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Started by Alps, September 17, 2013, 07:00:19 PM

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roadman65

I was told once by a railfan that even when the US Navy has a train using the tracks, the MPs guard the train thoroughly and even to get a picture of a locomotive is difficult due to them being at every grade crossing along the way.

My question is why the high fence on the Parkway and Route 18 over Normandy Road?
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe


Alps

With the advent of enhanced mile markers throughout the state, there are a couple of neat quirks:
* All of Route 7 is mileposted north-south, even though the part through Kearny is still signed east-west. That leads to "SOUTH 7" milemarker within a few feet of "EAST 7" reassurance. Not confusing at all.
* For some reason, Truck 1-9 is mileposted east-west. Oops.

cl94

Quote from: Alps on February 20, 2018, 07:27:42 PM
With the advent of enhanced mile markers throughout the state, there are a couple of neat quirks:
* All of Route 7 is mileposted north-south, even though the part through Kearny is still signed east-west. That leads to "SOUTH 7" milemarker within a few feet of "EAST 7" reassurance. Not confusing at all.
* For some reason, Truck 1-9 is mileposted east-west. Oops.

Never mind the fact that Route 167 is now public.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

jeffandnicole

Quote from: jeffandnicole on October 26, 2017, 10:57:18 AM
The FY18 NJ TIP was recently published and the opportunity for public comment occurred, mostly during September.  The public comments have been published, and while originally they was a decent list of them, all I can find now is this clickable link that shows the areas of projects and the comments for such: 

https://www.dvrpc.org/asp/TIPSearch/2018/NJ/

I can tell you that of the 120 or so comments, nearly half of them were directed in favor of the South Jersey Light Rail line.  Most of the comments were generic, with a single sentence or two saying how much the region needs the line and that they support this project.  Many, from what I gather, aren't even within DVRPC's region and would never ride the line if it was ever built.  For what it's worth, the project is currently unfunded except for a few million dollars for various prelim work, and neither NJ Transit or the DRPA appears to be interested in the project.

I submitted several comments; some related to road projects within the TIP; others were suggestion for projects not listed.  Most of my comments, along with many others, were responded with "Your comment has been submitted to NJDOT for review", which means they'll probably never see the light of day again.

The DVRPC meets this morning to basically rubberstamp its approval of the comments.

Reverting back to this topic I brought up in the past regarding TIP public comments.

The entire packet has been approved and finally posted online.   https://www.dvrpc.org/TIP/NJfinal/2018/G.pdf

I'll say, I was actually pleasantly surprised.  NJDOT actually provided comments that weren't of the "Yeah, whatever" variety.

The packet is broken up into sections, and with it being 250 pages long, it's a little cumbersome to go thru.  Basically, the first section is a summary.  The second section is the actual submission. The third section is submissions *after* the comment period.  The fourth section resummarizes the comment (poorly), and then finally the DVRPC and NJDOT comments on it.

You'll notice the overwhelming majority of the responses are from members of 2 groups.  Clearly, they organize their members to send form-letter type responses.  A few actually get creative and write their own thoughts.  One group apparently got to a number of their members late, and they all submitted their form letters well after the comment period ended.  While the comments were included within the overall packet, the DVRPC and NJDOT did not respond to those responses.

Of the comments I submitted, a few received basic "NJDOT will be looking at options for the area" responses.  A few others actually agreed with my position (I think...it was a little hard to tell).  And one got a very favorable response when sent from NJDOT to the county, although it was a bit funny the county was looking at it from a pedestrian perspective.

The actual changes to the TIP as a result of this, as seen on the last page of the link above, was basically a few small wording changes for some of the projects. The Circuit Trail - one of the mass form-letter comments - received better wording to allocate $1 million for projects.

In the end, does any of it matter?  Maybe, but probably not.

storm2k

Quote from: Alps on February 20, 2018, 07:27:42 PM
With the advent of enhanced mile markers throughout the state, there are a couple of neat quirks:
* All of Route 7 is mileposted north-south, even though the part through Kearny is still signed east-west. That leads to "SOUTH 7" milemarker within a few feet of "EAST 7" reassurance. Not confusing at all.
* For some reason, Truck 1-9 is mileposted east-west. Oops.

What shield did they put on the 1-9T markers? I think the route is officially US 1 Truck in NJDOT's world and I know they tend to only count the mileage and sign one route of a multiplex (e.g., 1-9 uses 1's mileage and is signed as 1 from the merger in Woodbridge thru the rest of the multiplex).

Pete from Boston

No photo, since traffic didn't stop, but the "Your tax dollars at work" sign where the 1-9 South ramp splits off 495 has an I-495 shield!  I was that very moment reminiscing about the last of those shields right around there, and lo and behold fate sent me a present.

