this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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A Boring Dystopia

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[–] hedgehogging_the_bed@lemmy.world 75 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

The REASON it's illegal and dangerous to walk from these hotels is there's a damn whole canal between here and the stadium and the bridge is a limited-access highway. https://maps.app.goo.gl/5nK4bkNg9fHkWunn7

There isn't a pedestrian bridge over the canal, that's why you gotta get a ride.

[–] susi7802@sopuli.xyz 49 points 2 weeks ago

Sounds like bad planning.

[–] mcv@lemmy.zip 38 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

So, why is there no pedestrian bridge?

[–] knightly@pawb.social 52 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Holy Shit, making it from the nearest hotel across the canal turns a 1-mile walk into a 6-mile hike =U

That has to be deliberate, there's no other excuse for it.

[–] withabeard@feddit.uk 12 points 2 weeks ago

American dream

...

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

Deliberate in the sense that someone built a hotel on land that was cheap for reason?

Do you think that the city should engage a billion dollar civil engineering project to build a pedestrian bridge over a navigable canal so that it can serve whoever was dumb enough to build a hotel here?

To be clear, there are like a hundred hotels that you CAN walk to this stadium from, just not this one.

[–] GreyEyedGhost@piefed.ca 14 points 2 weeks ago

How much extra do you think it would have cost to add an 6' walkway to the bridge when it was built, merely as a future-proofing mechanism? When your first thought is, "No one would ever want to walk from one side to the other instead of using some kind of transportation," these are the kind of results you get.

[–] mcv@lemmy.zip 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

A billion dollars for a pedestrian bridge? That thing had better be made of gold, then.

[–] general_kitten@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

found some figures about cost of bridge building and apparently if one were to construct a completely new pedestrian overpass/bridge over that canal would be on the ballpark of about 2-10 million dollars

[–] mcv@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago

That sounds a lot more reasonable. And that's a standalone bridge. If you want to be stingy, you could also just have a walkway on the side of the highway bridge. Make sure you've got a solid wall between the cars ajd pedestrians, of course.

[–] Tuuktuuk@nord.pub 1 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Do you think that the city should engage a -- civil engineering project to build a pedestrian bridge over a navigable canal?

Uhmm? Yes? Have you somehow missed that there's a stadium on the other side of the canal? There are a lot of things in the southwest corner of the map, not just one hotel. I do not believe there's any other country on this planet where this is even a question. That bridge would absolutely get built. Building the stadium cost a big sum of money. A simple pedestrian bridge costs something like 50 000 $, maybe 200 000 $ if you want a fancy one. How would it not be possible for the stadium to pay that? It's an increase of about one percent to the project's expenses.

And if they somehow forgot to include the necessary traffic connections in requirements for giving the permission to build the stadium, then I can assure you that the state is able to pay for a hundred grand for simple infrastructure.

[–] hedgehogging_the_bed@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Here's the thing, that bridge would only serve tourists customers of the hotel, not the tax payers of NJ who would be paying for it. So it's on the hotel here to advocate for their customers and either work with NJDOT for the bridge or run a shuttle. But they put up the sign instead because their only care about their bare minimum liability, not making things safe or convenient.

[–] Tuuktuuk@nord.pub 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Please take a look at the map. There are plenty of things there, other than just one hotel. There's the whole town of Lyndhurst there, and the southern parts of Rutherford, just some 5 km away from the stadium. Or, if we take 5 miles, that would mean about 8 km. 8 km is about the limit until what distance can be covered by bicycle without an effort.

A society exists for maintaining infrastructure. It's a basic function and it's unforgivable for a city to fail on that!

EDIT: And because it's really useful to look at the map, here's a direct link to show the distances: https://www.openstreetmap.org/directions?engine=fossgis_osrm_car&route=40.81219%2C-74.07257%3B40.7875%2C-74.13428#map=14%2F40.80825%2F-74.09755

[–] hedgehogging_the_bed@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

All of whom may take the NJ transit bus system to do so.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/jYULVMiatawa45gm9

[–] Tuuktuuk@nord.pub 1 points 1 week ago

That is a self-clarity. But why should every human being use buses only? That sounds incredibly dystopic, to be honest.

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yes, there are plenty of countries on earth that don't pave over their rivers so that you can build a business wherever you want without obstruction. What a stupid fucking notion.

[–] Tuuktuuk@nord.pub 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Sorry, I understand each word you wrote, but not really their meaning. Would you be able to paraphrase, please?

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Geographic obstacles exist in other countries too. No country on earth removes every geographic obstacle to create a shortest possible-straight line walking path between every structure that exists. The idea that literally anyone would do this is absurd.

[–] Tuuktuuk@nord.pub 1 points 1 week ago

I know it's absurd.

Why did you bring that absurd idea up in this comment of yours?

[–] baltakatei@sopuli.xyz 16 points 2 weeks ago

Keeps the poors out. — Cave Johnson, probably

NJ DOT controls Rt 3 that goes over the bridge. You can recommend it to them.

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 5 points 2 weeks ago

The canal was there before the hotel, so that's probably a question for whoever built a hotel in a place that doesn't make any sense.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 28 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

That's the reason I can't simply walk to the nearby Denny's if I wanted to even tho it's like 3 blocks away; it's on the otherside of highway 99 and there are no pedestrian crossings for MILES over it.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 9 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

My FIL randomly got me an e-bike that I can't use for that exact reason. There's no way for me to get anywhere from my house without having to cross an extremely busy highway. I could drive the bike to places, but that defeats the purpose.

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

How fast would the bike have to go to ride on highways? You're not going to safely go 60, but 40 might be obtainable if you can buy another battery of the same type, wire it in series, and don't give it too much current.

You're definitely shortening the life of everything, but it's better than no use at all.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm 100% not going to go 40+mph on the highway on a bicycle. Luckily they're building a bypass, so in a year or two I'll be able to use it.

[–] wieson@feddit.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

Big up for not deliberately biting the dust

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Wait... What? Riding the bike defeats the purpose of having the bike? I'm confused.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

By drive the bike I mean putting it in my truck and bringing it somewhere safe to ride.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 points 2 weeks ago

Ahhh. Gotchya.

[–] doingthestuff@lemy.lol 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ebikes aren't allowed on roads by me.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

In my state bicycles have to ride in the street, and are held to the same rules as motor vehicles.

[–] doingthestuff@lemy.lol 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Same here but e bikes aren't allowed in the road lane, and almost nowhere has a bike lane or wide shoulder or sidewalk. They've essentially outlawed them.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 1 points 2 weeks ago

Ah, mine does allow e bikes on both roads and bike lanes, although there are restrictions based on the top speed and how that speed is generated (pedal assist vs throttle assist).

But the restriction is basically just when you need a license, registration, and insurance to operate. Basically anything that's under 20mph is a bicycle.

[–] Earthman_Jim@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

lmao fucking americans... "The government won't let me walk on the highway, that's the real tyranny!" What a confused bunch.

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 8 points 2 weeks ago

Also america: driving takes one mile, walking takes 6 miles to get to the same place.

[–] BoxOfFeet@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I see some water there. Backpack inflatable kayak?

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Its not walking, so fine in the eyes of the law i guess?

[–] Tuuktuuk@nord.pub 1 points 1 week ago

When will the pedestrian bridge be ready?