To help address the lack of parking during the busy summer months, should Ventnor, Margate and Longport consider a Downbeach Jitney shuttle service?
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A few summers back, a Downbeach Jitney service was tried. It was destined to fail right from the start. Poor marketing and awareness, hard to find street signage and a confusing schedule. The service trial only lasted a few weeks.
Why did a past Jitney trial fail? We recall a small group of Real Estate agents fought hard against the service, claiming the proposed Downbeach shuttle was nothing but a ‘drunk bus’. One agent claimed the Jitney shuttle would only bring a ‘bad element’ to Ventnor, Margate and Longport.
Sea Isle City and other shore towns offer summer visitors this convenient transportation option for about $2.00 a ride.
Jitneys will only run the major roads, so their use may be limited. If a jitney service is not feasible, then a private company might consider doing street legal carts on call.
Door to door, with a dispatch service. Keep it to Longport, Margate and Ventnor. This should definitely cut down on unwanted users.
First time users would need to register on a site, verify their name, address, stats, credit card and DocuSign a waiver. Then if something went wrong their information is in the system and they are held responsible.
This could be a very helpful service and used for everything from going to the beach to dinner and drinks. Just a thought.
Absolutely! Since there isn’t enough place to park in Ventnor. Especially for Seniors 👍
lifeguards should be able to park on beachblocks with signage… they sit all day , often on side streets. would free up spots.
and the newer yellow markers at corners are ridiculous!!! measured wrong (to observe state law).. should be from curbs- not pavements!!!
Agree totally!! Margate could also allow beach block parking and fix the absurdly huge triangles on Atlantic Ave. If they are indeed legal and for safety, the triangles should be painted on every street!
Souped up golf carts, whether they are private or commercially owned are doing some of the work that Jitneys would be doing in the last couple of years.
I feel the negative affects will outweigh any positive forecasts.
Example: People both young and old may ride from one extreme location in Atlantic City, to ride / party to another extreme location
in Longport. They may hop on and off the jitney to walk / party in normally quiet residential neighborhoods.
Jitneys are needed in Atlantic City because they provide a great service for people traveling between casinos.
This is just my opinion. I don’t mean to hurt or insult anyone. Thank You.
I agree about the negatives outweighing the positives of having jitneys.
Why would the jitneys go to AC ? They should run from Jackson to the end of Longport, with a branch to Wellington Plaza.
It was tried before and failed, the Jitneys were empty. You are just inviting trouble. Restaurants have their own private drivers to pick up customers. Bad idea.
We need to institute permit parking for residents This works in Ventnor.
With each new house built, we lose parking spaces.
The building dept is ok’ing plans to cut aprons for the multi driveways that are not being used for parking
Permit parking doesn’t work in Ventnor because the police do not enforce it!
Who says they don’t enforce it? I watch them give out tickets and mark cars
Would be very useful to have jitney service extended. Nice to be able to take the little buses to libraries and to shopping and restaurants.
I would use the jitney in a heartbeat. After an accident last summer(driver ran a red light) in AC and a near miss by some nut in Ventnor last week, I have little interest in driving Downbeach and AC in the summer.
Amazing that once Memorial Day comes each year, people drive like idiots. If the Police are too stretched (and likely they are in summer) where they cannot control the crazies then Jitneys might at least take some traffic and nuts off the roads.
Extremely great idea. Provides a needed service for all our shore towns. Not only could it save lives, but save DUI’s, and provide a relief to the much needed parking problems.
This is a no brainer!
Been a resident for 20 years. Locals pay sufficient taxes.
I’ve owned a 2nd home in Ventnor for 67 years and I pay the same taxes that you do, if not more. What does this have to do with having Jitney service in Ventnor, Margate and Longport?
Open up beach block parking. We all pay taxes and have parking in front of our houses. Why are beach block residents so special?
If it’s a problem with emergency vehicles, park on one side only. This would add soooo many new spots to park.
We need Permit Parking more than
Beach Badges.
Those worried about the Atlantic City to longport negatives just remember there are busses every half hour from the city so if the bad elements want to come they already can
I would favor a local Ventnor Margate Longport service that doesn’t include AC. Uber/Lyft is fine for AC.
It failed because it was inconvenient. Jitney stops were few and far between. Times were inconsistent to all day usage e.g. shop to the walk or local stores.
It needs a committee of locals (this includes of mix of year round and second home owners) vacationers(renters), seniors, parents with young children, teenagers (who need to get to work), business owners, etc.
Get all the input from these diverse sources and toss the nonsense and build with the good ideas from those people who may be using the service and how they will use it.
Remember you will be dealing with county roads, not just city approvals will be needed.
Great idea!
I think it would be difficult to bring to fruition
Ventnor Ave is a County Road. Understand they coiuld not get permission the last time they tried.
That leaves Atlantic Ave.
With Pedestrian crossings and the new left hand and right hand turns from ONE LANE for car traffic bordering a bike lane. It sounds dangerous. Can the City officials clarify for us how the traffic pattern for the Jitneys could be used effectively?
It’s been tried before and anyone going out to dinner is going to use their car, Tomatoes jittney or walk.
Take the bus! The 505 runs regularly on Ventnor Ave. It costs $1.60 or $.75 for kids and seniors.