Alps

Quote from: storm2k on February 22, 2018, 10:35:26 AM
Quote from: Alps on February 20, 2018, 07:27:42 PM
With the advent of enhanced mile markers throughout the state, there are a couple of neat quirks:
* All of Route 7 is mileposted north-south, even though the part through Kearny is still signed east-west. That leads to "SOUTH 7" milemarker within a few feet of "EAST 7" reassurance. Not confusing at all.
* For some reason, Truck 1-9 is mileposted east-west. Oops.

What shield did they put on the 1-9T markers? I think the route is officially US 1 Truck in NJDOT's world and I know they tend to only count the mileage and sign one route of a multiplex (e.g., 1-9 uses 1's mileage and is signed as 1 from the merger in Woodbridge thru the rest of the multiplex).
US 1-9 (hyphen) with the word TRUCK written... I think below, I forget, in tiny letters.

akotchi

If they are patterned after the U.S. 1 Business markers in the Trenton area, "TRUCK" would be above the shield in very tiny capital letters.
Opinions here attributed to me are mine alone and do not reflect those of my employer or the agencies for which I am contracted to do work.

roadman65

That circle always had poor signage.  The entire area did. US 206 N Bound only uses the circle but SB trailblazers put it inside the circle as no shield tells the SB US 206 driver to turn right on MLK where the SLD has it.

I remember just how long it took to change ALT to Business as even in 1988 it was still signed as US 1 ALT in the area.  Still some US 1 Business shields are along MLK in Trenton even though its been truncated for decades.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

CrystalWalrein

Quote from: cl94 on February 21, 2018, 08:53:52 AM
Quote from: Alps on February 20, 2018, 07:27:42 PM
With the advent of enhanced mile markers throughout the state, there are a couple of neat quirks:
* All of Route 7 is mileposted north-south, even though the part through Kearny is still signed east-west. That leads to "SOUTH 7" milemarker within a few feet of "EAST 7" reassurance. Not confusing at all.
* For some reason, Truck 1-9 is mileposted east-west. Oops.

Never mind the fact that Route 167 is now public.

Damn it, you made me go out and find the markers.



So begins my quest to find out whether other previously hidden routes got the same treatment.

Roadgeek Adam

NJ 13 does not have it yet.

NJ 163 does not have them yet.

Those are the only ones I checked
Adam Seth Moss
M.A. History, Western Illinois University 2015-17
B.A. History, Montclair State University 2013-15
A.A. History & Education - Middlesex (County) College 2009-13

Mr. Matté

#1961
Quote from: Roadgeek Adam on February 23, 2018, 11:44:29 PM
NJ 13 does not have it yet.

NJ 163 does not have them yet.

Those are the only ones I checked

No on 64 as of December

With 167, though, milepost 0.5 looks like it should exist, albeit on the part that's run down or concrete pavers. Is that one posted?

storm2k

Quote from: CrystalWalrein on February 23, 2018, 10:34:15 PM
Quote from: cl94 on February 21, 2018, 08:53:52 AM
Quote from: Alps on February 20, 2018, 07:27:42 PM
With the advent of enhanced mile markers throughout the state, there are a couple of neat quirks:
* All of Route 7 is mileposted north-south, even though the part through Kearny is still signed east-west. That leads to "SOUTH 7" milemarker within a few feet of "EAST 7" reassurance. Not confusing at all.
* For some reason, Truck 1-9 is mileposted east-west. Oops.

Never mind the fact that Route 167 is now public.

Damn it, you made me go out and find the markers.



So begins my quest to find out whether other previously hidden routes got the same treatment.

I'll have to take a ride to Cranford and see if they put them up for 59, even though that's not as hidden anymore since NJDOT put the 59 shield on the overhead street sign at the intersection with 28.

Also, an interesting note. 4 or 6 lane divided roads that are close enough to freeway class are getting the milemarkers every .2 miles (and signs posted facing both ways). I'm talking about 18 in New Brunswick, 1-9 in Newark north of North Ave, etc. The only road that fit that description that I can think of that used to have milemarkers every tenth of a mile was 21 on the freeway section north of Newark.

jeffandnicole

Even though many cops have computers in their vehicles, many tickets are written up the old-fashion way...via carbonless copy paper.

Here's one example: https://www.scribd.com/document/366058632/Steinfeld-summons#fullscreen&from_embed .  It's not mine, but a picture of a ticket given to someone going 78 in a 50 while speeding to the hospital because his wife was "very" pregnant and ready to give birth.  The cop still wrote up a ticket, and offered to get them an ambulance, which they declined.

The couple plea bargained the ticket down to a minor, no point violation, costing them $92 in total.  The original ticket, at 27 over, would've been around $250 or so & 4 points.

