In a letter to the editor, Hoboken residents Bob Conrad and Debbie Jacobus are giving their two cents on why the city council should approve resolutions for e-bikes and Rebuild by Design at tonight’s meeting.
Dear Editor,
Tonight the City Council will be asked to review, and vote on, two pieces of legislation that have stoked community interest and are worthy of our support.
The first is a proposal sponsored by Councilmen Russo, Presinzano and Ramos requiring bicycle delivery personnel to become licensed, take a short test, pay a $5 license fee and wear vest identification that will be provided by the city.
The potential benefits to the average citizen are pretty obvious; safer sidewalks, fewer bikes zooming in the wrong direction and, one hopes, a more seamless delivery of our evening meals.
The key to making this work, and this is where it would be great to have the Public Safety team weigh in, is in the enforcement of whatever ordinances are ultimately put in place.
If enforcing the proposal as outlined by the Councilmen is untenable at this point – what CAN be done?
Washington Street, as most of us know, has become a bit of a quagmire and simply saying “use mass transit” is not enough. Stores need inventory, contractors need parking spots, and many of us commute to places that are not readily accessible via public transportation.
Let’s try to make it easier to live here – tonight would be a good time to start.
The second proposal, put forward by Council members, Ramos, Presinzano and Fisher, asks the Council to support a request to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for a briefing on the long delayed Rebuild by Design Project.
Simply put, and things are never this simple; members of the Council have asked for status reports, the City has acknowledged the delays and deferred to the State for further details.
The request under review essentially asks the DEP for some of those details.
As a city that prides itself on being forward looking on climate and public safety issues, these appear to be reasonable pieces of legislation that should, in one form or another, have the support of both the Administration and Council.
Might there be some editing and tweaking along the way? Sure. But let’s try to get something done. Tonight.
Respectfully,
Hoboken residents
Bob Conrad and Debbie Jacobus