Description
The resident said that this area of Summit Avenue has cars speeding along with loud mufflers, especially at night. He is requesting a study be done so that maybe a light or other signs can be placed to slow down the traffic. He fears a pedestrian will get killed.
also asked...
Q. What pedestrian and traffic safety elements would you like the city to consider?
A. 5. Traffic: Traffic Signal Request ( For requests to conduct a traffic signal warrant analysis to determine if a traffic signal is warranted at an intersection.)
A. 5. Traffic: Traffic Signal Request ( For requests to conduct a traffic signal warrant analysis to determine if a traffic signal is warranted at an intersection.)
Q. Additional Information
A. No Answer Given
A. No Answer Given
64 Comments
Jersey City, NJ (Verified Official)
Ron (Registered User)
JSQMKM (Registered User)
This has been going on regularly since the beginning of last summer, I presume associated witht he pandemic.
JF (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
Thanks for blocking another comment in this great country called the United States of America. I’ll have an attorney look into who’s doing that.
Is this complaint about the mufflers or the speeding? Theres already multiple open gripes for this complaint on the same intersection.
RRC - Samantha (Verified Official)
Acknowledged Traffic – Jennifer C (Verified Official)
JF (Registered User)
Thank you. The extended corners did not work. Accidents still happening with vehicles/vehicles and vehicles/pedestrians. Not enough visibility. May I suggest enhanced visibility by unfortunately reducing the amount of parked vehicles to the corner?
Its possible one less vehicle on each corner can enhance the visibility of drivers and pedestrians.
JF (Registered User)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Pulling all these issues into one helps us review all the issues for this intersection gives a bigger impact to see all the comments and suggestions; and allows us to update everyone in a single place.
Please continue to add your comments and suggestions if you wish.
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Issues:
1) This is an extremely dangerous intersection, both for pedestrians and drivers.
2) Cars parked close to the crosswalk – obstructing site line for cars trying to pull onto Summit.
3) Cars parked close to the crosswalk - make it difficult to see pedestrians
4) Crossing in crosswalk is dangerous for pedestrians
5) Speeding cars – Racing between traffic lights at Summit @Manhattan Ave and Summit @Hutton St
6) Drivers refusing to stop for pedestrians
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Requesting:
1) All way stop.
2) Delineators.
3) RRFBs (some expressed concern that this solution can be disorienting to pedestrians and drivers, also flashing into resident’s living space).
4) Traffic signal (Some would object to another light, which would impeded the flow of traffic and further exacerbate the problem).
5) Eliminate parking spots on each corner which would increase visibility at the intersection for drivers and pedestrians.
6) Enforcement of existing laws (This would be Parking Enforcement)
7) Other daylighting measures.
When conducting pedestrian and traffic studies, crash data is pulled to help the engineers understand the situation further.
Bindi (Registered User)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Bindi (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
This was not moderated by us, the City, but probably someone from the community. I am not able to see what was posted. If it is because you continue to remark on a different issue, your post may have been marked as unrelated to this request. You can always comment on that request, in that request, but this is just for Sherman pl & Summit Ave. Please only post remarks concerning this intersection.
Posts also get flagged for abusive language or posting personal info. I am assuming that is not something you posted.
Bindi (Registered User)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
I can see your comment now! Weird that that would have been flagged!
I missed the traffic light comment, my apologies. I'm not commenting on what is a viable solution. I am only here to gather your concerns and requests to package it clearly for the engineers and planners. I would normally do this as an internal comment, but then the public would not be able to see we are actively working on these issues, nor would they be able to correct my mistakes. Thank you for this. I need all the help I can get and anyone that has more requests or observations, please keep commenting.
Traffic Engineering receives all traffic crash reports, but only keeps the past 5 years. We look at the last 5 years when looking at an intersection or a portion of a road.
The public has a right to this information, although I believe all personal information is redacted. You request these documents using the OPRA system: https://jerseycity.mycusthelp.com/WEBAPP/_rs/(S(eevx12cgc0buhjukzrdkg00n))/SupportHome.aspx
Partnering with the public is the only way to resolve these issues. You have no idea how grateful I am for your input.
