Pedestrians Running Track

The transit cops will have a field day at Upper Montclair station. Every morning a few people cross behind the stopped city-bound train to get to the proper side of the platform.

The transit cop probably works for DeCamp.

I'm sure she would have felt even more annoyed if she had been hit by the train. Beyond being clearly illegal (I mean its not hard to figure out that crossing train tracks when the gate was moving is against the law), its just plain stupid.

Try leaving 5 minutes earlier

I agree I bet that Cop works for DeCamp they ruin everyones holiday spirit

Some people do really dangerous things on those train tracks -- and would probably be the first to blame NJ Transit if they got hurt. I'm glad they're cracking down on this.

What if she had run and fallen? She'd be happy that cop was there to rescue her in time.

It's dangerous and people and train tracks are not a good match

Sure what she did was wrong, but to mandate a court appearance is a waste of everyone's time.

A reporter from The Montclair Times was there this am, asking commuters questions. Wonder if it was in reference to this incident, or in reference to the newly-installed platform corral the front of the train overshoots every morning.

"Some people do really dangerous things on those train tracks -- and would probably be the first to blame NJ Transit if they got hurt. I'm glad they're cracking down on this."

I myself once saw someone juggling knives there. Dangerous!

"Some people do really dangerous things on those train tracks -- and would probably be the first to blame NJ Transit if they got hurt. I'm glad they're cracking down on this."

I myself once saw someone juggling knives there. Dangerous!

Oh brother. I have no problem with laws that protect people from themselves, but this is ridiculous. It's the equivalent of jay walking. People run across the street all the time to catch a bus but they don't have NJT writing them tickets, much less accusing them of a "criminal offense".

I'm sure there are places in the NJT system that could use some more patrolling, like maybe the recently vandalized Watchung station.

It does get pretty dangerous. A train showed up on time once.

yeah, the donut cop should be parked in front of watching ave station busting the vandals instead

Why can't we just let Natural Selection WORK?!?

ha! the bloomfield station doesn't have this problem.

She deserves to be ticketed and a court appearance serves her right. If you can't bother to be on time, take the next train, Lady...

"Sure what she did was wrong, but to mandate a court appearance is a waste of everyone's time."

I agree, Paulie. What she did was dumb and illegal but why can't she just pay the fine and get on with her life? No one was hurt so why the court appearance? {{{{{Your tax dollars at work....}}}}}

"Sure what she did was wrong, but to mandate a court appearance is a waste of everyone's time."

I agree, Paulie. What she did was dumb and illegal but why can't she just pay the fine and get on with her life? No one was hurt so why the court appearance? {{{{{Your tax dollars at work....}}}}}

I certainly seems like all levels of government are intent on "protecting" everybody from everything.

On time ends up being two minutes or more before the scheduled time. I was at the Up Montclair station yesterday at 8:56 and I still missed the 8:59. Once those gates go down, you're screwed.

"the donut cop should be parked in front of watching ave station busting the vandals instead"

Could not agree more.

Imagine that. Getting to the train station BEFORE it was scheduled to leave. It might not be a good idea to try and get there at 8:59 to catch the 8:59 train.

She should definitely get the exact text of of the law that she's been ticketed for. If the "motor vehicle" offense only addresses vehicles improperly crossing the rail crossing, that would be a good thing to bring up in court.

Any one remember the snowy night in '94 or '95? when a moron was hit by an NJ train at Walnut street station? I was in the front car right behind the locomotive and the train hit the brakes hard, the sound of metal hitting metal was sickening. Turns out a guy in his minivan tried to go around the crossing. he lived by jumping into the back seat.
it's only a matter of time until a death happens and then we'll be screaming " Why didn't the Cops stop this?".

Don't cross the tracks when the gate is down. Period.

so, you're saying it's ok to cross when the gate is down?

Teri

Go to court and contest it! Any judge with slightest amount if intelligence and insight into the law will dismiss the charge. I take train every morning from Walnut Street as well; no sign or law is posted prohibiting this. Next thing is that they will be issuing tickets for jay walking.

Was the NJIT officer wearing a brown shirt?

Merry Christmas to you and family.

