop's Winter Update sent 1/26/2009:
"Traffic Lights: Several new traffic lights have been approved and are scheduled to be constructed in the next 3 months. These are 9th & Marin, Christopher Columbus & Warren, and Montgomery & Warren. The traffic light at Montgomery & Warren is near completion. "

I have never seen a car go anywhere near hitting a pedestrian on that street. why wouldn't you walk to 8th if you felt it was so dangerous. you are just being lazy

Sateen,
Message me and you and I will take a trip through the crosswalks, and see how safe it is.

By the way, cars speed through the traffic light at 8th too. A young woman met her death that way when she was crossing the street a few years ago.

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i road my bike home for 2 years and nothing happened. I see more speeding on the side streets.

I am stuill new how do you message people?

Ideally, they'd put a pedestrian overpass or underground tunnel at 9th and Marin, but it would be too expensive and probably dangerous at night (particularly the tunnel).

I mentioned this on another post a long time ago but last spring I almost got hit by a car while I was walking on the pedestrian cross walk along Marin Blvd. I was literally on the hood of the car staring at a horrified guy on his cell phone with his wife in the car. I am shocked every day on these streets how entitled vehicles are when it comes to rolling stop signs and ignoring pedestrians trying to cross.

I know crime is the largest issue in this city - but if they want to start having police patrolling areas, maybe they can do that AND ticket aggressive drivers.

Grand st. is insane. In the past two months, at least two people have been hit (one killed) and I've personally seen three accidents. Last summer I saw a guy lying in the street with blood pouring down the side of his face after he'd been knocked off his bike by a car. Cars go up on the sidewalk more often than you'd ever imagine and people have to scurry out of the way.

It's a street with a 25 mph speed limit - between Monmouth and Washington there are three schools, the Boys and Girls club and a whole lot more residents than a couple years ago. You could park a non-sleeping cop (preferably one that doesn't have a cell phone glued to the side of his head) and pull over a dozen people an hour going in excess of 50 mph. Great revenue generating opportunity.

I had read late in 2008 that there would be a traffic light installed at the intersection of 9th Street & Marin Blvd in Spring of 2009 (now). I am very pissed to have read today in Councilman Fulop's email that this traffic light won't be installed until 2010. I was under the impression this traffic light was already approved and slated for installation.

The fact that this crossing is extremely dangerous and is the only place for many residents who live north of 8th St to cross to get to the Path at Pavonia is unacceptable. Last Summer, one of the crossing guards was struck by a speeding car. Does someone need to get killed before the city takes action? And what makes 2nd & Marin any more deserving?


From Steven Fulop
2nd & Marin– This intersection has been studied and determined to qualify for a traffic light.

9th & Marin – This is in the works and funding needs to be approved. State procedures for lights are strict, but I am pushing and we will see this light go up in 2010.

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You hit the nail on the head. Agree with you 100%. Fewer people would use streets like Erie and Coles St. to go to and from the tunnel if there were lights, speed bumps, cops, cameras etc.

And Grand St. is totally nuts. There are three schools and a hospital there, and still people are allowed to drive like thery're on the freeway. Those crossing guards really earn their pay. God bless 'em. It's going to take a kid or crossing guard to get killed before the city does something.

i was impressed with a cop at grand and grove this morning. i saw him write up a guy probably for going thru a light. then he drove two blocks to montgomery and grove (he was behind me) and pulled over a driver who blocked an intersection.
well done!

Not sure if its a coincidence, but we raised the Grand St. issue to Fulop when he came to speak to our building about six weeks ago and the next day the flashing 25 mph sign went up and there have been cops fairly regularly patrolling when before they were never to be seen.

Bridges, what a great idea. Why not build a second level of Jersey City. Have all the pedestrians walking across bridges and all the cars driving through street level.

1) Nobody in JC will walk up stairs to cross a street. They will simply Jay Walk.

2) They are expensive and useless and will make the city look stupid. Why not build tunnels while you're at it.

3) http://xwalk.com/pages/videos.htm
The solution posted above (as a replacement for streetlights wont work) a) look at the video, nobody in JC actually stops before the stop line, what makes you think they will stop as far as the car did in the video. b) who will understand what blinking red lights mean. They might think its a red light and they should run it like they always do.

You know, its such a pain walking around the 2 Marin Blvd bulidings (i think Metropolis Towers) in downtown. They take up such a large block. Mayor Healy and Counsilman Fulop, please build a bridge over their property so I don't have to walk around.

Also, everyone J walks on Newark Ave. Please build a bridge infront of every store on Newark Ave so people dont J walk.

I do think that the city is overdue for some changes to the route to the Holland Tunnel. 5pm every day gets worse and worse.

