Parking Spaces On Hoboken’s Washington Street Painted Wrong, Requiring Further Work

(ABOVE: Image via Parking Dude)

There was a pretty contentious social media storm this week between Parking Dude and City of Hoboken officials.

Things got real after Parking Dude pulled out a protractor—and when officials saw it from his angle, they realized that a mistake had in fact been made…

Back-in parking spaces that had been initially approved to be painted at 60-degree angles, as part of the ambitious and heavily scrutinized Hoboken Washington Street Redesign, were erroneously painted at 78 degrees—making it more challenging for drivers to back in.

 

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A post shared by Parking Dude (@hobokenparkingdude) on Apr 30, 2019 at 1:44pm PDT

“60 degree reverse angle parking was approved by the City Council in 2016 after extensive public outreach on the Washington Street redesign to both maximize parking spaces available while having several benefits,” said City Spokesperson Vijay Chaudhuri.

“The contractor mistakenly used an incorrect measurement,” said Chaudhuri. “While the [additional angle] may require slightly more care from drivers, according to the City Engineer, it is not inherently more dangerous, given that acceptable standards for angled parking can go up to 90 degrees.”

Considering the fact that Washington Street is typically Hoboken’s busiest, residents have expressed concerns over the wider angle. Many feel the wider angle offers reduced visibility and takes more time to execute—which translates to increased congestion on the City’s chief commercial thoroughfare.

Image via Parking Dude

The Washington Street Redesign project was initially scheduled for completion in July of 2018… then slated for September 2018, then pushed back again to February 2019. Now, after being extended into May 2019, it appears there will be still more work to be done.

“We anticipate the contractor coming in next week to re-stripe the parking lines, which will not require street closures. Since the mistake was made by the contractor, there will be no extra cost to Hoboken taxpayers,” said Chaudhuri. “No parking spots are anticipated to be lost, and [the parking spots] will be re-striped according to the approved Washington Street plan.”

Washington Street was named as the best downtown in North Jersey, as recently as 2014. However, a lapse in maintenance while debating the Hoboken Washington Street Redesign left the street in desperate shape. Prolonged construction woes have had businesses and residents alike screaming for answers about the execution of the project.

“T&M is the consultant project manager overseeing the Washington Street Project, whose role is to confirm the work is being done according the plans and specifications,” says Chaudhuri. “They have verified most of the work being done up to this point, however their review for the project is in progress and not yet fully complete.”

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