newjerseynewsroom.com

Similar projects planned for Burlington, Morris, Middlesex counties

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The state Department of Transportation is installing 5,000 feet of sidewalk at four locations along the Black Horse Pike and Route 9 in Hamilton and Pleasantville in Atlantic County at a cost of $386,000.

The sidewalk is expected to be completed by early next month, followed by improvements to add high-visibility crosswalks at various intersections in the same areas.

“This sidewalk project exemplifies the work we are doing throughout the state to plan and build safe routes for all New Jersey residents and visitors who share our roadways,” Transportation Commissioner James Simpson said Tuesday.

The project is part of the DOT’s New Jersey’s Complete Streets effort which requires all major roadway projects to include accommodations for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and the handicapped.

“In a state as densely populated as New Jersey, a Complete Streets policy is a necessity, not a luxury,” Simpson said. “The policy promotes healthy lifestyles by making walking and bicycling safe and accessible and it helps make such investments affordable by designing Complete Streets elements into projects from the very beginning.”

Simpson said the DOT is committed to driving down accidents that injure pedestrians and bicyclists. Through Oct. 12, there were 12 fatal bicycle crashes and 93 fatal pedestrian incidents statewide. In 2009 and 2010 there were 14 and 13 bicycle fatalities, respectively, and 157 and 141 pedestrian fatalities, respectively.

Simpson also announced study recommendations for improvements to a pedestrian and bicycle corridor located Route 40/322 in Egg Harbor and Pleasantville. The recommendations include filling gaps in sidewalks, building curb ramps for the handicapped, adding pedestrian countdown signal heads, crosswalk striping, pedestrian warning signs and improved lighting. Longer-term recommendations include creating median refuges and pedestrian-activated signals at new mid-block crossings.

Work is planned for other high-risk corridors in New Jersey, including a section of Route 130 in Burlington County. The DOT also has completed pedestrian safety plans for future improvements along two other high-risk corridors on Route 46 in Dover in Morris County and Route 35 in Perth Amboy and Woodbridge in Middlesex County.