To the Editor:
It is apparent that Bayonne is seeing an increase in residential development; throughout the election, we heard about how great it is for Bayonne and the potential that Bayonne now has because of such development. However, there are pros and cons to this residential development. We have heard about all the positives, but what about the negatives?
The biggest issue with the increasing residential development is the ever-growing problem with parking. I have some ideas to create a dialogue and to hopefully urge some action for a major issue, which has not been addressed. My first idea is to paint white lines to designate parking spots. Several questions do arise with this solution: 1) Won’t it cost the city to paint these lines on the streets throughout Bayonne? Initially it would cost Bayonne money, but I would suggest a minimum fine of $100 for those who take up more than one of these parking spots, increasing for repeat offenders. Therefore, Bayonne would make up the cost and eventually profit from this. The other question relates to the various sizes of vehicles. The simple answer is that the size of parking spots will vary. The second idea is municipal parking lots/garages. Hoboken has built municipal parking garages for residents/businesses. It has five municipal parking garages that have been beneficial to the city and its residents. Bayonne should explore using a few of its many vacant lots to build municipal parking garages. This would benefit Bayonne financially and would benefit residents because now they would have their own designated parking spot.
I would like to thank the City of Bayonne for taking into consideration one of my previous ideas. On January 8, I wrote a letter calling for more awareness for pedestrians crossing along the shopping centers of route 440, and presented the idea of pedestrian cross bridges. At the city council meeting of April 16, I was pleased to hear Resolution R-12 “authorizing an application to the NJDOT for funding for a project under the Transportation Alternatives program (to fix drainage and provide a safe environment for pedestrians and bicycle riders who are traveling along and crossing route 440 between 22nd and 30th streets).” Whether this includes the construction of cross bridges remains to be seen, but I am satisfied that Bayonne is addressing this issue.
RICHARD MCCARTHY