The City of Hoboken has launched their second Curbside Mobility and Parking Action Plan in light of a new 40-page report on the subject being released.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“With over 270,000 linear feet of curbside in Hoboken, how we manage that space directly affects quality of life for everyone, whether you walk, bike, take transit, drive, or operate a business,” Mayor Ravi Bhalla said in a statement.
“This report is a critical step forward in helping us understand where we are today so we can better utilize our curbside and ensure it is safer, greener, and more accessible, taking us one step closer to our Vision Zero goals. I invite everyone in Hoboken to provide feedback to ensure that your voice helps us to reimagine our curb space for the better.”
The city’s Curb Reimagined project team developed these proposed strategies following a comprehensive analysis of parking and mobility data from garage and on-street parking transactions, parking permit sales, parking violation locations, Zip Car car share and Citi Bike trips, and electric vehicle charging sessions.
A summary of this analysis is included in the 40-page Curb Reimagined Foundations Report, which is a baseline assessment of current conditions of the curbside, mobility, and parking in Hoboken, as well as other trends that affect how users interact with streets in the city.
Some highlights include that two-thirds of residents own one or more cars even though only 20 percent commute with them, which creates a supply mismatch that overburdens the curb.
Additionally, the community would like to see a diversification of curb uses, such as short-term parking and drop-off zones, as well as safer bike lanes, among others.
Furthermore, active curb uses like bike share, car share, and loading zones perform at a higher level and facilitate greater access to the curb than the majority of on-street parking uses.
Higher performance leads to more interactions with the curb, and these interactions support broader mobility, economic development, and sustainability goals.
The City of Hoboken’s Department of Transportation and Parking today invited the community to provide feedback on proposed curbside management, parking, and mobility strategies through an online survey and at two upcoming public meetings.
The project team will use this feedback to create Hoboken’s first Curbside Mobility and Parking Action Plan, which will influence how the City manages curb space to better serve residents, businesses, and visitors while furthering the city’s Vision Zero initiative.
The strategies proposed in the survey are based on resident input received through a year-long public engagement effort that included public meetings, more than 1,000 online survey responses, feedback from over 60 business owners and visitors, and meetings with stakeholder groups such as the Hoboken Business Alliance and members of the Hoboken City Council.
The proposed strategies include: expanding neighborhood loading zones to curtail double parking; “smart” loading zones priced accordingly to increase turn over and improve availability for delivery vehicles; formalized stops for Hop buses and other activations like bike parking, green infrastructure, and bike share stations for daylit intersections; expanding the Corner Car program; creating a live mobile app-based parking availability map; and more.
The city’s Curb Reimagined project team developed these proposed strategies following a comprehensive analysis of parking and mobility data from garage and on-street parking transactions, parking permit sales, parking violation locations, Zip Car car share and Citi Bike trips, and electric vehicle charging sessions.
Residents, businesses, and visitors can learn more about the Curb Reimagined project and take the survey here. The survey will remain open until May 30 at 11:59 p.m.
Additionally, the city will host two public engagement sessions to gather public input. An in-person community engagement session will be held on Wednesday, May 14th, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Wallace Elementary School at 1100 Willow Ave.
A virtual community meeting will take place on Thursday, May 22, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Registration is available online here.
Very simple but the bike racks on the sidewalks and put back the parking spaces that would generate revenue$ for the city.