Dear Editor:
The same high standards the City is using to redesign Washington Street are missing from the Sinatra Drive study. In fact, the Sinatra Drive study can only loosely be called a “visioning” study given that it is restricted to the roadway rather than encompass the area from 4th through 11th Streets, from the western edge of Sinatra Drive to the water’s edge.
Ironically, the City knows how to do things the right way as demonstrated by a recent “complete streets” study that will result in a revamping Washington Street. Among other things, the Washington Street redesign will give us upgraded crosswalks, walk/don’t walk signals, new lighting, benches and bus shelters, improved parking, bicycle lanes and much, much more. The administration and City Council are to be congratulated on the improvements to Washington Street.
The question is: Why is the City not applying the same standards to the Sinatra Drive project?
A complete visioning study will give us an opportunity to consider the Union Dry Dock site for a possible park. It will give us an opportunity to work with Stevens Institute to find a way to remove the cars from its piers. It will give us an opportunity to extend Sinatra Drive straight north from 4th to 5th Street to replace the very dangerous high-speed curve with right angle intersections, add much-needed park spaces, enlarge our substandard Little League field and extend the magnificent landscaping of our south waterfront all the way to 11th Street.
We are proud that Hoboken has become known as one of the Great Places in New Jersey. We have received awards from the American Planning Association, the first was for our world-renowned south waterfront and the second for our vibrant Washington Street. Presenting the award to the City, Charles Latini, Jr., President of APA-NJ, said: “Great places happen because they are planned for and implemented by people who set high marks for themselves and their communities. They take hard work, planning and re-planning as time stretches across political tenure, but all of them are places their citizens take pride in.”
For the future of Hoboken, we must take Mr. Lantini’s sage advice and expand the Sinatra Drive study to allow it to provide a map for creating another Great Place in New Jersey.
We in Hoboken deserve a complete visioning study for Sinatra Drive and should not settle for anything less. If the administration is not willing to do so, our City Council must lead the charge.
James Vance
President, FBW