RC

Teri

Go to court and contest it! Any judge with slightest amount if intelligence and insight into the law will dismiss the charge. I take train every morning from Walnut Street as well; no sign or law is posted prohibiting this. Next thing is that they will be issuing tickets for jay walking.

Was the NJIT officer wearing a brown shirt?

Merry Christmas to you and family.

RC

Teri

Go to court and contest it! Any judge with slightest amount if intelligence and insight into the law will dismiss the charge. I take train every morning from Walnut Street as well; no sign or law is posted prohibiting this. Next thing is that they will be issuing tickets for jay walking.

Was the NJIT officer wearing a brown shirt?

Merry Christmas to you and family.

RC

Teri

Go to court and contest it! Any judge with slightest amount if intelligence and insight into the law will dismiss the charge. I take train every morning from Walnut Street as well; no sign or law is posted prohibiting this. Next thing is that they will be issuing tickets for jay walking.

Was the NJIT officer wearing a brown shirt?

Merry Christmas to you and family.

RC

"Why can't we just let Natural Selection WORK?!?"

That was my first thought.
It's a self correcting problem.

No sympathy for this woman. The morons the cross around the back of the Westbound train every few nights as the Eastbound train has to blow its whistle to avoid nearly killing them all could learn the same lesson. No one would be appalled by someone ticketing a car for going through the gate, the pedestrian is no better. Think about what that train operator feels every time they see someone dart across like that.
What might be a more positive use of resources though would be for those NJ transit cops to have an ACTUAL VISIBLE presence on these platforms every once in a while.... instead of sitting in a car waiting for someone to break the law.
And they did recently post ENORMOUS signs at Walnut warning people not to cross.

Natural selection is fine when someone stupid gets run over. It's the danger posed to train passengers that's the issue.

So now we need a sign for every law posted so people know thats its a bad idea/illegal?

Hmmmm, I've never seen the traffic and pedestrian laws posted at stop signs or red lights, so why would the lack of a posting be a defense?

In case you are interested, please refer to NJ Motor Vehicle code, Title 39:4-127.1 (which applies to pedestrians as well).

The law doesn't seem to mention pedestrians:

39:4-127.1. Railroad crossings; stopping.

(a) Whenever any person driving a vehicle approaches a railroad grade crossing under any of the circumstances stated in this section, the driver of such vehicle shall stop within fifty feet but not less than fifteen feet from the nearest rail of such railroad, and shall not proceed until he can do so safely. The foregoing requirements shall apply when:

1. A clearly visible electric or mechanical signal device gives warning of the immediate approach of a railroad train;

2. A crossing gate is lowered or when a human flagman gives or continues to give a signal of the approach or passage of a railroad train;

3. A railroad train approaching within approximately one thousand five hundred feet of the highway crossing emits a signal audible from such distance and such railroad train, by reason of its speed or nearness to such crossing, is an immediate hazard;

4. An approaching railroad train is plainly visible and is in hazardous proximity to such crossing.

(b) No person shall drive any vehicle through, around, or under any crossing gate or barrier at a railroad crossing while such gate or barrier is closed or is being opened or closed.

That statute is very specific in applying to people driving vehicles. If that's the one she was charged with (and if the posted wording is correct), she should DEFINITELY fight it.

Note: this is my personal opinion as a citizen of NJ, not a legal opinion or legal advice. I am not admitted to practice law in New Jersey.

These are probably the same people who speed down Montclair Avenue at 70 miles an hour (a screaching silver BMW is a daily favorite) to catch the 8:56). Very nice with all the kids walking to school.

So, if you are late at Walnut and want to avoid the ticket you need to run to the back and cross the tracks behind the train. Run fast though.....

I commend the ticket writing transit officer. A few years ago, a woman fell on the tracks at the grade crossing at Walnut Street trying to outrun an oncoming train. Had it not been for some caring commuters, she would have been hit. Would her estate have sued NJTransit for not properly ensuring the safety of its customers? Most definitely! Would we all have paid for the consequences with higher rail fares or a reduction in service? Most definitely!

This is not a case of good cop/bad cop. This officer was doing his job and if the ticket receiver had any common sense, he would realize that his life might have been saved by this officer. I can only hope the judge sees it this way.

