Oncoming traffic?

Hudson County, New Jersey, has long been known for its active political scene, and the scandals associated therewith. A few months ago, it seemed the least intelligent politician in the county was a guy who allegedly demanded Viagra as a bribe, apparently unaware of the free samples available at most every doctor's office. Then there was the Democrat who turned Republican, only to discover a few days later that he and all the other candidates from his new party had failed to qualify for the ballot because of problems with their nominating petitions. But now we have a new achievement in not-very-smartness, would-be Hoboken councilman John Corea, one of a field of five running for the second ward seat. Corea, who takes pride in having lived in the second ward his whole life, claims he has the answers to the mile-square city's parking and traffic woes: In an interview with the Hoboken Reporter, he claimed that "there is an existing road from Weehawken that runs behind the Hudson Tea Building" and that using that alleged road would "'unclog' traffic in the city's interior roads."

For a person who's spent the past 39 years in a very small part of a small town, Corea seems a remarkably uncurious fellow. If he had gone to the effort of looking for that alleged miracle road, he would have discovered that the only thing behind the Tea Building, except for the Hudson River, is a narrow, but very nice and almost brand-new, waterfront walkway (pictured above). Mr. Corea, how many lanes of traffic would you divert onto that waterfront walkway, and would you leave the nice park benches there or replace them with parking meters? Apparently Corea believes that pedestrians in general are part of the problem: he and his political allies, who call themselves "Hoboken First," are offering residents $100 rebates on scooters. Though nobody is offering a rebate on them, we prefer the use of another means of transportation: feet.

We'll be putting "Hoboken First" last when we go to the polls a few weeks from now. Our choice is Beth Mason, the "Hoboken Alliance" candidate.