The report concludes with a list of potential improvements that can be implemented and are broken down into four categories:

• Engineering (for example, limiting parking near intersections)
• Maintenance (such as regular re-striping of crosswalks)
• Regulatory (for instance, installing “Don’t Block the Box” signs)
• Enforcement and Education (such as, enforce vehicle yielding to pedestrians)

 

A report was also completed by a safety impact team for the Route 27 Pedestrian Safety Corridor in Roselle, Linden and Elizabeth as well as along Route 71 in Avon-By-The-Sea, Bradley Beach and Neptune and along Route 70 in Cherry Hill. Similar to the Newark experience, the audits along routes 27, 70 and 71 made several observations at each intersection along the corridor and provided a list of general observations and solutions. 

 

PUTTING SOLUTIONS TO WORK

Identifying these problems in an official report provides a way for NJDOT to document safety issues and account for them in future improvement projects. Once a team identifies priorities, NJDOT uses the findings to determine which measures it will fund, study further, or implement immediately.

 

In the case of the Route 70 corridor in Cherry Hill, $250,000 was initially

spent installing 3000 feet of sidewalks; and later an additional $25,000 was spent to put in another 325 feet of sidewalks underneath a railroad bridge, all completed in 2007. For the Route 27 corridor, a project is underway that will cost $100,000 and will result in the installation of new sidewalks; that project is now in the design phase. NJDOT also anticipates installing new signs, upgrading pedestrian signal heads to include countdown timers and optimizing signal timing along the Route 27 corridor.

 

A month after the final Newark report was published, Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri announced a $500,000 award to the city for pedestrian safety improvements. The improvements included upgrades to the signal system along Ferry Street and its intersecting streets so new countdown pedestrian heads could be installed. The benefits of such an investment go beyond pedestrian safety. As Newark Mayor Cory Booker pointed out, “This program will also increase the attractiveness of the Ironbound as a destination for shoppers and the neighborhood’s desirability for development and growth. It also helps us to continue to provide our motorists, pedestrians, and schoolchildren with the safest environment possible.”