Humble Suggestion for Maplewood Village
A simpler solution might be the orange flags on a handle, placed in a bucket. I've actually got cars to stop when I cross South Orange Avenue
If that doesn't work, then go for the stop signs.
Or, pedestrians could follow the common sense adage 'look right and left, then wait until it is safe to cross.'
krnl said:
Or, pedestrians could follow the common sense adage 'look right and left, then wait until it is safe to cross.'
I knew there would be a blame the pedestrian comment sooner or later ... Nevermind state law to stop for people in the crosswalk, the 15 mph speed limit, or basic human decency ... Make the kids look out for themselves!!!
The neverending problem in Maplewood is the driving ... I sit in front of Starbucks a couple times a week and see countless cars speeding up and down Maplewood Ave with no regard for people in crosswalks or anywhere else ... Just a few weeks ago my yelling prevented a kid from being run into by a belligerent driver ... The village could be a delightful and walkable place ... MOL folk want to say we're a kind and inclusive town, when in fact we're full of stereotypical affluent suburban arrogance
vdfam said:
krnl said:
Or, pedestrians could follow the common sense adage 'look right and left, then wait until it is safe to cross.'
I knew there would be a blame the pedestrian comment sooner or later ... Nevermind state law to stop for people in the crosswalk, the 15 mph speed limit, or basic human decency ... Make the kids look out for themselves!!!
I agree....krnl essentially saying pedis should cede all legal rights of way and wait until drivers are damn good and ready to stop for them.
Expanding the current crosswalk is a great idea and adding the orange flags would definitely help. Too many people jaywalk instead of walking half a block to an actual crosswalk to move from Ricalton Square to the shops across the road, so we need to put a crosswalk where it is needed.
In Summit they actually built a fence to stop jaywalking between the train station and the parking garage after a pedestrian was killed.
I know some will read this as blaming the pedestrians, but we all have a responsibility to follow the rules of the road whether we are walking or driving.
We need to look at both parts of the equation. There are also a lot of irresponsible drivers so why isn't there a police presence during the busiest hours to deter speeders, write tickets for the thoughtless people who turn left into the angled parking spots or park illegally while picking up takeout or passengers?
@Harriet - Yes - Pedestrians who pop out from between parked cars on their own
Simple rules for U-turn left into parking spot:
1.- d-bag move best left in Brooklyn
2. If you can do it in one move and stay in the lines, we'll maybe let it slide. If you need to put the car in reverse to complete the move, you clearly lack the skills, so stop. Reverse more than once, please surrender your license immediately.
Using a crosswalk is a two-way transaction. The peds need to make eye contact with oncoming traffic to make sure they're aware of the crosswalk. For most drivers, stopping for a crosswalk is not an automatic reaction like stopping for a stop sign or light. (How can it be, when the rule is not enforced everywhere?) I've seen too many peds just start walking blithely across the street, expecting traffic to magically stop. Most times, of course, it does, but not always in a controlled, safe way.
In Maplewood Village, the only people who I see stop and look before crossing are the ones using the crosswalks.
The ones crossing where they feel like it also don't bother to look.
How about the Township actually enforces the parking rules on Maplewood Avenue in town? Cars park illegally in front of Freeman's on a regular basis. It was much worse when King's was open and will go back to that level when the new market opens.
I'm tired of seeing the Parking Enforcement vehicle drive around and ignore illegal parking.
A few years ago the South Orange police held a widely publicized event where they staked out crosswalks and wrote tickets to drivers who didn't stop when pedestrians were waiting. I noticed an immediate improvement. If I was anywhere near a crosswalk, cars would screech to a stop. It was nice! Seems like doing this every six months or so would be a good reminder for drivers.
kthnry said:
A few years ago the South Orange police held a widely publicized event where they staked out crosswalks and wrote tickets to drivers who didn't stop when pedestrians were waiting. I noticed an immediate improvement. If I was anywhere near a crosswalk, cars would screech to a stop. It was nice! Seems like doing this every six months or so would be a good reminder for drivers.
I cheered this at the time. Best police program ever, IMO.
vdfam said:
@Harriet - Yes - Pedestrians who pop out from between parked cars on their own
Simple rules for U-turn left into parking spot:
1.- d-bag move best left in Brooklyn
2. If you can do it in one move and stay in the lines, we'll maybe let it slide. If you need to put the car in reverse to complete the move, you clearly lack the skills, so stop. Reverse more than once, please surrender your license immediately.
That would also be a function of the size of the car.
I've never tried it. I would have to start with what middle of my car being even with the driver's side bumper of the uphill car. There's no challenge trying it at 8 a.m. on a Sunday.