Sadly, had she not stopped to let some kids cross at the cross walk while driving to the train she would not have had to put herself in danger.

I might add that the act is entirely selfish as well. Take an 8 car train and multiply it by the 100 passengers per car that would have had to endure at least an hour-long delay had the gate runner been hit. The runner would have selfishly wasted 800 hours of peoples lives to save a half an hour from theirs, which is how long it would have taken to wait to catch the next train. Perhaps 800 hours of community service warning other commuters about the dangers of crossing the tracks when the gates are down would be a suitable punishment for the crime.

A few months ago at Walnut St., I saw a young woman crawl UNDER the stopped eastbound train so she could catch it. Unreal.

A few months ago at Walnut St., I saw a young woman crawl UNDER the stopped eastbound train so she could catch it. Unreal.

okay i disagree with anyone who said something bad about my MOTHER! That's right im her daughter and i respect those who were descent enough to take this as a stupid accident and not a thing of money!!!!!!!!!!

So a Happy Holidays to RC and the other good people in this world.

1) Razor-sharp blades on descending signal gates could neatly sever people in half if they try to scoot past them. This would discourage unsafe behavior.

Body parts that fall on the ground could be considered litter. Summonses could be sent to surviving family. If no living family, then summonses could go to neighbors. If no neighbors, then summonses go to a random person in another town, possibly Belleville. Failure to remit payment would result in intense tickle session.

2) Rubber trains. Instead of grisly accidents, trains would bounce back and knock person to ground. Adding a comical "boinggg" noise effect would delight commuters waiting on platform.

Tomorrow: talking chickens, inflatable banjos

1) Razor-sharp blades on descending signal gates could neatly sever people in half if they try to scoot past them. This would discourage unsafe behavior.

Body parts that fall on the ground could be considered litter. Summonses could be sent to surviving family. If no living family, then summonses could go to neighbors. If no neighbors, then summonses go to a random person in another town, possibly Belleville. Failure to remit payment would result in intense tickle session.

2) Rubber trains. Instead of grisly accidents, trains would bounce back and knock person to ground. Adding a comical "boinggg" noise effect would delight commuters waiting on platform.

Tomorrow: talking chickens, inflatable banjos

It's dangerous.
I was on a train that killed a woman once and it is NOT good and it stays with you.
The Times regularly runs articles on engineers who are on trains that hit people. The story always begins just like that woman's story.
"It could never happen to me..."
It could.
Anyway, they're cracking down - they're putting up barriers to prevent it.
Nobody wants to see dead people.

I am still trying to figure out what the point of that new fence is, as I squeeze between it and the orange cone thingies. Is that supposed to keep people from crossing the tracks fast enough to avoid trains? As someone pointed out, the train often stops well past this point, especially the (usually shorter and thus lighter, oddly enough) Hoboken train. Maybe we need a bazillion-dollar staircase/elevator complex like Bay Street got.

I miss the train about once a week, but I won't run for it (or in front of it) anymore... I just go sit in Cafe One 15 and drink coffee til the next one comes. There's a cute guy that rides the 9:45 sometimes, so it's worth the wait.

In the mid-west and other parts of the country, there are usually a couple of train crossing deaths each year because of people trying to beat trains. A friend of ours lost her son in this way.

If you want to foolishly risk your life, do so in a way that does not involve spectacle or implicate others. The drivers of those trains should not have to live with the memory of being part of someone's death they could not avoid.

Some Baristavillagers are just mystifyingly stupid. If you are late for the Upper Montclair or Walnut trains, take a bus. Better to be annoyed by a DeCamp driver than squashed by a NJ Transit driver.

In the mid-west and other parts of the country, there are usually a couple of train crossing deaths each year because of people trying to beat trains. A friend of ours lost her son in this way.

If you want to foolishly risk your life, do so in a way that does not involve spectacle or implicate others. The drivers of those trains should not have to live with the memory of being part of someone's death they could not avoid.

Some Baristavillagers are just mystifyingly stupid. If you are late for the Upper Montclair or Walnut trains, take a bus. Better to be annoyed by a DeCamp driver than squashed by a NJ Transit driver.

