Description
As a result of the construction start on the Kushner towers on the east side of Bergen Ave. & JFK Boulevard at Journal Square, pedestrians have been pushed off the sidewalk into a narrow 5-ft. path. Complaints to Hudson County resulted in widening the path between the north crosswalk and the PATH station and setting back the construction fence at the two crosswalks.
This is being posted on both the Hudson County and Jersey City SeeClickFix websites because both have jurisdiction over the pedestrian walkway. Jersey City is responsible for the south crosswalk and Bergen Ave. Hudson County is responsible for the north crosswalk and JFK Boulevard.
The flimsy 6-ft. plastic barriers installed along the east side of the intersection will never stop an errant car traveling at 40MPH. There are (20) 6-ft. barriers spanning from south of the south crosswalk to north of the north crosswalk. This is where pedestrians are most vulnerable to errant cars turning left to proceed northbound on JFK Boulevard and where they have the least protection.
NONE of the plastic barriers are completely filled with water. 10 are maybe 2/3 full and the other 10 are empty. These barriers are supposed to be interlocked and pinned together through the holes in the ends. I counted a total of 6 pins.
Most of the empty 6-ft. barriers can be moved out of place by shoving them sideways. This will not protect pedestrians from an errant vehicle. ALL of these flimsy barriers should be replaced by NJ concrete barriers.
On the east side of the intersection, the north and south crosswalks are 12’ wide. The distance between them is 80’. At the north side of the north crosswalk, the south 6-ft. plastic barrier blocks 3’6” of the crosswalk. At the south side of the south crosswalk, the north 6-ft. plastic barrier blocks 9” of the crosswalk.
The Kushner contractor only used 20-ft. NJ concrete barriers. 10-ft. and 12-ft NJ barriers are readily available. The contractor must be compelled to install NJ concrete barriers along the entire length of the pedestrian walkway without restricting the width of the crosswalks.
also asked...
A. 6. Traffic: Other Traffic/Safety Study Request
17 Comments
Jersey City, NJ (Verified Official)
jerseyflea (Registered User)
jerseyflea (Registered User)
jerseyflea (Registered User)
Following are dimensions of the existing 6-ft. plastic barriers and how they can be replaced with NJ concrete barriers.
NORTH BARRIERS
20’ Existing 20-ft. NJ concrete barrier
25’6” Length of existing 4 x 6-ft. plastic barriers
-22’ South end of existing NJ concrete barrier to north side of north crosswalk
3’6” ► South 6-ft. barrier blocks crosswalk
20’ ► REPLACE 4 x 6-ft. plastic barriers with (1) 20-ft. NJ concrete barrier
MIDDLE BARRIERS
80’ Distance between crosswalks
79’ Length of existing 13 x 6-ft. plastic barriers
80’ ► REPLACE 13 x 6-ft. plastic barriers with (4) 20-ft. NJ concrete barriers
SOUTH BARRIERS
18’9” Length of existing 4 x 6-ft. plastic barriers
18’ South side of south crosswalk to 20-ft. NJ concrete barrier
0’9” ► North 6-ft. barrier blocks crosswalk
38’ South side of south crosswalk to south end of 20-ft. NJ concrete barrier
36’ ► Replace 4 x 6-ft. plastic barriers & 20-ft. NJ concrete barrier with (3) 12-ft. NJ concrete barriers
SUMMARY OF CHANGES NEEDED:
REMOVE all (20) 6-ft. plastic barriers
RELOCATE (1) 20-ft. NJ concrete barrier from south of south crosswalk to north of north crosswalk
INSTALL (4) 20-ft. NJ concrete barriers between crosswalks
INSTALL (3) 12-ft. NJ concrete barriers south of south crosswalk
jerseyflea (Registered User)
Jersey City SeeClickFix Issue ID: 13029961
https://seeclickfix.com/issues/13029961
jerseyflea (Registered User)
Ania (Registered User)
jerseyflea (Registered User)
Multiple W1-6 One-Direction Large Arrow Signs (2009 MUTCD Section 2C.12) could be installed on the NJ concrete barriers between the south and north crosswalks.
The change in traffic direction would then be unambiguous and the NJ concrete barriers would better protect pedestrians.
Engineering - Althea (Verified Official)
Engineering - Althea (Verified Official)
jerseyflea (Registered User)
Althea,
You succeeded in disrupting the ongoing issue 13029951.
Read the 2nd paragraph above from 19 August 2022:
"This is being posted on both the Hudson County and Jersey City SeeClickFix websites because both have jurisdiction over the pedestrian walkway. "
THIS issue is a duplicate of issue 13029951, which was responded to by Drew in Engineering. NO ONE responded to THIS issue, so make this the duplicate, not vice versa.
Please undo what you did to issue 13029951:
https://seeclickfix.com/issues/13029961
jerseyflea (Registered User)
Here is what you wrote on 9 January for issue 12780671:
https://seeclickfix.com/issues/12780671
"Engineering - Althea (Verified Official)
This issue has been marked as a duplicate of issue 13029952.
If you are already receiving notifications regarding this issue,
you will now receive updates regarding issue 13029952."
This needs fixing, too.
Traffic Engineering - Doug Carlucci (Verified Official)
When I visited the site last week, all of the Yodock-style traffic barriers were fully filled with water and immovable; locked together; and deployed correctly. They were sufficiently spaced to provide full access to the crosswalks. I will discuss with the general contractor the possibility of deploying Jersey barriers, but we regularly allow Yodock-style barriers to be deployed for protected pedestrian pathways citywide as long as they are deployed correctly. Thank you.
TC (Registered User)
jerseyflea (Registered User)
Doug Carlucci,
Are you sure we're looking at the same walkway? On Thursday 26 January I checked the plastic barriers and found them woefully under-filled and missing many pins.
Following are the current numbers. Those in parentheses are from my 19 August original post (see above).
Aug Jan
(20) 14 Total plastic barriers
(10) 7 Mostly empty
(10) 7 Mostly full
(17) 10 Pins needed
(6) 4 Pins installed
(11) 6 Pins missing
The MINIMUM necessary is to compel the Kushner contractor to install the 6 missing pins and open and fill EVERY ONE of the 14 barriers to the top.
The BEST solution is similar to what I proposed in August:
The Kushner contractor only used 20-ft. NJ concrete barriers. 10-ft. and 12-ft NJ barriers are readily available. The contractor must be compelled to install NJ concrete barriers along the entire length of the pedestrian walkway without restricting the width of the crosswalks.
REMOVE ALL (14) 6-ft. plastic barriers.
RELOCATE (1) 20-ft. NJ concrete barrier from south of south crosswalk to north of north crosswalk
INSTALL (1) 10-ft. NJ concrete barrier between north crosswalk and sliding gate
INSTALL (2) 20-ft. NJ concrete barriers between sliding gate and south crosswalk
INSTALL (3) 12-ft. NJ concrete barriers south of south crosswalk
jerseyflea (Registered User)
What I posted on 21 August (see above) still applies:
If the flimsy red & white plastic barriers were installed to increase visibility for left-turning northbound drivers at the intersection of JFK Boulevard & Bergen Ave., this can also be accomplished by appropriate signage.
Multiple W1-6 One-Direction Large Arrow Signs (2009 MUTCD Section 2C.12) could be installed on the NJ concrete barriers between the south and north crosswalks.
The change in traffic direction would then be unambiguous and the NJ concrete barriers would better protect pedestrians.
Michael (Registered User)