Comments on: Hoboken Bicycle Plan proposal

By: john

john — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:39:24 +0000

i love this plan if hoboken can really make it work. i just started biking to the path station from 14th street and while riding on hudson is nice in the morning riding back has been a challenge on any road. i don’t understand why the city wouldn’t enforce stricter traffic controls, more tickets = more revenue. i think part of making hoboken even more livable would be to remove as much street parking as possible by investing in underground municipal parking and requiring all new construction to build parking into the building and allowing a portion of it for municipal parking. i wouldn’t mind paying more for a parking permit if i knew i had a guaranteed spot in a garage that didn’t cost as much as my rent. great first step tho. lets see how long this actually takes now.

By: sasquatch

sasquatch — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:07:34 +0000

great 1st step! any doubters should look at the successes they have had in Seattle and San Francisco. Some people can’t fathom why change would be good until they actually do change… then they can’t figure out why they waited so long. It’s like when children discover that peas actually are not so bad!

-S

By: Andy B from Jersey

Andy B from Jersey — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:47:13 +0000

I’m not super familiar with Hoboken but I do find it interesting that Washington St is not designated to get a bike lane but will get a little more than half of the new bike racks. This leads me to assume that this is the main commercial strip in town. So how are cyclists supposed to get to these racks to go do there shopping? Teleportation?

Hopefully the success of this program once it is initiated will force the city to correct this.

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:36:26 +0000

It’s an excellent proposal, but it must be accompanied by traffic/parking enforcement. None of this will work in Hoboken unless enforcement of parking actually takes place in Hoboken. Which, unfortunately, by all indications looks like it will never happen. Most importantly is vehicles parked too close to the curb. There does not exist clear markings on Hoboken street corners. You have yellow painted curbs and typically two additional white spray painted lines. How do drivers no what is the actual proper distance from the curb. First, we need clear curb lines, not little white spray pained lines in the middle of yellow painted curb. Next, you need enforcement of these areas. Vehicles, pedestrians and bycyclists are all presented with the same problem. We all have to creep out to a dangerous exposed position in order to identify on-coming traffic. In my vehicle I cannot see the cross street traffic if I stay behind the cross walk. I have to creep up to a position where I am blocking the cross-walk to see, which makes it dangerous for everyone else. Next is the enforcement of double parking. Let’s be completely honest here; it’s selective enforcement. Social clubs do not have to obey such laws. If residents take the initiative and call the parking utility or police they ask if you are personally blocked in. If not, there is no response. As an earlier post described, it is too dangerous to bike on the back streets such as Madison if double parking is not enforced.

By: Juan

Juan — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:18:41 +0000

“Jack” - You don’t have to look very far to find a counter-example to your assertion that “there is just not room”. New York City has much more traffic than Hoboken, yet they’re making it work. There are many, many other similar examples.

By: Jack Gas

Jack Gas — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:43:07 +0000

I think it is a stupid idea. Have you noticed how hard it is to enforce people from double parking their cars in this town? There is no room in this town as it is for delivery trucks to drive through let alone make a path for bikes. It sounds like it would be nice but lets get real. This town is a 5lb bag with 50lb of crap in it, there is just not room.

By: Mike Kruimer

Mike Kruimer — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:09:33 +0000

The bicycle plan looks GREAT! plenty of flow in all directions. Remember that we (bicyclists) MUST obey the rules of the road if we want to be respected as users of the road. The more bicyclists and walkers that use the roads, the more visable we will become and the better to be respected as bonefied users of the road.
I walk the walk! I ride to work 7 miles each day and stop at red lights, slow down and look before proceeding at stop signs, and slow down to the posted speed limit when I have to.
Act like a vehicle on the road and you will be respected as one.
Just watch out for those that have no respect for anyone!

By: Juan

Juan — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:55:27 +0000

Bike lanes will *improve* safety.

Painting bike lanes will narrow the perceived width of the road for cars and studies have shown that that will passively lead them to drive at slower speeds. Pedestrian fatalities are much less likely at slower speeds, and since cyclists already have the same rights and responsibilities on the road as drivers do, the slower speeds will create a safer environment not only for cyclists but for pedestrians as well.

By: Karen R

Karen R — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:29:12 +0000

While I like cycling, I think that trying to fit bike lanes in the crowded streets of Hoboken where cars ignore stop signs, don’t yield etc is a horrible idea. Pedestrians who are walking don’t feel safe, so encouraging people to bike is a recipe for disaster. One week cannot go by without a car coming within a foot of me as I am legally crossing the street. Furthermore, Madison Street in particular, has alot of double parking between about 3rd and 6th which makes it difficult for cars to weave by never mind cyclists. In addition, 9th street is narrow in areas and only a car can fit. Finally, the police barely ticket cars that ignore stop and yield signs. So why put more people at risk encouraging them to bike in Hoboken.