Pedestrian program grants are key to safety

In order to improve pedestrian safety, NJDOT has awarded $4.15 million in Safe Routes to School grants to 29 communities. The program, which helps protect the state’s pedestrians, is an investment in the safety of our students.

This program promotes safe biking and walking to school. For example, NJDOT awarded $280,000 to improve pedestrian safety in Burlington City, where two high school students sustained major injuries when they were hit by a vehicle while crossing Route 130.

The funds will help to redesign school dropoff and pickup areas, designate school zones, reconstruct bikeways, sidewalks and driveways, paint crosswalks on roadways, erect speed limit signs and increase lighting where necessary. Last year Governor Jon Corzine created a $74 million initiative for pedestrian safety in the state, $15 million of which is designated to the Safe Routes program.

NJDOT's Safe Routes to School program, part of a national program, designates funds to help redesign school dropoff and pickup areas to optimum safety levels.

The NJDOT Safe Routes to School program is part of a national program conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Through the 2005 passage of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Congress designated a total of $612 million toward developing the National Safe Routes to School Program.