In the mid-west and other parts of the country, there are usually a couple of train crossing deaths each year because of people trying to beat trains. A friend of ours lost her son in this way.

If you want to foolishly risk your life, do so in a way that does not involve spectacle or implicate others. The drivers of those trains should not have to live with the memory of being part of someone's death they could not avoid.

Some Baristavillagers are just mystifyingly stupid. If you are late for the Upper Montclair or Walnut trains, take a bus. Better to be annoyed by a DeCamp driver than squashed by a NJ Transit driver.

When a reckless or dangerous act goes by without consequence it's okay?

When it happens to get recognized and there is a consequence, if we happen to relate to it, then we say things like "donut cop"-stupid law?

Many years ago I saw a girl leave a shop. She took a quick look to her right and left then zipped through 2 parked cars and while running into the street she got hit by a car she did not obviously see.

It was a week before Christmas.

The driver of the car was perfectly in their right and never saw her since she was shorter then the car she came out behind. The car was going a resonable speed.

She had run tight across the path of my mother and myself were walking. AS I was about to scream "NO".

She flipped over the hood and sustained a head injury when she hit the ground.

Needless to say, I ran to her and asked for someone to call an ambulence.

The driver and his passenger were so shook up (both husband and wife were sickened by the accident and crying).

The J walker was young and very attractive and bleeding.

The now formed mob started to yell at the motorists who were not at fault. But assumptions were of course made after the fact.

While we waited for police and ambulence. I told the people from the car to just sit in their vehicle. They wanted to help but the good people of Upper Montclair surrounded us and were somewhat threatening to the driver and myself.

It was a beautiful day.

Both the driver and the pedestrian meant no harm that day. But as life will have it's moments, worlds collide and for some Christmas was somewhat different that year.

About a year later I was called as a witness to the accident.

Sometimes when you do careless or reckless things life catches up to you.

I guess living on the wrong side of the tracks is a major issue.

Add 5 more minutes to your wake up time so you are calmly at the station waiting for the train vs. illegally crossing tracks to catch one.

Unfortunately, no measures via NJ Transit or Montclair Police will prevent the last minute rush.

OK, all the gory talk is ignoring something from the person who reported getting the ticket: the gates had just begun to go down. If that's truly the case, there is no way that the train was there. If you drive through "fresh" yellow lights, you know how this works.

What the hell are "fresh" yellow lights? A yellow light is a yellow light. Dumb analogy.

As one reader already wrote of the the short Hoboken trains always over-shooting the Walnut Station. The train is 3 maybe 4 cars long and nearly the entire train parks accross Walnut Street. This happens every morning on the 6:42. I have called NJT maybe 15 times in regards to the dangers involved with commuters milling around in the middle of a busy street in the dark waiting for the train, and then watching everybody trying to avoid the gates as they come down. I get nothing from NJT in regards to this danger. Somebody is going to die real soon, so the Transit Policeman should spend a little time between doughnuts and ticket the train operator for this stupid act. CAN ANYBODY HELP !

"Many years ago I saw a girl leave a shop. She took a quick look to her right and left then zipped through 2 parked cars and while running into the street she got hit by a car she did not obviously see."

I saw the same thing happen 2 nights ago,

I hope the cops ticketed both of these scofflaw jaywalkers. Clearly they need to be taught a lesson.

Well the good news out of all of this (aside from no one being hurt) is that NJ Transit certainly got the message out. Lots of people now know that (1) you can get a very inconvenient ticket if you try to cross the tracks once the barrier starts coming down and (2) the NJT police are watching. The point of writing tickets is deterrence. Mission accomplished.

You forgot (3) check the area for cops, as well as looking both ways down the tracks, before you run across.

crank

The NJT transit police were in an unmarked car. There are lots of drop offs happening at each station in the morning, so it would be easy to miss the NJT police car if you were rushing for the train. Why don't you go down to Walnut station tomorrow and test whether or not you can spot them.

Some of these posts are nuts! People should not be crossing train tracks when the lights are flashing and the gate is dropping. It's plain stupid. I've even seen cars driving across the tracks under the same circumstances, and even driving around the gates after they have dropped.