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Oh wait, I did include the Traffic signal in #4 of requests. One commenter mentioned that the light would make the situation worse. I wanted to make sure they were heard as well. The engineers and planners would address this issue if a traffic light were approved.
Traffic lights are expensive and an ongoing expense, but the City only looks at what is appropriate. In addition, traffic lights take years to put in. So even if a traffic light was approved, we need to help fix the problem sooner.
JF (Registered User)
NDurante (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
Yea I agree with street direction or even just eliminating the spots around that intersection which would lengthen the width a bit more. Really just a mess with the busses, emergency services, and regular through traffic here.
It reminds me of the issue around St Pauls avenue.
I don’t think it was built for the type of traffic and activity we are seeing now. The buses even fly by and the homes shake.
Not sure whats the perfect solution but a few simple things could be enacted immediately without cost to the city.
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
So what you are saying is that vehicles are parking legally, 25-50 feet away from the corners, but this is not enough without an all way stop or traffic signal?
And the parking that would be taken away would be on Summit?
Is the problem with trying to cross? Go left? Go right? or all three?
NDurante (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
JF (Registered User)
Philippia (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
Tim (Registered User)
Philippia (Registered User)
I agree JF that we need daylighting on the corners - and it's not unfortunate - those parking spots are ILLEGAL so it's simply enforcing the law in the name of safety.
Thanks for your story Tim- I live right there on Sherman Pl a few houses away from Sanford Pl myself, and the danger is still there.
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
JF (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
Jgweiss (Registered User)
agreed on all counts here. the cost of safety is (questionable) convenience for those that park, should be a simple trade-off. There is a ton of no parking at the reservoir that can be modified to parking-protected bike lane, additionally slowing existing traffic down. there's a ton of possibilities, and balkanizing the process corner-by-corner creates solutions that cause ancillary problems that then must be fixed.
as others have said, a smaller, one-way roadway with a bus and/or bike lane would do a lot to alleviate a lot of traffic woes. but that was granted to the city, and was chipped away until it was simply some new signage.
Philippia (Registered User)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Comment made from duplicate today at 7:42 a:
The intersection at Sherman place and summit should be a 4 way stop. I see there was a previous thread about this intersection but I'm not sure what the outcome was. It's still very dangerous and there is little to no visibility when trying to turn onto summit from Sherman place either direction. Plus, there is a daycare on the corner and little ones often cross here. Any info on if the intersection can have a 4 way stop?
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
The reason I make all new issues, concerning this intersection, duplicates is because this original request is from June 2021 and that gives it a higher priority. Plus all of the comments and duplicates also give it a priority. f course being able to update and add comments in one location is extremely helpful to getting attention on this issue.
I didn't want anyone thinking that I am just burying anything by making it a duplicate. I pull all the comments and specific requests from the duplicates and summarize them.
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
REPOSTING:
Issues:
1) This is an extremely dangerous intersection, both for pedestrians and drivers.
2) Cars parked close to the crosswalk – obstructing site line for cars trying to pull onto Summit.
3) Cars parked close to the crosswalk - make it difficult to see pedestrians
4) Crossing in crosswalk is dangerous for pedestrians
5) Speeding cars – Racing between traffic lights at Summit @Manhattan Ave and Summit @Hutton St
6) Drivers refusing to stop for pedestrians
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Requesting:
1) All way stop.
2) Delineators.
3) RRFBs (some expressed concern that this solution can be disorienting to pedestrians and drivers, also flashing into resident’s living space).
4) Traffic signal (Some would object to another light, which would impeded the flow of traffic and further exacerbate the problem).
5) Eliminate parking spots on each corner which would increase visibility at the intersection for drivers and pedestrians.
6) Enforcement of existing laws (This would be Parking Enforcement)
7) Other daylighting measures.
When conducting pedestrian and traffic studies, crash data is pulled to help the engineers understand the situation further.
