The New Jersey Department of Transportation recently awarded its first Safe Streets to Transit (SSTT) grants to 15 communities, including Absecon City, Camden City, Clifton City, Edgewater Borough, Egg Harbor City, Elizabeth City, Florence Township, Hoboken City, Lyndhurst Township, New Brunswick City, New Providence Borough, Ocean City, Plainsboro Township, Voorhees Township, and Woodlynne Borough. The program is part of Governor Jon Corzine’s five-year, $74 million Pedestrian Safety Initiative. SSTT grants will total $5 million over a five-year period.
Allocated from the state’s Transportation Trust Fund, the SSTT grants will be used by counties and municipalities to install and upgrade sidewalks and pedestrian barriers, and improve lighting and drainage on roads near transit stations. Aside from the obvious benefit of increasing pedestrian safety, these projects are meant to encourage transit usage by making it easier to walk or bike to transit facilities. SSTT represents collaboration between the NJDOT, the Department of Law and Public Safety and the Motor Vehicle Commission.
Among the initial SSTT grants, New Brunswick received $147,000 to improve pedestrian safety near its train station by creating a designated “kiss-and-ride” drop-off area to accommodate passengers arriving by car. Camden will use $170,000 in SSTT funds to improve pedestrian access and safety along Market Street, improving accessibility to two of its stations—the City Hall Station on the PATCO High-Speedline and the Cooper Street/Rutgers RiverLINE Station. Hoboken will receive $80,000 to improve commuter and pedestrian safety near Hoboken Terminal by installing pedestrian railing along Hudson Place. Ocean City has been awarded $100,000 in support of Haven Avenue Bike Route Phase I. To encourage drivers to accommodate bicyclists, funds will be used to implement traffic calming measures such as reduced speed limit and additional stop signs along this “share the road” facility.
For more information about the SSTT program, see the SSTT website.