Grand Street is extremely dangerous, and crossing it requires brass balls.

It's great that the cops are finally pulling over those that feel the need to drive like they're starring in the Slow and the Delirious.

I really don't know how anyone can speed in a pedestrian heavy city. I keep it at the posted speed limit while I get passed by the frequent douche bag.

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The only way to prevent drivers from using the downtown as a cut through to the Holland Tunnel would be cutting off the downtown's access to the tunnel. Then we and Hoboken would have all the noise and exhaust of the tunnel traffic without any of the benefits of access.

You are probably right Ianmac, but perversely I'm looking forward to the extension of Jersey Ave. into LSP. The issue with Grand St. isn't so much the volume of traffic as it is the speed and disregard for even the most basic traffic laws (running lights, passing over the solid line, etc.) Once the volume of traffic increases substantially, I'm betting the pace of it will slow considerably. Certainly not the best answer, but at this point it's the most attractive of a field of really poor choices.

Another solution might be making travel down Marin Blvd. terribly inconvenient; add traffic lights at each cross street, and then make the light cycles alternate green and red so that traffic flowing north hits every red light along the way. Not only would that allow pedestrians safe crossing at each street, it would frustrate drivers looking for a quick shortcut.

I agree. There are many good solutions available to fix a lot of what's wrong with the traffic problems downtown. They just don't seem to be up for consideration. So - I try to think of how to make the best of what's attainable, thus my interest in MORE cars on Grand.

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Great idea, what we need is more traffic clogging the streets and more angry frustrated drivers racing around taking out their anger on the streets of JC.

From Fulop's newsletter this week:

Traffic Lights update:

2nd & Marin– This intersection has been studied and determined to qualify for a traffic light.
9th & Marin – This is in the works and funding needs to be approved. State procedures for lights are strict, but I am pushing and we will see this light go up in 2010.
Christopher Columbus & Warren - This is near completion. This light will be made live in the next month or two.
Grand & Barrow – This light is still hitting road blocks that I hope will be cleared in the coming week.

Montgomery & Warren - This is even closer to completion and will be made live in the next 30-45 days, barring any unforeseen complications.

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It doesn't matter either way. There are so many a$$ holes driving the streets of Jersey City that they will speed and take anger out on you traffic or no traffic. I am glad to see that they are putting lights in and I agree that alternate greens will slow people down especially on streets like Columbus, Grand and Montgomery. They are speedways. Now they need to eliminate Fresh Direct trucks and tell the bus drivers to slow down.

The process is confusing and long. It seems that it takes an average of 2-3 years to get a light or a stop sign. When the Fall 2008 newsletter was written, there wasn't an understanding of the funding cycle and the Ward E Council office was simply told the light was approved and we would see it happening in Spring 2009.

The misunderstanding was that the funding for it would be in the financial cycle starting in Spring 2009. I can only assume that the traffic division was waiting for the budget.

The light for Marin and 9th is in about the middle of the process. I believe the City administration sincerely believes a light is needed. However, there area a lot of state regulations that go along with installing a light and the City must make sure all of their ducks are in a row, receive the funding; put out bids; work with various engineers from different agencies - MUA, PSE&G, Verizon, etc. to make sure they know how to avoid electrical lines and sewer pipes when they start the construction.

The intersection at Marin and 2nd has just been determined to qualify for a light. This is just the beginning for that light.

Steve tries to give the public a time frame so they can track the lights going up, but it is very difficult to give this information especially if there are set backs. However, he tries to work closely with the Traffic division to stay updated on their progress.

To make things even more confusing, when a light is privately funded, such as when a developer builds condos and in their agreement with the City they will fund and construct a light, the process is much different. The light may go up much fast because the developer is a private entity and need not go through the same bidding process. In addition, the studies and determinations for the need of a light were done along with the plans for the building and there is no weight for a funding cycle.

However, that being said, the developer may not find the light their first priority so the City needs to lean on them to get the light finished.

I believe the Traffic Division does really care and that it is a large City. This is on their radar and hopefully Ward E Council Office can keep you informed of the progress.

With a school right there at 9th there is no doubt that this is a priority to all those involved.

Sincerely,

Althea


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Vote for the only mayoral candidate who DOES NOT OWN A CAR. He knows about life as a pedestrian and a bicyclist in this town.

Vote for Dan Levin.

miles

you had me at "pedestrian" but if he's one of the cyclists that rides on the side walk, goes through red lights and rides stealthily the wrong way up one way streets like very many cyclists I see, I wouldn't vote for him.

I am voting for Dan Levin specifically because he is a pedestrian and does not own a car.