If you don't leave your home with enough time to catch your intended train, then too bad. You catch the next one. What if motorists had the same attitude. Perhaps we should change the laws so that if you are late for work, you can drive through red lights and even drive the wrong direction down one way streets. Why stop there. Lets decriminalize armed robbery if you can show a good reason for needing the cash.

Nativeclairman: My theory about the Hoboken train at Walnut is that the train needs to sit across the street in order for the gates to remain down. At Mountain Ave., for instance, the gates go back up as soon as the train stops even though it's only ~1 car length beyond the street crossing. If that's the case at Walnut too, then because the street is at the east end of the platform, they might be forced to "overshoot" rather than have the gates go down twice.

Of course NJT should be able to explain that to you, if that's indeed what's happening. The real question is: why are people waiting in the street? What's wrong with just standing on the far end of the platform?

What the hell are "fresh" yellow lights? A yellow light is a yellow light. Dumb analogy.

No, a "fresh" yellow light would be one that just turned yellow when you were close to the intersection -- no harm to go through. When a pedestrian crosses EMPTY train tracks just when the gates are starting to go down, it's entirely different than riskily darting in front of a train (just like it's entirely more dangerous to accelerate to squeak into the intersection when the light's been yellow for a while).

"She says she crossed just as lights started flashing and the gate was coming down over the tracks."
This statement is subject to interpretation. Was she already on the tracks? Did the gate start down and she decided to risk running to the other side?
We weren't there and have no way of knowing what the exact circumstances were.
As far as comparing this with jaywalking, when I lived in San Diego they would ticket you just as fast for jaywalking as they would for failure to yield to a pedestrian. I find nothing wrong with that.

I almost got a jaywalking ticket in California: completely empty road with at least 1/4 mile visibility in each direction. As a New Yorker used to pedestrian mayhem, I was flabbergasted that any place could think that it needed to regulate walking across empty streets.

While I recognize the safety issues at stake here, cavalier comments like, "Try leaving 5 minutes earlier" make me crazy. As if the transit-rider did not have every intention of arriving on time! There is no empathy in this dialog, and it makes me feel these commentators could not possibly have children, or if they do they have delegated 100% of the morning ritual to another caregiver. Where is the recognition of the desperation people feel, particularly when getting to work on time depends on a host of contingencies over which the "track crosser" does not have ultimate control: Babysitter arriving late, children needing the bathroom at the last minute, shoes that won't untie, cars that won't start - that in combination with a presentation scheduled before an unforgiving boss or client and the unpredictable arrival times of NJ transit is enough to make anyone forget themselves for a moment. It's easy to be judgmental when you're not the one under pressure.

The whole problem with empathy is that the issue of responsibility. Instead of accepting the fact that she did the wrong thing, got caught in a potentially dangerous situations, and I'm supposed to feel bad for her? Thats the problem with so many people. We're all supposed to feel so bad for them when these things happen, but they won't take responsibility for themselves. Everyone is under pressure, but not everyone runs across train tracks. Instead of trying to blame everything else around you, maybe you should stop and take a look at what you need to do instead.

There is no empathy needed here. Are we supposed to feel sorry for her for getting a ticket- oh come on- she'll fight the ticket-she's NOT a motor vehicle.

I have to agree with Tyler on this one. It was Ms. Festa's decision to turn this into a cause celebre that put the spotlight on her actions.
Would "Working Mom and Todder" feel the same empathy toward a person in one of the same predicaments she mentions if they were in a car and made a right turn on red in front of her and her todder because she was in a hurry due to stress and being late?
I spent many years dropping off and picking up my children before and after work without endangering myself and others. Life sucks.

Ok, she got a ticket. So be careful crossing the tracks.

The raging debate on this is getting a little ridiculous.

