Hoboken Gets Over $700K in Grant Funding from State for Transportation Infrastructure

The City of Hoboken has just received a grant of $734,038 from the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT) “Municipal Aid Program.” According to the City, this funding will be used for various transportation infrastructure upgrades, road repaving, and safety upgrades through Hoboken’s “Vision Zero” campaign.

Over the past two years, Hoboken has been awarded over $2,671,983 in funding from NJDOT’s Municipal Aid Program. Having just recently completed the repaving of Washington Street, Hoboken’s main commercial thoroughfare, the City is in the process of reinstalling a substantial amount of water infrastructure—which then necessitates the repair and repaving of roads.

Paving on Washington Street (City of Hoboken photo)

“We are continuing to make major strides in upgrading our transportation infrastructure, and this funding will provide a significant boost to our efforts,” said Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla. “In addition to contributing to our aggressive road repaving program, the grant will provide us with important resources to help implement our Vision Zero pedestrian safety plan on our roadways. Thank you to Governor Murphy and the State Department of Transportation for making this funding available to Hoboken.”

🚨 New curb extension alert 🚨 In addition to reducing 🚶‍♂️ crossing distances and improving intersection sightlines, this new curb extension at 7th St/Clinton St doubles as a rain garden that will improve drainage, reduce impervious land coverage, and beautify the street. pic.twitter.com/mJACVSTNBe

— Vision Zero Hoboken (@VZHoboken) September 13, 2019

In coordination with Hudson County, PSE&G and the North Hudson Sewerage Authority, Hoboken says it will be repaving a total of 100 blocks of city streets.

This year, Hoboken will be paving 100 blocks of roads/over 9 miles. In addition to repaving of City/County streets, PSE&G is repaving up to 3 miles as a part of the sub-station project. Paving of remainder of Wash St to be completed in spring. More info: https://t.co/EHjzCyyxe7 pic.twitter.com/ECXtRFtBhu

— City of Hoboken (@CityofHoboken) March 18, 2019

With that volume of work slated to be done, many have expressed the desire to see more ambitious urban design, with talk of protected bike lanes being introduced to Clinton, Grand & Jefferson Streets. In addition, Councilman-Elect Phil Cohen had indicated a desire to reintroduce the concept to Washington Street, although it had been rejected in 2016.

Some on #Hoboken Council say fixing their error in 2016 on Washington St. design & adding protected bike lanes is too hard. A solution like this wouldn’t require “ripping up” anything. Bump outs remain and bikes and scooters are protected. #NewIdeas #Phil4TheFifth #Cohen4Council pic.twitter.com/9t3udXaxFw

— Phil Cohen (@PhilipHCohen) August 6, 2019

Given Hoboken’s dense population, general pedestrian issues are always a concern. The City has been installing pedestrian countdown timers and moved forward with improvements on Newark Street between Willow Avenue and Jefferson Street.

Meanwhile, micromobility issues linger following the City’s introduction of rideshare scooters last May. While 74.5% of people polled said they’d like to see them return, over 1/3 said there needed to be improvements. Furthermore, a recent fatal incident involving a Hoboken bicyclist in neighboring Jersey City has tragically underscored concerns about safety.

Community members can follow Vision Zero updates on Twitter (@VZHoboken).

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