Now I've got the urge to try it in one swoop.
Ticket blitz and PD publicizing that it is doing so always seemed like good solution for these kinds of things. There are some violations that never seem to interest the police, like the massive number of drivers who seem to find it too difficult to use their signal lights.
nohero said:
In Maplewood Village, the only people who I see stop and look before crossing are the ones using the crosswalks.
The ones crossing where they feel like it also don't bother to look.
that's always been astounding to me. It's one thing to jaywalk, but the number of people who do it without even looking up is just striking. And the ones who are carrying or holding the hand of a small child when they do it are just crazy.
yahooyahoo said:
How about the Township actually enforces the parking rules on Maplewood Avenue in town? Cars park illegally in front of Freeman's on a regular basis. It was much worse when King's was open and will go back to that level when the new market opens.
I'm tired of seeing the Parking Enforcement vehicle drive around and ignore illegal parking.
I've written about this here a lot. The frequency with which the crosswalks are obscured by parked cars is unacceptable. And then there are the people who actually park IN a crosswalk. It's hard enough to see the crosswalks when there are large vehicles parked in the legal spaces near them. The illegally parked cars make it much worse.
ml1 said:
yahooyahoo said:
How about the Township actually enforces the parking rules on Maplewood Avenue in town? Cars park illegally in front of Freeman's on a regular basis. It was much worse when King's was open and will go back to that level when the new market opens.
I'm tired of seeing the Parking Enforcement vehicle drive around and ignore illegal parking.I've written about this here a lot. The frequency with which the crosswalks are obscured by parked cars is unacceptable. And then there are the people who actually park IN a crosswalk. It's hard enough to see the crosswalks when there are large vehicles parked in the legal spaces near them. The illegally parked cars make it much worse.
There is a law that you are not allowed to park within 25 feet of a crosswalk. I learned this when it was (very selectively and not very intelligently) enforced and I got a ticket for parking in the Senior Citizen bus space that used to exist next to the bank (during the hours when that restriction was not in effect.) That space was within 25 feet of the crosswalk, but did not block any visibility since Inwood Place is a one-way street there in the direction where such lack of visibility is irrelevant. I protested the ticket on the basis that it was marked as a parking space for the bus with specified hours, which implied that it was legal for others to park there outside of those hours. Judge Varon agreed with me and also commented that he often parked there himself. Of course, I had to spend a couple of hours at traffic court so it may be dubious as to whether it was worth spending that time in order to avoid paying the ticket. But I DID learn about that 25 foot law which really DOES need to be enforced in many spots in town (NJ Parking laws: https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/2009/title-39/39-4/39-4-138)
This actually happened to me -
I was standing at the crosswalk in front of Kings. A car on the other side of the street stopped, and I proceeded to cross.
The car was not stopping for me. The driver started up again, cut in front of me and proceeded to make a left hand turn into the "phantom" parking spot on the Kings side of the street.
I count three (3) separate jerk moves in that one motion.
And then the driver yelled at me for being in the way.
These threads makes me long for the days of the cigar smoking guy on the motorcycle, and his long piece of chalk…
The Maplewood Seniors Advisory Committee is getting ready to conduct a pedestrian safety audit similar to the one being conducted in South Orange. We will need reports of pedestrian unfriendly streets and intersections such as Maplewood Avenue in the commercial district, and volunteers who are willing to walk a stretch of sidewalk and record any issues they find. Emphasis will be on more structural issues such as missing/poorly placed crosswalks, places in need of sidewalks (like Tuscan Rd where it is only on one side of the street and the stretch of Summit Avenue where there is no sidewalk on either side), and line of sight issues such as Burnet Avenue and Lexington Avenue at Tuscan Street. Serious code violations such as vehicles routinely parked in crosswalks, trees overgrowing the sidewalk, cars routinely parked on the sidewalk, streets with frequent ice build up in winter due to drainage issues, etc. Feel free to message me now with streets in need of audit or to volunteer or wait until we are ready to go at which time I will start a separate thread. If volunteering to help, please indicate name (if not a real name poster) and best way to contact you.
Formerlyjerseyjack said:
vdfam said:
@Harriet - Yes - Pedestrians who pop out from between parked cars on their own
Simple rules for U-turn left into parking spot:
1.- d-bag move best left in Brooklyn
2. If you can do it in one move and stay in the lines, we'll maybe let it slide. If you need to put the car in reverse to complete the move, you clearly lack the skills, so stop. Reverse more than once, please surrender your license immediately.
That would also be a function of the size of the car.
