Washington Street: War Zone
More “nicks in the armor” on Washington Street
Almost everyone in town knows that Washington Street is a total disaster when it comes to the pavement. And yesterday, construction crews were ripping it up once again near 5th Street. Not sure if it was related to some public utility – or with the upcoming Anthropologie located close by.
Doesn’t matter really, because the net result on your kidneys, brain and car suspension will be the same. Disastrous!
Hoboken’s “main drag” Washington St. should be top priority
5/18/2012:
Imagine coming to Hoboken for the first time, to visit one of the popular destinations on Washington Street.
Naturally, not knowing first hand how crazy the city gets on weekends, you’ll most likely be driving around and around searching for parking. And during your spins around the block – you might possibly suffer from kidney damage as your vehicle takes blow after blow from the horrid pavement conditions that pepper our most highly traveled thoroughfare.
Some intersections in Hoboken are so bad – that when large trucks drive through – the earth shakes.
It must have some long-term effect on properties as well. Not good. Take this spot at 10th & Washington which was spot-filled earlier this week. The result? Even worse than before!
Drivers AND pedestrians are at risk on Washington Street
Of course, after tinkering with the ridiculous parking meters and walking 8 blocks to the restaurant you’ll also have to be sharp and avoid stepping into the divots in the road as well – as this poor woman learned the hard way during a recent Hoboken Baby Parade.
She was a tough cookie, and was OK – but wow, what a blow to the skull!
Solutions for bettering Washington St. in Hoboken
As you can see – a first time visitor to Hoboken will take some rather negative memories back home with them, and may be reluctant to come back anytime soon. We don’t want that now, do we?
- If I were Mayor – I’d make it my top priority to get this street smooth as a baby’s bottom as soon as possible. Before bike lanes, before parks, before giving pay raises to my friends and hiring more lawyers.
- Additionally – those ridiculous brick pavers that our cross-walks are comprised of HAVE TO GO. They’re part of the reason keeping the “Avenue” smooth is more complicated than necessary. Sell the bricks to some contractor to re-coup some of the expenditures. Instead – make ALL of Washington Street ASPHALT. They have new “faux brick” methods that stencil the hot asphalt and apply a dyed epoxy coloring to give in the appearance of expensive brick – but at a fraction of the cost. They’re already doing this in Jersey City near Grove Street. You can read how the Jersey City stamped crosswalks survived the blizzard of 2010 – without a single scratch. Hoboken? I think you know the answer.
- If the street needs to be torn up for something other than an emergency like a water main break (which we have a lot of anyway because of the crumbling infrastructure that lies beneath), get the contractor or property owner to at least contribute some reasonable fee towards an escrow account which can be applied towards future paving costs.
No matter what – something needs to be done – and quickly.
Washington Street is the “poster child” of Hoboken, and is in the absolute WORST CONDITION EVER!
Hoboken NJ
May 18th, 2012 |
Betcha if these pot holes were in her damn bike lanes, they be taken care of 1-2-3. Instead of looking into the camera for all these photo-ops, she should be taking a ride with Sacs on Washington Street looking down a the roads.
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May 18th, 2012 |
I cringe every time I have to drive on Washington St, and avoid it if possible. Have devised a special smooth path in and out of Hoboken but that’s not saying much. At least River St got an upgrade.
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May 18th, 2012 |
Funny clip, but glads that lady is OK. I agree with Hoboken411 that shoddy condition of Washington street needs to be addressed!!
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May 18th, 2012 |
Hoboken has a tough time spending money on work that doesn’t benefit lawyers or political supporters.
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May 18th, 2012 |
Completely agree that the condition of Washington Street is embarassing. Also like the faux crosswalk idea. But my understanding is this is a county road and repairs are the responsibility of the county. I have twice heard our freeholder say that his top priority while in office is the creation of a county police academy. Have never heard him say road repair. And that is a shame.
H411, can you confirm who “owns” the road?
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May 18th, 2012 |
@gazzo – I really don’t care about the insider politics behind who owns what, etc. – nor do the residents and visitors that suffer through the turmoil of getting from point A to point B in Hoboken.
Ultimately, it’s the Mayor’s responsibility to make it happen one way or another.
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May 18th, 2012 |
I agree the streets inHoboken are a disaster also 14th st and near the end by the thearter its like a war zone all of Hobokenits just horrible , Washington street is so bad its been like that for yars now I ve never seen the streets so neglected.
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May 20th, 2012 |
I think the war on potholes is running a distant second to the war on careless driving.. @3:30pm I saw a Stevens PD Jeep Liberty run a stop sign at 6th and Garden, then hang a right through an occupied crosswalk onto Park.. Nice example. (faux brick looks pretty good though, btw.)
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July 10th, 2012 |
Hoboken411 gets action again, as we scared Mayor Zimmer into trying to recover some of the grace the city has lost with this horrific example of a main avenue.
However, they’re going to be bonding for eight figure amounts, which will put a dent in any chances for a future property tax decrease.
“The Zimmer Administration is introducing a bond ordinance to begin the process of upgrading and modernizing the entire length of Washington Street, including repaving the road, installing modern traffic signals with pedestrian countdown timers, and installing ADA-compliant crosswalks and ramps.”
“Washington Street is the hub of social life and business activity in Hoboken – with great restaurants and outdoor cafés, excellent shopping, art galleries, studios, and more,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “This vibrant street is important to the quality of life of our residents, and by revitalizing this important corridor, we will also benefit our local economy, improve pedestrian safety, and make Hoboken more inviting to everyone.” (Note she left out: “We rely on Hoboken411 to shine the light on what is important in this city…”)
A series of public meetings will be held to solicit community input to develop plans for Washington Street. Following the design stage, a second bond will be necessary to pay for construction. The estimated cost for resurfacing and new signals is approximately $9 million. With a “shovel-ready” design in place, the city will also apply for grants to help pay for construction costs.
“Washington Street is the front door to hundreds of businesses in Hoboken,” said Michael Novak, President of the Hoboken Chamber of Commerce. “These upgrades to our key shopping district will help our merchants and positively impact our local economy.” (No duh, Mike – thanks for being inspired by 411)
“This new street improvement bond will turn outdated, motorist-specific thoroughfares into safe, comfortable streets smartly designed with the needs of the residents in mind,” said Brian Wagner, Leadership Advocate for Bike Hoboken. “It would pave the way for the integration of bicyclists and pedestrians into the city’s already busy transportation infrastructure.” (Brian, glad you’re an “advocate” but at least don’t run red lights on your bike when you see me walking around – you kind of come off as a hypocrite…)
(411 final note – always a dark lining to a silver cloud – if and when these projects are approved – expect months or even years of terrible traffic and parking problems)
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July 10th, 2012 |
It is about time they get the countdown at crosswalks. Between Cake Boss and the 1000′s that take the Path, downtown during rush hour is extremely dangerous. The street is dotted with people in the street playing Frogger. Hopefully these will help a bit.
I could not agree with H411 more, how is a developer allowed to rip up the street to run pipes and wires and then only required to patch it up. They should be required to pave the whole street. I mean this in cases uptown where the developer puts up a building that is an entire square block and rips up 4 street in multiple places.
It is such a shame, all the development in some of the most prime real estate in the country and we gave Pilots instead of getting Pools, Parks, Nicely Paved streets, Recreation Centers, etc. We should have the best facilities in the county. We should have raked in millions in give backs to build.
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July 10th, 2012 |
I feel the floor at home shake when those large trucks pass by outside.
That’s not good, is it?
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