The Hoboken Blog

One of the worst things about Hoboken are the stop signs. There are stop signs on nearly every corner and every intersection. But the number of stop signs isn’t the problem - its what people do (or not do) that is the issue. No one stops at the stop signs.

And when I say no one, I really mean no one. The cab drivers, bicyclists, visitors, residents, and even law enforcement fly through the intersection - completely ignoring the red octagon without much (if any) regard for other cars or pedestrians. Obviously, its very dangerous. Not only do these offenders risk damage to property, they risk the lives of every person on the street.

As a driver myself, I understand that part of the problem: parking. I’ll get into a parking rant later but the quick observation is that there aren’t enough legal (and affordable) parking spaces on the street so drivers park their cars in a no-parking zone identified by the yellow paint on the curb. The paint is placed at the corners of the street because when cars are left there, drivers in the intersection can’t see on coming traffic. The Hoboken Parking Authority is supposed to ticket the cars that park next to those curbs but I rarely see a ticket on the windshield.

So the net result is they don’t even stop at the stop signs (just before the crosswalks) so they can see if there is any on-coming traffic. Since they already blew through the crosswalk to see any on-coming traffic, they might as well keep going (and do) without really looking both ways before racing the engine through the intersection. I have been nearly hit more times than I can count on both hands and I’m quickly running out of toes too. Its only a matter of time until someone is hurt or killed because a car, truck, or bus driver blows through an intersection.

Its only a matter of time…