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
In case anyone is interested, these are the open issues for intersections along Summit in the Heights:
13695521 Summit Ave Hutton St
15598861 Summit Ave Paterson St
14397742 Summit Ave RT-139 W
10096348 Summit Ave Sherman Pl
15510573 Summit Ave Troy St
11874296 Summit Ave Zabriskie St
13596362 Bowers St Summit Ave
14033645 Hague St Summit Ave
10037674 North St Summit Ave
If you see other intersections along Summit that you would like addressed, please create a separate request under Pedestrian Safety.
Bindi (Registered User)
Philippia (Registered User)
Adding my comment here from a duplicate ticket someone else created today for this same intersection-
I also have an open request about this and would like to add yesterdays experience- I was trying to cross summit Avenue and continue onto Sherman Pl by car, and because cars were parked to the end of the curb on all sides, some over the crosswalk even, and one of them being a big truck to my left I couldn’t see over, it was soooo dangerous. I had to come basically all the way out vulnerable in the road and almost got hit by the car to my left that was going straight. It was very scary. A pedestrian ended up hitting the crosswalk sign even though he wasn’t crossing to help me get across. That’s how bad the situation gets, even for cars let alone pedestrians.
It’s a matter of time another accident happens here - please bring back the delineators for daylighting and please consider a 4 way stop.
JF (Registered User)
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
If you do a petition, a study still needs to be done and it is very unlikely that an all way stop will be placed here. The issue is there are over 400 requests just like this one and we are doing our best to prioritize. The priorities are first and foremost the ones around parks and schools.
This is your petition. This is on the list, but how could anything be implemented without studying the intersection? What if an all way stop were placed there and suddenly drivers were racing down other streets to cut through and around the stop sign? What if someone got injured due to a traffic calming device having unintended consequences to the surrounding area and the City was sued. We cannot break the law. A traffic impact study is required by the State.
We totally understand that this is very important. There is no doubt about that. These do take a long time to implement and there are again over 400 requests exactly like this one. There is no traffic impact study for delineators at the corners and there is not an "all at once" mentality, so we will see what we can be done in phases to get as much help as possible as quickly as possible for all requests.
I promise you, this is on the list and you are welcome to get a petition, but know that you do not have to. You have been heard and while a petition will be dated for 2024, this request dates back to 2021 with 5 duplicates.
JF (Registered User)
I understand all that but why didnt the City do their traffic studies prior to allowing the increased density from the additional residents we’ve been getting? If enough of a voice is made I’m sure things will get done. This has taken too long. I’ve seen projects throughout the City completed and approved in faster time frames when it fit the narrative.
I’m sure in the study then, you see that there are 4 schools within the vicinity and two parks. All the children from #7, #8, #25, and Saint Nicholas all walk Summit avenue to get to their homes or to the parks after school. Pershing Field and Leonard Gordon parks are also in the immediate vicinity.
We cant control what the 4 way stop will do to people trying to avoid the intersection. You cant control people’s actions. Regardless, if a stop were implemented or a 4 way yield, there is no where else for them to go anyway. They would have to blow past traffic lights to circumvent the traffic stop or stay on major arteries like Kennedy, 1&9, etc
Summit used to make sense to use cutting through the City, but to every household we have multiple cars parked on the street, increased density from numerous additional housing, increased population overall and this street can handle it. It’s not even properly maintained because it’s a county road. The city/county doesn’t even bother to address these poor road conditions. When contractors came to mess with the gas lines they left Summit avenue with so many patches that I actually had a coil on my suspension fail blocks away.
I don’t know what to say after this.
We’ve reached out, voiced our concerns, etc. what else do you need from us to get this moved up the list and get this done? Where are we on the list anyway in terms of priority?
Help us help you.
Just to be clear, I’m actually an automotive enthusiast and can’t stand the speed bumps, lights, curb corner bump out pylons (worst idea of all with narrow streets forcing cars to make wider turns into oncoming traffic. Not to mention they are all missing and not maintained.) Even so, I am here too requesting a change knowing how bad it can be on Summit.
Even people’s cars while parked are constantly side swiped and have their mirrors knocked off as an almost daily occurrence.
What exactly is done in the study from step A through Z?
Where are we in determining the validity of our claims so we can have action taken? I haven’t physically seen anyone here conducting a study of this street.
Also when that’s done, do they review it over the course of a month through all hours to get an accurate depiction of the current situation?
