This page discusses the findings of a study that underpinned the development of the Regional Transportation Plan adopted by the NJTPA in September 2005. This study is now being updated, as discussed at Regional Safety Priorities Update. Additional information is available on the NJTPA safety planning web page.
In 2004, 42,000 people died on the nation's roadways, with more than 700 fatal crashes occurring in New Jersey. Norman Mineta, then U.S. Secretary of Transportation state that "First and foremost, transportation safety is the highest priority for the Department of Transportation."
To meet this challenge, nationally and in our state and region, an increased emphasis has been placed on safety for people traveling on our roads, rails, sidewalks and bicycle paths. Acting at a regional level, the NJTPA completed “The Development of Regional Safety Priorities” project to identify transportation safety needs and solutions in northern and central New Jersey. The travel safety needs of senior citizens, school children, people with mobility impairments, the goods movement industry and low-income communities also were included in this analysis.
Regional Safety Priorities was a forward-looking, multi-modal effort to integrate safety considerations into all phases of transportation improvement planning and development, and to elevate safety to a high priority at all levels of decision-making. The NJTPA, as the federally sanctioned Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for this region, acts as a forum for gathering inter-agency and public input into the transportation investment decision-making process. It is a natural place for innovative safety conscious planning to be realized.
The major tasks of the Regional Safety Priorities were to:
- Identify the most pressing safety needs of the region’s travelers - transit riders, pedestrians, bicyclists, auto drivers and passengers, and truck operators;
- Explore engineering, enforcement, and educational countermeasures; and
- Develop a comprehensive set of recommended new safety initiatives for development into transportation improvements.
- All this was done within the open, collaborative NJTPA planning forum. Broad public and inter-agency input was gathered through:
- A Technical Advisory Committee, made up of agencies and individuals representing the engineering, education, enforcement, and medical communities;
- A series of focus groups to explore travel safety in-depth; and
- A brief on-line survey to gather information on the region’s most pressing safety needs.
NJTPA engaged a consultant team to support this project, led by Urbitran Associates. Our study team included national experts on safety planning and implementation, as well as firms and individuals with experience in data analysis, public and agency coordination, and implementation of safety countermeasures. Project findings were integrated into the 2005 Regional Transportation Plan update.
In addition, reports were prepared for 23 separate priority locations within the region, presenting accident data, safety issues, and suggested improvements for each site. Many of these improvements require short-term and relatively low cost actions that counties and municipalities could initiate themselves or with limited financial assistance, such as adding appropriate signage, making improvements to existing signals, or striping crosswalks for pedestrians. NJTPA administers a Local Safety Program that makes funds available for implementation of these types of improvements. See the link on the left side of this web page for a listing of these priority locations. Reports are available upon request.
Three regionwide programmatic initiatives were also undertaken: Strategies for Addressing Deer-Vehicle Crashes, Strategies for Increasing Safe Mobility for Older Residents, and Safety Decision Support Systems. Links to reports on these initiatives are provided on the left side of this web page.
For further information contact: Lois Goldman, Project Manager, via email or (973)-639-8413.