Sure there's empathy. Working mom, as you say, maybe the babysitter was late, the kid needed the bathroom, the car wouldn't start, any of that... so you bolt across the tracks as the gates come down. And you get a ticket. And you accept that you did something stupid, and you probably won't do it again. The unforgiving boss or demanding client sitting 12 miles east will get over it. So will you. For starters, you won't be dead.
On another note, I'm also baffled by the gate/stairway/orange cone thing they put up. Another brilliant example of something designed on a whim to solve a problem cheaply and easily. Now everyone just scoots past it (3 inches from the edge of the track) instead of going around.
Anyway, I miss the train about 2 times a week too. I also almost get run over by the idiot in the silver Beemer the other 3 mornings. But it's OK there's a cute girl on the 9:40 sometimes.

Intent, empathy, morning time pressures. All very interesting, but irrelevant.

The laws on the books say that neither a car nor a pedestrian can cross the tracks once the gate starts to come down (let's ignore the fact that she was given a Motor Vehicle summons for a moment, since the officer could have written a different pedestrian summons). Even through these rules have not been widely enforced in the recent past, they can be enforced at the discretion of the Montclair PD, NYT PD, and NJ State PD. If you illegally cross the tracks you risk getting a ticket. Period. Ignorance of the law is not a recognized defense. And for those who now know about the enforcement of these rules, don't whine if you get caught.

We can sit here for days and debate how reasonable this and other rules are. Can you cross the tracks when the barrier is down but there is no train in sight? Can you go through a red light at 3 am after stopping and seeing that no one is within miles of you? It's a pointless debate unless you want to take up the cause and try to change the law. ... and good luck trying to change the laws.

Vehr ah yer pahpas?

Teri Festa = IDIOT

Instead of accepting the fact that she did the wrong thing, got caught in a potentially dangerous situations, and I'm supposed to feel bad for her?

I don't accept that it was necessarily a "wrong thing" or "dangerous" -- unless the gates were down or well on their way down, an able pedestrian endangers nobody by scooting across. The wrong thing is if motor-vehicle-specific tickets are issued to PEDESTRIANS, in which case the point would seem just to harrass and make a point above and beyond what is allowed by law.

How many of you bitch and moan about things like overseas wiretaps and library records, but find state intrusion into your right to walk perfectly OK?

/all of the above does not apply, of course, if a train was really THERE at the time.

The laws on the books say that neither a car nor a pedestrian can cross the tracks once the gate starts to come down (let's ignore the fact that she was given a Motor Vehicle summons for a moment, since the officer could have written a different pedestrian summons).

Where's the pedestrian law on this?

i agree w/ the above post about this getting ridiculous. Those who are still arguing about this need to get away from the computer and take a walk. Just pay attention to the trains.

the lady in question has my sympathy. after at least two run-ins over the years with montclair's finest? ---- i now drive like a snail through your town and watch my rearview mirror constantly. i take nothing for granted. your police department is not very nice. that's all i'll say for now!

Barbara,
That's great. Drive like a snail through our town. If that's the case, I'm pretty happy that you don't find our police force to be "not very nice."
They should be "not very nice" to quite a few more people.

Barbara, I admire that you put your name to that post -- if ever there's a time to be grateful for internet anonymity, it's when you tweak local authority figures. Our own Trooper Truth recently praised a Montclair Officer for being "aggressive" in traffic stops. What'll happen now when they pull you over for driving too snail-like and then they notice your name?

barbara hartman's post is the single greatest endorsement I've seen for the job being done by Montclair's police department. I hope everybody else gets the message that you don't drive at breakneck speed through Montclair. Keep it up, Montclair's finest.

Little Falls Commuter-

Thank you for making some sense out of this. I have had an incident number on my computer screen that I was given by NJT complaint line.The people there know my name before they type that number into their computer.Its a running joke at work when I tell all around me, are you ready/ im going to call NJT again, everybody laughs!!How could they not know that? People wait in the street because the entire train stops in the street. I have not received an answer from and its been 3 months. So its all about the gates going up because the trigger is too far down the track? I think the installation of a new mechanism closer to the station would be a lot cheaper than the law suit we are all going to have to pay for in one way or another..THANKS seriously, this has been driving me crazy, not as much about an unused train platform, but that I couldnt get a reason as to why.

Barbara,

Too bad it took TWO tickets for you to finally realize it wasn't exactly a great idea to drive around OUR town like a maniac. I thank you and my kids thank you.

