A pedestrian bridge from Jersey City to NYC? Hundreds rally around idea

Is Jersey City the "new Brooklyn?" Maybe, but there's one important difference — you can walk to Manhattan from Brooklyn.

Kevin Shane of Jersey City would like to see the same apply to his community. He's worked with neighbor and architect Jeff Jordan to dream up the "Liberty Bridge" —  a 5,000-foot-long walkway.

"It’s time for Jersey City, NYC, New Jersey and New York state to start thinking about the current & worsening commuting problem, and take action," he wrote in a petition that was quickly gathering steam Thursday. By mid-day, more than 842 people had signed the petition, which asks Mayor Steven Fulop, Govs. Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to get behind the idea.

The idea draws its inspiration from the Walkway over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, originally designed for railroad use.

"Although, there’s no current foundation for a bridge like Poughkeepsie's, this idea is far from far-fetched," Shane wrote in his petition. "With the way our country is moving towards a green, eco-friendly, Tesla-esque future, a walking bridge could be a solution to more than just a Jersey City commuter nightmare."

The petition says that with 240,000 commuters a day, PATH trains are already too crowded, and maintenance to the train system is desperately needed. And Shane argues that in the event of a 9/11-like catastrophe, there needs to be a safe evacuation route for pedestrians to leave Manhattan.

And he throws in a bit of extra benefit for Fullop:

"If this happened under Steve Fulop’s mayorship, it would elevate Fulop’s status to kingship," Shane writes.