City Of Linden Awarded Pedestrian Safety Grant: Safe, Aware, Educated Drivers Save Lives

Linden Awarded Pedestrian Safety Grant: Safer Drivers Save Lives

Editor’s note: According to the Notice of Grant Fund Availability published by the Office of Highway Safety of the State of New Jersey, the following is a description of the acceptable uses for these funds.  This grant was available exclusively for the following purposes:

Eligible Uses of Grant Funds: Grant funds may be used for the following initiatives:
engineering and design of traffic signs; purchasing and installing of traffic signs; educational or training materials or media campaigns concerning pedestrian safety; compensation for law enforcement officers or authorized crossing guards assigned to an intersection, crosswalk or other roadway; personnel or contractual services; and other commodities

Staten Island has also been part of multiple pedestrian safety initiatives carried out by the City of New York.  These include newly installed speed bumps, lowered speed limits and accompanying speed cameras, daylighting (involving the installation of physical barriers near sensitive intersections to improve visibility), and other measures meant to enhance pedestrian safety.  Open streets locations at schools, including some on Staten Island, were at their highest level ever during the beginning of school last year.  There have also been improvements to pedestrian safety at senior housing complexes around the city as well.  Improvements have been undertaken to make more pedestrian-only areas where there previously were cars, especially in Manhattan. 

Linden, NJ – The City of Linden and the Linden Police Department announced that they have been awarded a year-long, federally-funded grant focused on improving pedestrian safety. The $20,000 grant, administered through the New Jersey Department of Highway Transportation & Safety, supplements and supports the department’s educational and enforcement efforts throughout the year.

In New Jersey, drivers are required to STOP for pedestrians in a crosswalk and yield to pedestrians walking outside of a crosswalk. Drivers are also advised to slow down and be alert for pedestrians; the risk of death for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 23 mph is 10%, but jumps to near 50% if the vehicle is traveling at 40 mph.

“Walking is one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical health, and for the environment,” said Police Chief David Hart. “In Linden, we are committed to keeping our pedestrians safe on the sidewalks and while crossing the street — anywhere that people walk, bike, or roll they should be able to do so without fear or stress. We urge drivers to take the time to look out for pedestrians, slow down, and incorporate pedestrian awareness into their driving routines.”

Despite a nationwide decline in highway fatalities last year, pedestrian fatalities across New Jersey surged 30%. Two hundred and twenty-two pedestrians lost their lives in vehicle crashes, the most since 1968.

For more information about pedestrian safety, please visit https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/pedestrian-safety.

Banner Image: Pedestrians. Image Credit – Ernest Ojeh