I got the ticket. There were gates on the road of the train area. Crossing, there was a place to go to. No train to go to. I would like to do something about this, and the metal parts (fenses?)

I got the ticket. There were gates on the road of the train area. Crossing, there was a place to go to. No train to go to. I would like to do something about this, and the metal parts (fenses?)

Teri Festa=good person!!

Any Questions?

who's teri festa?

Don't go to bed with no pice on your head
No No No
Don't Do it... Don't do it..
Don't do the crime if you can't pay the fine.. yeah...
Don't do it.... Huh
And keep your eeeeye... on the sparrow....
When the goooooing get narrow....

Don't go to bed with no price on your head
No No No
Don't Do it... Don't do it..
Don't do the crime if you can't pay the fine.. yeah...
Don't do it.... Huh
And keep your eeeeye... on the sparrow....
When the goooooing get narrow....

Don't go to bed with no price on your head
No No No...
Don't Do it... Don't do it..
Don't do the crime if you can't pay the fine.. yeah...
Don't do it.... Huh
And keep your eeeeye... on the sparrow....
When the goooooing get narrow....

funny

this thread is crap

Illegal use of horsepower.

That's the most ridiculous ticket I have ever received. Which carried a $75 fine in 1995 when I was driving my 1983 Camaro, which will be a classic some day.

The short Walnut St-Hoboken train used to straddle the road basically to prevent people from doing this very thing - crossing while the train is stopped farther up the platform. Now that the fence is there, it does overshoot it, but only by half a car, enough that people can get on via the 2nd door.

I applaud the safety concerns NJT is making. Really... having children or a tough schedule in the morning is no excuse for rushing across tracks. In fact, if you have children, all the more reason to avoid the risk of making them orphans.

Leave home early. Plain and simple.

I look forward to reading the stories about how NJT tried to prosecute pedestrians under a law written for motor vehicles. Oh, how sweet it will be! I wonder which dunderhead at NJT came up with this idea.

Judge: How do you plead?
Train rider: Not guilty on account of the fact that I'm NOT A CAR.
Judge: Case dismissed!

"The J walker was young and very attractive and bleeding."

That is so friggin hot!

he officer's responsed

"The laws on the books say that neither a car nor a pedestrian can cross the tracks once the gate starts to come down...."

Show us the law, please. No one else has been able to do so.

ALso, from the top: "Festa produced ID and was cited for "improper crossing of a roadway", which she learned from a clerk at Montclair Municipal court, carries a mandatory court appearance. "

She crossed train tracks, not a roadway. Where's the law on this point?

Looking forward to seeing how this works out in court.

I think the lesson learned and mandatory court appearance is punishment enough. Perhaps Ms. Festa could provide us with the statute number cited on her ticket.

Here is what NJT thinks about Montclair..Montclair to NY PENN to make a dinner appointment here is what this wondeful service gives you as an option.
LV Walnut St 4:28pm
AR NY PENN 5:09

the next available option is,
LV Walnut St 6:12pm
AR NY PENN 6:52PM

Thats almost an hour fourty five minutes between trains at a time of the day people need to get to the city for dinner or a show. Pathetic. That is a joke and word is starting to spread that the hype of the value of Montclair's train service is over and people looking for towns with good commuter lines are heading to Chatham and Summit.. We need to band together and stop letting NJT undermine the value of our homes..and whatever happened to weekend service!! There are many other holes in the daily schedule as well..

If she was cited for 39:4-32 Crossing roadway; signals and didn't cross any part of a roadway, only tracks, she probably has a good chance of beating it. The more proper citation IMHO would have been 39:4-81 Traffic Signals, observance; The driver of every vehicle, the motorman of every street car and every pedestrian shall obey the instructions of any official traffic control device applicable thereto yada yada If there was no roadway crossed maybe he wrote the wrong summons because he hasn't written that one before/recently and wasn't sure of the correct citation. Or it could be he wrote it to give her a break knowing it was beatable, he made his point, was visible, gave her something to think about and kept his bosses happy. Not really a proper practice but it happens. That 39:4-81 is a 2-point offense, not sure if it would be assessed on a pedestrian but I have seen strange things happen in the Court.

