Sent in by Matthew. I know there are some excellent and friendly crossing guards, but what are your opinions on his thoughts?

He writes:

Dear Hoboken411,

crossing-guard-hoboken.jpgI’ve lived in Hoboken since 2000 and have owned here for the past four years. I put up with the high taxes, poor roads, double parking, corruption and governmental waste. I don’t know why, but I do. I guess this letter is my first step in trying to do something about it.

Each morning, my girlfriend and I walk to the PATH - just like thousands of other Hobokenites. During the school year, most street corners in this town are manned by some incompetent, most likely overpaid, city employee whose responsibility it is to manage traffic so the children don’t get injured.

Believe me, I’m all about safety of our children. What bothers me is the fact that these “crossing guards” selectively do their jobs. Besides not being as effective as they can with crossing the children (I’ve seen them talking on their cell phones/other, as children walk through intersection unguarded), they refuse to assist in crossing adults.

Now, do I need a crossing guard? No, I don’t. However, if these people are being paid (and most likely qualifying for pensions, etc.), and are there for the safety of our younger citizens - don’t you think that they should be commissioned to look after the safety of all of Hoboken’s citizens? Especially since the older ones pay their salaries?

When asked, their response is, “we don’t cross adults.” Why not? You’re being paid for cross-walk safety. I guarantee you if someone got hurt while that guard was on duty, the city would be sued - so why be selective?

I wont even attempt to voice my frustration about not having some sort of crossing guard at those intersections by the PATH. Why would they put crossing guards at a low-level intersection like 4th and Jefferson but not right in front of the Starbucks where I’ve seen people almost get run over multiple times.

This town is upside down. The parasites that run it will milk it till it’s spent. We probably spend six or seven figures on the crossing guard budget each year - and as usual, for sub-par performance.

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