The Bayonne City Council was eyeing restricting tractor trailer traffic for the entire length of Bayview Court. Tractor trailers in excess of four tons are prohibited on all streets in Bayonne, with few exceptions.
The measure would take traffic ordinance a step further. According to the proposed ordinance, “articulated trucks in excess of 30 feet and articulated truck-tractors with attached semi-trailers in excess of 30 feet are prohibited from [Bayview Court] at all times. There is no exception for trucks making local pickups or deliveries of goods.”
But the idea may be on pause for now. The council withdrew the amendment to the ordinance at its July meeting. The reason was unclear. The move came after the amendment was tabled at the June meeting because a vendor who would be affected was seeking more information, according to City Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski.
Amazon issues?
Bayview Court is adjacent to the Amazon delivery station. Unrelated to this request to restrict all tractor trailer traffic on the road, Ashe-Nadrowski said, Amazon has requested amendments to its design. She said the council has not yet approved the amendments.
“We want their operational plan so we can understand their hours of operation and their shift changes so we can plan accordingly and make it less intrusive on the neighborhood down there,” Ashe-Nadrowski said. “I just want to let everyone know we are working on other issues on that block. We will not approve their request unless they give us some concessions for the residents in the neighborhood.”
Residents questioned why the traffic light hasn’t been reinstalled on 4th Street, adjacent to the entrance to the Amazon delivery station. Resident Mike Morris said it was a school zone and the light needed to be reinstalled.
He cited the project traffic engineer who estimated that at a maximum, 800 trucks a day could be entering the property. Morris said while he doesn’t see that many trucks, the area still faces significant traffic from tractor trailers, specifically down streets that prohibit tractor trailer traffic.
“I see the traffic going across 4th Street,” Morris said. “Tractor trailers that shouldn’t be going over there. The facility is in operation every single day of the week, 24 hours. So obviously there is an issue right now, with Bayview Court wanting to restrict tractor trailer traffic over there.”
Traffic light requirement
“As you know I live right on that block,” Ashe-Nadrowski said. “We’ve been fighting for that light. That went down about 10 years ago; it kind of disappeared. No one knows why, where, when, and we don’t have it somewhere to put back up.”
That is one of the things the council is requiring Amazon to do in order to approve the amendments. Ashe-Nadrowski said the tractor trailer traffic was not due to Amazon.
“I’m not defending them in any way, but their trucks do not go down Bayview Court,” Ashe-Nadrowski said. “But I will also tell you that I had a great response from the police department with the tractor trailers going down 4th Street.”
Ashe-Nadrowski said that the police sit on Kennedy Blvd. and give out 10 to 15 tickets each morning to tractor trailers driving down 4th St.
“I don’t know how the trucks can afford it,” Ashe-Nadrowski said. “They keep getting them. I don’t understand why they keep going down the street. The cops have really been banging out tickets.”
Tractor trailers can alternatively go down Gertrude Street, not 4th Street. Gertrude Street is one of a few exempt from the ban on tractor trailers in excess of four tons.
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