I've never tried it. I would have to start with what middle of my car being even with the driver's side bumper of the uphill car. There's no challenge trying it at 8 a.m. on a Sunday.
Now I've got the urge to try it in one swoop.
Higher Power have mercy!!! I didn't mean that as a challenge!
I'm in front of the Starbucks a couple times a week and see the idiot parking all the time. I also, see the parking enforcement guy doing his thing very regularly. No hiding. Ho just driving around. Small sample size, but almost every time I'm there, he's there.
joan_crystal said:
The Maplewood Seniors Advisory Committee is getting ready to conduct a pedestrian safety audit similar to the one being conducted in South Orange. We will need reports of pedestrian unfriendly streets and intersections such as Maplewood Avenue in the commercial district, and volunteers who are willing to walk a stretch of sidewalk and record any issues they find. Emphasis will be on more structural issues such as missing/poorly placed crosswalks, places in need of sidewalks (like Tuscan Rd where it is only on one side of the street and the stretch of Summit Avenue where there is no sidewalk on either side), and line of sight issues such as Burnet Avenue and Lexington Avenue at Tuscan Street. Serious code violations such as vehicles routinely parked in crosswalks, trees overgrowing the sidewalk, cars routinely parked on the sidewalk, streets with frequent ice build up in winter due to drainage issues, etc. Feel free to message me now with streets in need of audit or to volunteer or wait until we are ready to go at which time I will start a separate thread. If volunteering to help, please indicate name (if not a real name poster) and best way to contact you.
I suggest a crosswalk at Park Road and Valley Street.
fed123 said:
I suggest a crosswalk at Park Road and Valley Street.
The entire length of Valley Street is on our list. The problem with the Park Road intersection is the sharp curve. The town has already determined it is too hazardous to put a crosswalk there due to poor line of sight issues for both motorists and pedestrians.
joan_crystal said:
The entire length of Valley Street is on our list. The problem with the Park Road intersection is the sharp curve. The town has already determined it is too hazardous to put a crosswalk there due to poor line of sight issues for both motorists and pedestrians.
Its good to know that it was considered, but I don't understand the conclusion. It is a hazardous location and there is a Park entrance that is used by many people, including users of the park (basketball court, tennis court, softball fields, frisbee field and playground are right there) and commuters who park on Park Road and walk to the train station. That suggests to me the need for a crosswalk.
If the idea is that people should not be crossing there, that then opens up a whole new discussion.
I don't see the point of arguing it here with you but it sounds weird that a place where people cross the street is "too hazardous" for a crosswalk.
The last time this was raised, the conclusion was that people should not be crossing Valley Street at that location. I understand the urge to cross Valley Street there but would strongly recommend walking the one block to Oakview Avenue which has a working traffic light and much better visibility for both drivers and pedestrians.
As I wrote above, we already have the entire length of Valley Street on our list of streets to check precisely because it is so difficult to cross Valley Street at many intersections, though few are as dangerous as Park Road.
I once mistakenly drove the wrong way on Inwood Place after pulling out of a driveway. I got lots of mean looks and I did not realize my mistake until I hit Maplewood Ave. Hope the statute of limitations is over on this violation.
fed123 said:
Its good to know that it was considered, but I don't understand the conclusion. It is a hazardous location and there is a Park entrance that is used by many people, including users of the park (basketball court, tennis court, softball fields, frisbee field and playground are right there) and commuters who park on Park Road and walk to the train station. That suggests to me the need for a crosswalk.
If the idea is that people should not be crossing there, that then opens up a whole new discussion.
I don't see the point of arguing it here with you but it sounds weird that a place where people cross the street is "too hazardous" for a crosswalk.
It is hazardous because it is right at the curve in valley. I don’t think a stop light would help people from getting hit in the crosswalk there. Drivers go around the curve too fast. The only solution that might work for everyone is a stop light and crosswalk at every single intersection along valley.
Once, though not in Maplewood, I had the right of way in a crosswalk at a light when an older man in a sedan cut in front of me. I am not small or thin, and there is no way he did not see me in the broad daylight. I was inches from his driver side window, which was completely rolled down. Though I know it was immature, inappropriate, dangerous and probably illegal, I happened to have a closed umbrella in my hand and slammed the handle down on his trunk. He had been in the middle of screaming at me, and it did have the effect of stopping him mid word. It must have made a terrible noise, and I like to think it may have even left a dent.
Seeing as you can't cure arrogant f-bomb d-bag, I suggest we expand the crosswalk stripes between Starbucks and Freeman's Fish Market all the way to the curb for the town lot.
Then, place stop signs on the yellow line from each direction leading into the expanded crosswalk.