We haven’t mentioned that Summit Avenue turns into a raceway between the hours of 11PM-7AM.
mkcrn2009 (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
Philippia (Registered User)
Philippia (Registered User)
Philippia (Registered User)
JF (Registered User)
Jgweiss (Registered User)
To add to all of this; these improvements were approved for a grant in 2022 by a state association:
https://www.njtpa.org/NJTPA/media/Documents/Projects-Programs/Local-Programs/Local-Safety-Rural-Roads/FY2022%20Safety%20Projects/2022_lsp_jerseycity_06.pdf
you can see it in plain text:
The project will improve safety and overall operations at 33 intersections along approximately 1.5 miles of Summit Avenue between Route 139 and Secaucus Road.
Project Description
Improvements will include: conversion of Summit Avenue to one-way south-bound, installation of a protected bicycle lane, signal upgrades, pedestrian signal upgrades, high-visibility crosswalks, curb extensions, and lead pedestrian intervals. New traffic signals will be installed at 19 intersections.
What portion of this has been enacted? I know that the councilman emailed in his newsletter about it (which conspicuously removed the part about a bike lane and one-way conversion), maybe last year? and still, what has been done?
Thank you, Althea, for being the only person to give straight answers to citizens; how can this get held up so often, so many times, despite multiple stops and starts?
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Hoboken is way smaller and the meeting with Traffic Engineering means few areas are being considered, but the out come will be more meaningful. The request here was not included in that meeting. Here is the priority areas that were decided on for this season in the Heights https://www.jerseycitynj.gov/cms/one.aspx?pageId=20199076
So maybe petition to be included in these meetings our have public meetings instead.
I was not included in that meeting, so I have no idea what was decided or how.
Hoboken is a single square mile, Jersey City is 14 square miles. As a whole, per citizen, jersey city does a lot more. In addition, Hoboken took very strong measures that pushed a lot of traffic into cutting through Jersey City and Union City instead. With such a small area, they also have a lot more police at choke sites.
Of course it would be great to have more funding and resources. This applies to every issue in the City. The Heights is only one part of the City and the resources are shared evenly through out the wards. The Jersey city open data portal does the tracking of the large amount we do.
If there were enforcement, we would not have 400 pedestrian safety issues. I am handling a total of 869 issues at the moment, down from 1,200 with 200-300 coming in each month.
If people were constantly getting tickets for speeding and for parking on the corners, these safety measures, which each require a lot of thought, would not be such a desperate situation everywhere.
Before me, the engineers struggled and could not keep up with SCF. In the off season they drive every street in Jersey City, look at the safety studies and crash reports and went from there. They also do a ton of grant work as well and the results of that take anywhere from 5-10 ears to come in from the federal and state government. Keep in mind that up to about 10 years ago, the previous administrations were all about moving cars quicker through the City, this means undoing 4 decades of the opposite trend.
Me, I care, but the 10-12 hour work days, including Saturdays is a lot and I rather get back to actually organizing and prioritizing so I can sometimes see my beautiful and understanding children, who I don't want to see get killed just for walking to school. So please forgive me if I am not explaining this well. I work as hard as I do because you all work as hard as I do. I truly appreciate it and I hear you. This is the first year SCF is being organized and we are now under a different department director who has very pedestrian and safety related visions and goals. I hope you understand and can please find a little more patience even though it is not fair to ask.
Philippia (Registered User)
Jgweiss the permanent improvements from the summit ave investment will take 7-10 years to actualize, however, I believe part of this funding can be used for temporary improvements that are doubly useful to help improve the permanent fixtures - we had a meeting with Director Patel who informed us of this, I just don't know where it is on the priority list - she is incredible, her team is awesome, but they're shortstaffed leading to issues such as what we're seeing here...
JF totally down to chat more, if you're ok to give me your email on here, I can add you to a street safety slack group, we have a heights subthread with things going on in the area. Or you can feel free to email me at jcheightsparents@gmail.com - thanks!
Infrastructure - Althea (Verified Official)
Thank you for pointing out the earliest request. I need to note that:
11/24/2019 8:43 AM
Philippia (Registered User)