I rushed last night to get my update out before the meeting started (for me at 6 with a closed session prior to the public meeting), and made one major error, a slightly less major one and a few spelling ones…corrections below in PINK.
- DATE IS 9/30 – for Hoboken Arts & Music Festival. Back downtown – Observer to 7th St. - with headliner bands Marshall Crenshaw & The Smithereens! Click the link for more details.
- 2nd Ward Intersections - 13th and Park – Pricing “shades/shudders” for the light at 14th and PARK (Not Washington). Previously was told this was a simple, inexpensive fix. However will be more costly than thought. In parallel looking to do a pilot (aka temporary) program for a traffic type circle at 13th and Park. See below for more on traffic circles.
Sorry for the confusion. While I have your attention, there is one more event this weekend I became aware of today which I think looks exciting and wish I could attend:
About last night (City Council meeting)…
- All three parking ordinances were tabled and sent to subcommittee for further discussion.
- First reading of EasterSeals lease and related legislation was approved 9-0. Corporation counsel confirmed there was no conflict with Advance Realty (owner of building) given their lawsuit against the city.
- Mayor Turner of Weehawken was honored for raising $200,000 towards the completion of Hoboken’s New American Legion Post and Housing for Homeless Veterans. This is such an amazing project and you can be a part of it too if you want to donate. They just had their topping off celebration last week and are hoping to complete by this spring.
- We passed on 1st Reading a revised Temporary Parking ordinance 8-1. I actually was the dissenting vote because although it had some improvements, I don’t think it went far enough. The big issue for me is when / whether Temporary Parking signs are actually enforceable – I feel strongly we should not be allowed to post any sign that says “No Parking” unless it is enforceable.
And finally….
What did I mean by Traffic Circles … a better name might be a mini-roundabout. Effectively the concept is to install a small raised traffic island that could be any diameter and could be decorative as well. Roundabouts limit speeds by horizontally deflecting vehicles as they pass through an intersection. 13th and Park may be too small for this, but 15th and Garden may not. The City is going to study traffic counts / etc. at each of these intersections and look at both intersections for viability and what can / should be done to improve pedestrian safety.
I will say that I am also pushing that we consider speed humps in Hoboken in certain areas – Jersey City just announced that they are installing 86 as part of their Vision Zero plan. They don’t work in all locations and they come with challenges if not designed correctly (snow removal, noise, etc...). We historically have been told a flat “No”. But I think it should be more of a “yes / sometimes”.
As always, feel free to reach out if you want to discuss this further, or anything else, by email or by phone 201/208-1674. And please forward this to anyone you think would benefit from hearing about this.
