By John Burton
RED BANK – March is time for Red Bank pedestrians and motorists to get “street smart.”
As reported in January, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) selected Red Bank as one of 12 communities to participate in this round of the authority’s Street Smart NJ pedestrian/motorist safety program.
The authority’s campaign kicked off on Tuesday with the installation of signs at some particularly busy and at times problematic intersections in the borough’s downtown area.
The signs are part of the initiative’s multi-prong approach to addresses safety considerations with the three “E”s: education, enforcement, and on some occasions funding for engineering, according to David Behrend, the authority’s communications director
Since the authority started the Street Smart NJ campaign in 2013 the emphasis has been on reminding drivers to obey speed limits and stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. For pedestrians, the messages have been to use crosswalks and wait for the walk signals.
This time around, Behrend said, the program has added another message, which appears on the signs: “Heads Up – Phones Down.” That message is aimed at pedestrians, to pay attention to surroundings. “Honestly, there is no law,” preventing pedestrians from looking at handheld devises while walking and crossing streets, Behrend said, “but distracted walking is an issue, too.”
The program also will use traditional advertising in the state as well as utilizing social media to help advance the message. So far, digital advertising has been effective in engaging the public, Behrend said.
With Street Smart NJ, authority professionals will be working with local officials, law enforcement and business and community organizations to help get the message out and with law enforcement using the opportunity to heighten enforcement. Local officials and authority representatives will settle on an appropriate but not disclosed intersection and the representatives will conduct video surveillance of the location and police and possibly some organization volunteers will distribute literature and police will issue summons when necessary.
Authority members will revisit the site some time during the month and record findings for comparisons.
Past examples of Street Smart NJ have resulted in as a 50 percent reduction in noncompliant behavior, according to Behrend.
“It has proven effective,” Behrend said.
For this latest round of Street Smart NJ, along with Red Bank, the other communities selected are, Elizabeth, Franklin in Sussex County, Hackettstown, Jersey City, Lakewood, Metuchen, Newark, Passaic, Toms River and Woodbridge. This summer the program will include Long Beach Island in the campaign.
Authority professionals rely on data and attempt to get a cross section when selecting communities to participate in the program. NJTPA provided data on Red Bank indicating there have been 39 traffic crashes from 2011-14 that resulted in injury or death; of those, 20 incidents were attributed to driver inattention and 10 to failure to yield the right of way to a vehicle or pedestrian.
Statewide between 2010-14, 736 pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle crashes, with an additional 22,006 pedestrians injured, according to the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety. Pedestrians accounted for 25.6 percent of traffic fatalities in New Jersey for that period, twice the national average.
In the past, the NJTPA has been responsible for providing some funding for such traffic calming improvements in the borough as the pedestrian crosswalk upgrades and lighting on East Front Street in the vicinity of Riverview Medical Center; and allowing for a left turn lane and new signaling at the Drs. James Parker Boulevard/Shrewsbury Avenue intersection.
For more information on the Street Smart NJ program visit bestreetsmartnj.org.
