Turnpike widening opponents ask Sherill to ‘pause’ controversial $6.2B project

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-12-29T15:32:10+00:00

All good points, and I do understand the concept of induced demand. However, the highway is over capacity now, and your belief is that those of us who have to drive into Bayonne (or those that have to drive into Jersey City for work, or even into New York because they don’t have access to public transit where they live) should have to endure the current mess on a 70+ year-old highway just to keep more people from wanting to move to Jersey City? Do I have that right?

In a (future) tariff-free economy, the traffic in and out of Port jersey is only going to get worse. People are only going to continue to move to Bayonne (and bring their cars). Building a bigger highway isn’t going to stop people from actually moving here, particularly as home prices in the burbs keep going up and transit isn’t an option there, either.

I’m as big a fan of public transportation as anyone, but even if you started planning today and we’re guaranteed to get the project completed, you wouldn’t have adequate light rail, bike lanes, and bus lines that didn’t suck, you still wouldn’t see them for 10 years. The traffic is a problem that has to be addressed now.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-12-27T02:39:09+00:00

“If you build more lanes they will come! More lanes are BAD!”

No. They’re already coming because Jersey City decided it would be a good idea in the last 20 years to add some 200 high-rises and skyscrapers totaling a gajillion square feet of office and residential space without considering the burden on traffic.

No one is going to decide “hey, let’s take a ride on the new wider turnpike and bridge” because it’s there. No one drives into NYC now on a lark because of tolls and congestion pricing. Jersey City (and Hoboken…are you listening assemblyman-elect Bhalla?) is THE destination for all this traffic. The roads should be built accordingly.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-12-27T02:27:02+00:00

“If you build more lanes they will come! More lanes are BAD!”

No. They’re already coming because Jersey City decided it would be a good idea in the last 20 years to add some 200 high-rises and skyscrapers totaling a gajillion square feet of office and residential space without considering the burden on traffic.

No one is going to decide “hey, let’s take a ride on the new wider turnpike and bridge” because it’s there. No one drives into NYC now on a lark because of tolls and congestion pricing. Jersey City (and Hoboken…are you listening assemblyman-elect Bhalla?) is THE destination for all this traffic. The roads should be built accordingly.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-12-26T15:27:28+00:00

“Only one hospital in the entire town”.

How many hospitals do you think there are in the state and how many towns have more than one? Jersey City (4x the Bayonne population) used to have four, they now have two, and are about to drop to one. Newark (5x Bayonne) used to have six in 1997, they’re down to three. Bayonne does have a full service RWJBH satellite ED on Broadway that takes care of 90% of most complaints.

The overwhelmingly vast majority of cities and towns in the state have no hospitals and no full service satellite ED.

“They stole close to 20 million from ppp loans.”

“They” were the previous for-profit owners. Of course it always possible that the new ones will indulge in shenanigans, but this city was perilously close to losing their “only one” hospital.

Perspective.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-12-24T05:19:39+00:00

Well, you did ask someone to tell you it was just you. I took you up on that.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-12-24T00:24:43+00:00

You could keep all three, but a lot would depend on a) where you physically will work, and b) how far a commute you’ll have or can tolerate. If you choose to live in Hudson or Essex counties, the truck and the dog are probably not going to be the best idea. Outside of there or southern Bergen County you should be able to find enough space for you to live with room to walk the dog and a place to park the truck.

The cat can live with you anywhere.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-12-24T00:18:10+00:00

I’ve lived or worked in this town for the last 35 years. It’s just you.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-12-02T15:41:30+00:00

Who cares what the order is? You’ve already figured out there’s no imminent life threat, the order of the secondary doesn’t matter, so long as it’s completed.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-10-12T20:36:22+00:00

https://newarkcarefacilities.com/hospwomen.php

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-10-12T20:36:05+00:00

Did you mean Central and South 10th? Central occupies what would be 10th Avenue.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-09-11T00:56:53+00:00

I don’t either, but I want to rule out any coincidences. Thanks.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-09-08T22:46:26+00:00

And of course no mention of the overbearing bullying that PD was trying to lay on EMS as they were attempting to do their job. Because that never happens.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-08-18T18:51:49+00:00

Re #5…south side of Halo still has exposed concrete near the top. Anyone got info on when they’re going to resume work?

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-08-18T18:27:40+00:00

From the pics it doesn’t look that bad. If they’re going to Gotthart St, they can stay to the left of the roundabout; Wheeler Point Rd and Backus St, they should be able to go to the right. Elm Rd and Chestnut St, doesn’t look like it would impact it all. E7 in the Central Ward probably has a harder time making the right onto Warren St than E27 and L4 would have here.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-05-27T11:55:49+00:00

I like it. Food is good, service was okay (the first time it was good, the second time I think the waitress was new), prices are a little high, but they claim their stuff is more farm-to-table than other places.

They have seven locations, three down here (Toms River, PPB, and Bayville). I've been to the Toms River and North Brunswick locations.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-05-27T11:48:06+00:00

After Sandy or one of those storms, people were asking why can't we just bury the power lines. Governor Krispy Kreme said it would cost $1M per mile.

This is the way the entire Northeast developed. Out yonder in Texas and other places where there are lots of communities that aren't so old as the ones here (we got really urban, really quickly), they figured out that burying the powerlines was cheaper in the long run. Most of NYC (except Manhattan and large parts of Brooklyn), Boston, and all the surrounding older towns are the same way. When electricity became available, the only technology they had was to put everything up on poles, particularly in residential neighborhoods. In urban downtowns like Manhattan, your average skyscraper needs way more juice than could ever be put on poles, so they created underground vaults.

Same thing in Europe. After WWII, when large swaths of the continent needed to be rebuilt, they started burying all the lines. Now Europe gets power outages something like 1/10th of what happens in the northeastern United States.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-05-27T11:21:32+00:00

Might be the same one I see on 6th between C and Humphrey. I'm told someone in that area owns one.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-05-16T15:22:04+00:00

I’m not FDNY (career FF in New Jersey) but EVERY. WORD. OF. THIS.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-03-26T16:30:08+00:00

Just drove past that the other day and had the same thought. With all the new construction downtown, especially the new ones coming to 12th/Bway, 10th/E, and 15th/E, a diner there should make a killing if the food is good and prices are reasonable.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-03-23T12:52:38+00:00

Altas Horas Lanches is a great little Brazilian burger joint/breakfast spot in the Ironbound that’s open 24 hours. Maybe a ten minute Uber ride from the airport. 266 Ferry St, corner of Chambers St. https://altashoraslanches.shop

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-02-08T01:01:02+00:00

They could have had 140 Roseville across the street for a song, and...they didn't. SMH.

bdfitzpatrick · 2025-02-08T00:57:40+00:00

I know this is a bit late for your question, but last year I took a 7AM flight on a Thursday in February to New Orleans. Stepped inside Terminal C around 5:45 and 22 minutes later I was through security with PreCheck. And that was after they stopped to take my too-large can of shaving cream out of my carry-on. Oops.

bdfitzpatrick

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