Mayor Rejects Hoboken Council's Request To Cancel Street Pilot Program

HOBOKEN, NJ — A street safety pilot program in Hoboken has been causing unnecessary traffic and congestion, council members say, and they voted 7-2 on Wednesday to end it.

But the city's mayor says she'll leave the program in place for its final two months.

The Grand Street Pilot program, which kicked off last fall, aims to improve safety on one of the north-south streets on the west side of mile-square Hoboken.

But 3rd Ward Councilman Michael Russo, among others, says it has caused headaches in his area and needs to be rethought.

"The inconvenience of this is so bad, and that I don't want [constituents] to deal with two more months of this," said Russo, noting that the city has been collecting data for 10 months.

The vote on the matter was non-binding, so the city doesn't have to follow it.

Mayor Emily Jabbour said she will continue the program, but will take the residents' comments into account.

She told Patch on Friday, "We want to complete the data collection and make informed decisions about multiple options for approaches to Grand Street."

In a statement, she said: "The Grand Street Pilot reflects our commitment to building safer, more accessible streets while listening closely to the people who use them every day," Jabbour said. "We owe it to our residents, businesses, and everyone who uses Grand Street to approach this process thoughtfully, transparently, and with an open mind...

"We hear the questions and concerns being raised by community members about the current design of Grand Street, and we also recognize that there are many possible ways to design the street moving forward...We will continue the pilot as planned to ensure we have the information necessary to make an informed and thoughtful decision."

The city has not had a traffic death on its streets in nine years.

Russo said that personal preferences shouldn't overshadow the constituents' concerns.

On Thursday, the day after the City Council meeting, Russo said on social media, "Last night felt like a win for residents, as the City Council voted 7-2 to immediately reverse the Grand Street pilot program. Unfortunately, that win was quickly ripped away. Mayor Jabbour and her administration are refusing to comply with the mandate of the City Council majority and 3rd Ward residents.

"Please tell the Mayor’s office how you feel....I'll fight for change with everything I have. We will not be ignored."

Russo encouraged residents to call the mayor's office at 201-420-2000, ext. 1081. Jabbour's office said residents can send an email with feedback here.