The story: https://www.app.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2018/02/23/new-jersey-man-ticketed-speeding-howell-nj-wife-labor-resolves-case/368558002/

Roadgeek Adam

Quote from: Mr. Matté on February 24, 2018, 12:12:25 AM
Quote from: Roadgeek Adam on February 23, 2018, 11:44:29 PM
NJ 13 does not have it yet.

NJ 163 does not have them yet.

Those are the only ones I checked

No on 64 as of December

With 167, though, milepost 0.5 looks like it should exist, albeit on the part that's run down or concrete pavers. Is that one posted?

When I went there, I missed NJ 167's northern segment. I also have a shot of the new NJ 167 ones.
Adam Seth Moss
M.A. History, Western Illinois University 2015-17
B.A. History, Montclair State University 2013-15
A.A. History & Education - Middlesex (County) College 2009-13

storm2k

Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 26, 2018, 10:10:52 AM
Even though many cops have computers in their vehicles, many tickets are written up the old-fashion way...via carbonless copy paper.

Here's one example: https://www.scribd.com/document/366058632/Steinfeld-summons#fullscreen&from_embed .  It's not mine, but a picture of a ticket given to someone going 78 in a 50 while speeding to the hospital because his wife was "very" pregnant and ready to give birth.  The cop still wrote up a ticket, and offered to get them an ambulance, which they declined.

The couple plea bargained the ticket down to a minor, no point violation, costing them $92 in total.  The original ticket, at 27 over, would've been around $250 or so & 4 points.

The story: https://www.app.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2018/02/23/new-jersey-man-ticketed-speeding-howell-nj-wife-labor-resolves-case/368558002/

It always surprises me that NJ still uses paper tickets for moving violations. I think with the patchwork of municipalities and the like, maybe it's too much effort to move to a fully digital ticket system, but who knows.

MNHighwayMan

Quote from: storm2k on February 27, 2018, 09:40:52 AM
It always surprises me that NJ still uses paper tickets for moving violations. I think with the patchwork of municipalities and the like, maybe it's too much effort to move to a fully digital ticket system, but who knows.

There are places that use exclusively electronic ticketing systems?

storm2k

Quote from: MNHighwayMan on February 27, 2018, 09:48:32 AM
Quote from: storm2k on February 27, 2018, 09:40:52 AM
It always surprises me that NJ still uses paper tickets for moving violations. I think with the patchwork of municipalities and the like, maybe it's too much effort to move to a fully digital ticket system, but who knows.

There are places that use exclusively electronic ticketing systems?

By which I mean the PO types the info into his computer or a handheld and it prints out a ticket for you.

storm2k

One interesting thing about the new mile markers. Here is the MM7.5 sign for Route 28 going WB. See the sign on the other side of the road, a bit further down the road? That's the EB sign. 28 doesn't have any parts that don't run together in its western section from Branchburg thru this point (the only ones I know of are in Plainfield and in Elizabeth near the eastern end of the road) but the signs aren't aligned with each other. It's not even the convenience of putting the signs on other posts as they are both new freestanding assemblies. You'll also notice this old MM7 sign on the bus stop sign, but you can see that its replacement is fairly further down the road. Incidentally, if you look at the new signs, they're not offset at all at this point. Go figure.

jeffandnicole

http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/press/2018/022618.shtm

The Shoulder Use experiment on US 1 in the area of South Brunswick where it's 2 lanes each way proved to be a success and will remain a permanent change. 

There are long-term plans in creating a true 3rd lane in this area, but we're talking many, many years away.

roadman65

Is the South Jersey Transportation Authority ever going to replace the ACE's substandard signs with more MUTCD compliant signs?  I was on GSV looking at the GSP interchange and still the all upper case signs are there along with no overheads there (except for one a half mile back going EB and the bridge signs WB) but for the most part ground signs on a three to four lane freeway that usually is supposed to be more overhead.

You would think that they after all these years would bring the signs up to date and more uniform.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

NJRoadfan

There has been construction on the ACE at the GSP interchange (unrelated to the widening). Wouldn't be surprised if signs are replaced while they are working there.

seicer

Signs have been replaced over time with standardized signage.

seicer

Curious: what's with the new signal bridges (being installed) at Fire & Roosevelt Avenue near Atlantic City? It seems to be loosely related to the road work ongoing just west with the GSP: https://goo.gl/maps/7tEonsBiwDk

storm2k

Quote from: seicer on March 07, 2018, 08:23:51 PM
Curious: what's with the new signal bridges (being installed) at Fire & Roosevelt Avenue near Atlantic City? It seems to be loosely related to the road work ongoing just west with the GSP: https://goo.gl/maps/7tEonsBiwDk

Either overhead crossbucks, or new signals for the rail line.



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