ACTION ALERT: The 14th St. Viaduct
ADVOCATES NEEDED!
Hello neighbor,
On Thursday May 9th, the County Commissioners are taking an important step to vote on a protected multi-use bike lane on the 14th St. Viaduct and they need to hear from you! Below is information about the project and how you can help. Please take a minute to do one of the actions we detail below in order of highest impact.
Four Ways You Can Make an Impact
1. Attend the next County Commissioners Meeting!
WHEN: Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 4:30 PM
WHERE: Commissioners’ Chamber, 567 Pavonia Avenue, Jersey City
WHAT: Speak in support of a resolution for building a permanent protected bike and multi-use path on the Viaduct for people using micro-mobility devices.
HOW: IMPORTANT! To be added as a speaker, you must submit a request to Board of Commissioners’ Clerk, Carol Jean Doyle: cdoyle@hcnj.us before 5pm, Wednesday May 8, 2024.
2. Call your County Commissioners!
Find the district below. The Viaduct borders Districts 4, 5 and 6 but we welcome activists to call commissioners outside the districts too. We’ve provided a sample phone script.
Commissioner
District
201-795-6001
Anthony Romano
x6009
Fanny Cedeño
x6005
Yraida Aponte-Lipski
x6010
Ken Kopacz
x6008
William O'Dea
x6004
Jerry Walker
x6013
Caridad Rodriguez
x6006
Robert Baselice
x6007
Al Cifelli
x6011
SAMPLE CALL SCRIPT
Hello Commissioner [NAME]. My name is [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR CITY]. I am calling in support of a resolution that will establish a protected bike lane on the Viaduct that would be utilized by people using micro mobility transportation devices. All three mayors have written a letter of support plus all three city councils have passed a resolution in support of this project and now it’s time for the county to join them in making this road safer for all!
Thank you.
3. Email your County Commissioners!
We’ve prepared a template you can use here: Open Email Template.
4. Sign our Petition!
Our petition is still available.
Campaign Summary
The 14th Street Viaduct is a ¼-mile county road that connects the densely populated and growing towns of Hoboken, Jersey City Heights and Union City. Conditions on the viaduct are hostile and unacceptable for the more than 6000 pedestrians and 600 cyclists who travel this route daily. The intersection of 14th Street and Willow is a high-crash intersection with an average of 32.3 crashes per year. A 2021 Hudson County analysis states: “Crash records show that rear end and side swipe crashes account for 62% of all crashes at the intersection. The viaduct approach to the intersection appears to be contributing to this crash pattern.”
In 2022, the county added a guardrail to the sidewalk and during construction, inadvertently created a protected multi-use lane that people on bikes and scooters were using as a safe place to travel for eight weeks.
Since then, all 3 mayors and all 3 city councils have come out with public support for creating a permanent protected multi-use path.
Municipality
Mayor Support Letter
City Council Resolution
Union City
Hoboken
Jersey City
We are asking the county commissioners to join the surrounding municipalities in supporting a resolution for a protected multi-use lane on the 14th Street Viaduct. The county will introduce and vote on the resolution sponsored by Fanny Cedeño and Yraida Aponte-Lipski at the May 9th Commissioners Meeting and they need to hear from you!
Thank you for your participation!
Upcoming Events
Get ready to Light Up the Loop with this night bike ride hosted by Bike JC and friends on Friday May 10th! RSVP online.
The 2024 New Jersey Bike & Walk Summit is in two weeks! Join advocates, urban planners, elected officials and a wide variety of community members on Saturday May 18th.
The Jersey City Ward Tour is back on Sunday June 2nd! Registration is now open.
Our online calendar is being updated frequently with community bike rides, street fairs, and more!
Worth Reading or Watching
HCCS filmed a mission video to spread awareness. Catch the film on YouTube or Vimeo.
A Scientific America piece says what we’ve known all along: we need to make our cities less car-dependent.
Get Involved
Make a donation to support our movement!
Sign, forward and share our active campaigns for #FixJFKBlvd, 14th St. Viaduct, Boulevard East, the Turnpike Trap and #Fix139.
Visit our advocacy groups and reach out to them. We are still looking for local leaders in West New York, Guttenberg, Secaucus, Harrison, and Kearny.
Join our Slack Workspace or browse other ways to help.