Now since it is that season and as a public service please bear this in mind. The Motor Vehicle Code statute 39:4-15 requires that "No person shall drive a horse attached to a sleigh or sled on a highway unless there are a sufficient number of bells attached to the horse's harness to give warning of its approach." It doesn't explain further what constitutes a sufficient number. Be safe, go big, to heck with the loud leaf blower crowd.

I wonder if the police are ticketing all those school kids who cross at the west side of the tracks at the walnut station... wait, they don't have drivers licenses so they can't get ticketed for a motor vehicle offense....

Actually they can be cited. If one doesn't have an N.J. license the state assigns the individual a number that will remain with them and become their license number when they apply/test for their license. Needless to say this can cause pain when shopping for insurance.

Here is what NJT thinks about Montclair..Montclair to NY PENN to make a dinner appointment here is what this wondeful service gives you as an option.
LV Walnut St 4:28pm
AR NY PENN 5:09

I feel your pain ... my classes start at 6pm but I have to take the 4:28 or be late. I don't think the schedule has as much to do with NJT's disdain for Montclair as the limited number of trains that can get through the two tunnels to and from NY at rush hour. And NJT is about to spend billions to solve that problem by building two more tunnels, but it's going to take a while

to the wise-asses who answered my post: for one thing, i hardly think saying someone is "not very nice" constitutes a major crime. i have a right to express my opinion the same as you folks do - and many of YOU say things far worse than i did. so shut your mouths and don't criticize ME.

i have my reaons for saying what i did, and feeling as i do. i do not "drive like a maniac" -thru montclair or any other town. speed frightens me - which is precisely why the incidents in your town upset me so much. i was not treated very nicely either. i'd love to know whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? well, today, i guess it's dead.

all i know is that wherever i travel from now on, i watch my back. period. and i trust very few people....whether or not they wear a badge.

regarding trust issues? just look across the hudson at what's going on in new york right now. like i said. watch your back.

I think NJ Transit would be better served if they posted "the rent-a cop" at Bay Street in the evening. Most people getting off the train in the front run under the closed gates to save the 2 minute wait while the train pulls away. Are they afraid they will get home 2 minutes later?

E.G.: thanks for your singularly lucid explications there.

Now off to buy a truckload of bells.

"so shut your mouths and don't criticize ME."

We're typing you retard! Now quit driving like a maniac and take your paxil.

Yeah Barb, watch your back, they are going to post a paintball cop there next. Cross the tracks at the wrong time and he'll shoot you.

You get the citation and get to pay the cleaning bill.

He thinks that you read your post aloud before clicking the POST button

I think most of the people on this blog have missed the point entirely. I happen to know Ms. Festa (not an idiot by any means) posted this event on a website for NJT commuters to advise them of the situation at the station. She was not looking for anyone's sympathy, nor is she looking to "beat" the ticket Baristanet picked up the story and you people ran with it. Shame on all of you who have called her (or anyone else) names on this site. If you have a limited vocabulary you shouldn't be participating. Finally, I think Teri has not answered here because she wants the whole thing done and over with. Enough already!

don't call me a retard, you moron. "wise-ass" was the strongest word i used.

and i no longer care about who runs over the tracks, when, how often, and who falls over them,whether or not they get a citation, etc.

we have no train station in nutley. i'm glad we don't. this is why.

so she posted on a NJtransit website...but then she told the Barista

"Baristanet reader Teri Festa tells us she had a not-so-merry holiday encounter with NJ Transit police yesterday at Montclair's Walnut Street Station"

are you saying that she NEVER talked or e-mailed the Barista and that the Barista has just lifted her e-mail from another website. Are you saying that the Barista stole the quotes and made up the fact that Ms. Festa communicated with her?

Teri should obey the law. Claiming ignorance isn't much of an excuse.Set a better example for the children

What a dope this crybaby Teri is. If she had a bit of sense she'd contest it, not piss and moan about it.

This thread and most others on this site are full of the same type of people that need to vent about nonsense like this. What a bunch of assbags.

jack jackson! That guy owes me money. Pay up bee-atch!