After years of planning, Hoboken is moving forward on complete redesigns of three key streets. But some concerned citizens say that the some of the new designs are overzealous and wonder where the funding will come from.
Washington Street
Two weeks ago, RBA Group presented its final concept plan for the complete street redesign of Washington Street, Hoboken’s commercial core, to the public. The RBA plan prefaces some notable changes to the current roadway, including a two-way bicycle lane protected by a concrete buffer from Observer Highway to Eighth Street and concrete curb extensions that decrease the distance pedestrians must walk in the street. RBA also advocates upgraded traffic signals that give pedestrians a countdown clock, which traffic specialist Gordon Meth said are en vogue everywhere.
“If you liked PSE&G, you’re going to love United Water.”—Quentin Wiest
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On the sidewalk, RBA proposed additional shade trees, modern benches, 25 foot arm-mounted light posts, wayfinding signage, and additional Big Belly solar-powered trash cans. The planners noted that Washington Street had already been hailed as a Great Street by the American Planning Association, but argued that their proposed changes would make the street even better.
RBA representative Bettina Zimny noted that retail businesses on Ninth Avenue in New York City received a 49 percent increase in sales after the city added bike lanes and trees to the streetscape.
Finding the money
In an interview this past week, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said she believes in the approach RBA took regarding Washington Street and hopes to put some of their ideas before the City Council soon. Individual proposals may succeed or fail, but the largest outstanding question is how the redesign will be paid for. The estimated total cost of the redesign was $14 million.
Only some of the money has been secured. Zimmer said money from previous bonds already covered the most immediate next step, hiring an engineering firm to produce an implementation and phasing plan. In addition, the city has been awarded a $900,000 grant from the state Economic Development Authority to cover wayfinding signs across the city along with streetscape improvements to First Street.
The Vineland Daily Journal recently noted that the state’s Transportation Trust Fund is only a year away from insolvency. New Jersey’s gas tax, which replenishes the fund, is one of the lowest in the nation, and hasn’t been raised since 1988.
Still, Hoboken hasn’t given up on trying to garner some state funding for street renovation. On Wednesday, the City Council approved two applications for grants from the state Department of Transportation (NJDOT) that will fund improvements to Washington Street.
Residents Dan Tumpson and Cheryl Fallick criticized the City Council for seeking grants for Washington Street when it had yet to even approve a plan. Tumpson said there were a number of dangers associated with narrowing Washington Street that have not been discussed enough.
Assistant Business Administrator Stephen Marks emphasized that the grants are open-ended and had to be applied for before the next City Council meeting.
Ultimately, Zimmer said the city will have to bond to pay for some of the improvements entailed in the Washington Street redesign. That could be tough as long as Zimmer has only five allies on the City Council, because bonds require six votes to pass.
Sinatra Drive
A week before RBA Group had their final public meeting on Washington Street, design firm Kimley-Horn had their second meeting to present alternatives for Sinatra Drive along the waterfront between Fourth and Eleventh Streets. Similar to the Washington Street plan, the Sinatra Drive design would add protected bike lanes, pedestrian-friendly curb extensions, and additional street parking.
Some city planning advocates in Hoboken were disappointed that Kimley-Horn did not go farther. Ron Hine, the Executive Director of the local activist group Fund for a Better Waterfront (FBW), says the redesign is a perfect opportunity to look at the placement of the Sinatra Drive roadway itself.
In a guest column submitted to local newspapers, Hine argued that the current location of Sinatra Drive as it curves to join Fourth Street illegally encroaches on the original footprint of Stevens Park as it was laid out in Hoboken’s city charter. All three alternatives for the intersection presented by Kimley-Horn preserve the bend.
If Hine had his way, Sinatra Drive would meet Fourth Street in a straight T-intersection, returning Stevens Park to its authentic rectangular form. But that would force the relocation of Hoboken’s World War II Memorial, which Mayor Zimmer has said is a non-starter.
Kimley-Horn has yet to settle on a final concept for Sinatra Drive, but Hine says he is open to challenging the city in court if it does not adjust the positioning of the Fourth Street link-up.
Observer Highway
Hoboken also recently received final approval at the state and federal level to move forward with its “complete street” redesign of Observer Highway. The plan calls for widening the sidewalks and adding a class 1 protected bike lane in hopes of making the street more welcoming for pedestrians and cyclists. Some parking along the busy boulevard will be moved, said Zimmer, but none will be lost.
Getting a thumbs up from New Jersey Transit was a key step in the process. At NJT’s behest, Zimmer said she agreed to end the Observer Highway bike lane before it entered the bus terminal at the eastern end of Observer Highway.
“If New Jersey Transit writes a letter to the DOT Commissioner saying ‘we’re opposed to Hoboken’s Observer Highway redesign,” said Zimmer, “it would be difficult to get final approval.”
The city has already secured $1.8 million in federal funding for the Observer Highway redesign through an earmark secured by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ). The county will be managing the project, which also includes repaving the street.
Paving the potholes
No appraisal of the streets in Hoboken is complete without a mention of the ever-present potholes. On Wednesday, the city finally hired a contractor to undertake part B of its 2014 road resurfacing program, which covers portions of Jackson, Monroe, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Streets in southwest Hoboken.
Hoboken will pay Reggio Construction $858,553 for the repaving. For months, the city had struggled to find bidders for the contract, and how much repaving can be completed before winter weather hits is an open question.
Regardless of any complete street plan, the repaving of Washington Street cannot be undertaken until the city’s utilities have finished replacing outdated pipes beneath the street. Public Service Electric and Gas Company began replacing cast iron gas lines in July and could take years to fully complete its project. United Water must also replace some of its water mains under Washington, and the city has only just held initial meetings regarding that initiative. As Business Administrator Quentin Wiest said at Wednesday’s City Council meeting, “if you liked PSE&G, you’re going to love United Water.”
SIDEBAR
Bikes rolling out soon
This past week, the city of Hoboken announced that it expects to have its bikeshare program ready to go by late fall. The program will begin with 230 bicycles in Hoboken and 70 in Weehawken. The cycles have “smart lock” technology and can be left at any station within the system.
The location of those stations is currently up for discussion. The city has posted a map of 24 proposed locations online at openplans.org/hoboken/bikeshare and is asking residents to give feedback on where they think stops should be. Responses will be recorded until Oct. 8.
The program had been held up over the spring and summer after potential sponsors were reportedly scared off by financial issues with New York’s Citi Bike program and similar systems nationwide. Hoboken and Weehawken have still yet to locate a sponsor that will underwrite the project like Citibank did for Citi Bike, though Zimmer said there were some good leads. Until one is secured, the bicycle manufacturer NextBike will cover the cost of bikes themselves, while bike rental operator Bike & Roll will cover maintenance, rebalancing and customer service.
NextBike’s bicycles cost $1,200 each, compared to $5,000 for each Citi Bike, which is docked rather than locked at stations between each use.
As with Citi Bike, the Hoboken-centered program is designed to incur no costs for the municipalities involved. In fact, said Zimmer, Hoboken and Weehawken are slated to receive 10 percent of the program’s profits after capital expenditures have been recouped.
Jersey City had been part of the Hudson County bikeshare initiative, but as the New York Times reported this past weekend, Mayor Steven Fulop decided to instead join New York’s Citi Bike program, adding 500 to 600 of the iconic blue cycles by next year. A single membership will now allow the use of Citi Bikes on both sides of the Hudson River.