There can be little question that Secaucus is a car community, meaning that most residents go about their daily tasks and errands on four wheels rather than on two feet. Local residents are so committed to their cars, in fact, that it’s not unusual to find people who will drive the short distance from, say, Town Hall to Charlie’s Corner.
But for those who do venture out on foot, the town can be tricky as pedestrians try to navigate dimly-lit streets without sidewalks while at the same time trying to avoid speeding cars.
“It’s pretty dangerous over by Centre and County Avenue,” said one resident at a Town Council meeting last month. Emphasizing the plight of Secaucus pedestrians everywhere, this resident urged the council to better regulate the intersection where turning and speeding vehicles can make it tough for people on foot to cross the street.
The choice: Walking in the street, or on a dirt path.
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Example: Meadowlands Parkway: Riverside Court area
It’s a very short distance from the Riverside Court housing development at the end of Meadowlands Parkway to the nearby Subway sandwich shop and Dunkin Donuts, but it’s a treacherous walk for anyone who dares to leave the car at home.
“I tried walking it a few times, but honestly, I don’t know that I’d ever do it again,” said Annette Tarantino, who last week was visiting her sister who lives in Riverside Court. “You think you can walk it because it is so close. But there’s no place to walk but in the street. I did notice that drivers would move over in their lane to give me extra room to walk. So I thought that was good. Drivers saw me and were trying to accommodate that I was there.”
When asked what she thought might make the walk a little safer, she said, “It seems like they’d have enough room for sidewalks.”
While the distance from Riverside to the Subway is less than a skip and a jump, other Riverside residents sometimes walk an even longer, more dangerous stretch of Meadowlands Parkway during their daily commute to and from the Manhattan.
Local resident Ravi Patel was walking briskly along Meadowlands Parkway last Monday morning to catch a bus to take him to Secaucus Junction. He said he had missed the No. 78 bus that he had hoped to take, and was walking toward the Crowne Plaza Hotel to catch another one to the train station.
“Sometimes when I come [outside to the bus stop], I miss the bus I need. I don’t want to be late for my train. So rather than wait, I walk down to the next [bus] stop and take one of the other buses,” he said.
This walk involves either walking in the street and dogging speeding cars and buses, or hoofing it on a dirt trail by the side of the road.
“I’m careful,” he said, “and it’s always light. But I can see why some people might think it’s not so good and a little dangerous, especially where the road curves around. The cars may not see you. You definitely don’t want to be in the road around those curves.”
Patel agreed that sidewalks would make his walk safer.
And although Patel walks by daylight, this portion of Meadowlands Parkway is rather dark at night, making it particularly hazardous for anyone walking when the sun isn’t up.
Example: Paterson Plank Road going east
Less than a mile separates The Home Depot at 1055 Paterson Plank Road from Best Buy just a short distance away at 925 Paterson Plank Road. In theory, it should be a quick jaunt from picking out light fixtures to picking out a new camera – and by car, it is. But on foot, not so much. The two stores are separated by the entrance ramp to Route 3 East.
“Oh, I’m used to it,” shrugged a young woman named Lisa who said she takes the No. 190 NJ Transit bus up Paterson Plank Road to its last stop in Secaucus, then sometimes crosses Route 3 to her job near Best Buy.
It’s an extremely risky walk, one she could avoid if she crossed Paterson Plank going in the direction of Harmon Meadow, then walked completely around the vast Harmon Meadow shopping complex, then back to Paterson Plank. But she said that walk takes a long time, time she said she doesn’t have when the bus is late.
“You just have to be careful, especially at night ‘cause it’s harder for the cars to see you,” she added. “And it is the highway.”
Like Ravi Patel, she walks a on a dirt path along Route 3 until she’s able to cross and walk towards the shopping center where she works.
The lack of sidewalks didn’t bother her, Lisa said.
“I just wish it weren’t so dark,” she said. “I think there could be more street lights.”
Even those who wouldn’t dare cross Route 3 may find Paterson Plank Road daunting. The intersection of Paterson Plank and Dorigo Lane is well lit, but turning cars have no traffic light there and can often be found speeding to turn onto one of the these two streets.
Those on foot in town can take comfort in one fact. According to Detective Sgt. Thomas O’Keefe of the Secaucus Police Department, it’s “rare for the most part” for pedestrians in town to be hit by cars.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.