Enforcement isn’t the answer to reducing traffic fatalties and injuries, but…

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

Lots of city residents lament in personal discussion, and especially on social media that we need more traffic enforcement to reduce speeding and other bad driver behaviors, as though that’s the best remedy for dangerous driving.

Enforcement isn’t the best way to effectively reduce speeding or other bad driver behaviors.

Too little enforcement can give drivers a sense that roads are theirs to do what they please any time, anywhere.

“Why do many of us drive dangerously on the roads? Because we think we can get away with it,” Jonathan Adkins, CEO of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which tracks traffic fatalities across the country, told NPR earlier this year. “And guess what — we probably can right now in many places in the country.

A traffic ticket may not be effective in changing that driver’s behavior after the cop leaves the scene, but it can be a deterrent, and be a part of changing the culture in a city.

Evidence suggests that enforcement and road engineering ought to work together.

Police officers and their department heads have become reluctant to do traffic stops mainly for 2 reasons: to avoid accusations of racial bias, especially after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. in 2015, and because of fear for their own safety. Traffic Enforcement Dwindled in the Pandemic. In Many Places, It Hasn’t Come Back.

Traffic stops that involve equipment violations like a broken tail light, which are often a result of racial profiling are becoming more rare, while at the same time, a reduction of traffic stops for speeding and running signals and stop signs is also dropping.

So what do we do?

“Really long-term, design has to be the solution,” said Shawn Garcia, director of advocacy for the safe-streets organization Transportation Alternatives in New York. “Policing is not the direction we want to go in.”

I’m representing APCSC as part of a group of advocates working for legalization of speed cameras to be legalized in NJ.

The objections that stymie the legislation of speed cameras in NJ and Texas come from civil libertarians who oppose the surveillance, even though studies in the U.S. and overseas show that speed cameras are effective at reducing speeds and injuries, .

Legal mechanisms designed to keep streets safe are breaking down, while traffic deaths are rising. Is there a better way?

Impounding cars, and revoking licenses plus legalization of speed cameras among other strategies can be effective: A fatal crash shows us everything that’s wrong with traffic enforcement

“New Jersey emerged as the state with the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities. New Jersey Tops Pedestrian Fatality List. Out of the 3,030 total traffic deaths recorded in the state during the study period, 916 were pedestrians. This means that 30.23% of all traffic fatalities in New Jersey involved pedestrians, the highest percentage in the nation.”

APCSC has been advocating for a Vision Zero Policy in Asbury Park…but this requires a commitment to implement street and road modifications to change driver behavior, and make it safe for walkers and rollers.

“Lots of cities have appointed staff to oversee their Vision Zero efforts, but who don’t implement physical safety measures, instead sit at a desk creating power point presentations. Here Is What Vision Zero Should Really Look Like.

Generally, city professionals are reduced to working on bike lanes, preparing plans with lots of public outreach (marketing), and applying for grants. When we see this, we are seeing an unserious approach. Does this seem familiar in Asbury Park?

Safety on Asbury Park streets and roads shouldn’t be the domain of one person; or the police. It needs to be part of the culture. Safety first. Safety second. Safety, safety, safety.

If we’re depending upon enforcement, signs, and PSAs to change driver behavior we’re doing it wrong.

Our streets can be reconfigured, often starting with just paint and pilot projects. When roads are paved the street or road can be modified with curb extensions so people walking have less distance to cross and to slow drivers. Raised crosswalks, mini-roundabouts, protected bike infrastructure are proven effective countermeasures to slow driver speeds.

Signs and PSAs are not effective, and are a lazy way for cities to imply that they are doing something about driver behavior.

I’ll leave you with a quote:

We ask everyone outside the car to be safe so that drivers can be dangerous.

Onward.

Polli Schildge, Editor apcompletestreets.org

February 22, 2024

TRAFFIC CALMING EFFECT OF BIKE LANES

Hello readers~

Whether you ride a bike or not, you’ll probably agree…

Asbury Park has been slow to implement bicycling infrastructure. Over four years ago some painted stripes and sharrows (stenciled “sharing arrows”) were installed, but since then there has been negligible painted implementation, and there are no protected, delineated bike lanes anywhere in the city.

After this Rutgers study was done in 2022 there was some hope that it would have inspired permanent implementation of protected bike lanes, or even painted striping, particularly in this area of the study, since bike lanes were proven to have a positive traffic calming impact.

There are no protected, delineated bike lanes, or markings of any kind in the area of this study, and we are still waiting for bicycling infrastructure to be implemented consistently throughout the city.

We expect Asbury Park leaders to recognize that it is inequitable to prioritize driving over vulnerable road users, and to take action to make our streets safe for everyone.

From the NJ 4′ Safe Passing Law advocate Rebecca Feldman:

Let’s be clear about the endgame. It’s not that we want people to travel slower, it’s that we NEED fewer people being injured and killed by speeding drivers.

TRAFFIC CALMING EFFECT OF BIKE LANES

In this study, protected bicycle lanes marked with simple traffic cones and plastic delineators were associated with a reduction in average maximum speeds of 20 to 30 percent.

The findings prove the traffic calming effect during the time of this pop-up in 2022.

The findings come from an analysis of almost 10,000 cars during a temporary pilot demonstration project in Asbury Park, N.J., where bike lanes were both painted and delineated with traffic cones. The study incorporated 24-hour video footage of the intersection for 10 dates in March and April 2022.

The results of the study: “The Traffic Calming Effect of Delineated Bicycle Lanes,” by nine researchers at Rutgers University, including the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, will be published in the June volume of the Journal of Urban Mobility.

Average top speeds of vehicles dropped by 28 percent, by 21 percent for vehicles turning right, and by up to 8 percent for drivers going straight.

Painted-only bike lanes were also associated with a reduction of 11 to 15 percent solely for vehicles turning right. Traffic moving perpendicular to the bicycle lane experienced no decrease in speeds.

Bicycle lanes with traffic delineators will have a stronger traffic calming effect, such as reductions in speed, than with painted-only bike lanes, according to the study.

“In the context of traffic safety and Vision Zero initiatives, this finding is significant in that it suggests that delineated bike lanes can reduce traffic speeds, making the overall road environment safer for all. The pop-up bike lane reduced the traffic lane width and created a sharper turning radius, which likely served as a traffic calming mechanism.”

There is no shortage of assistance to help New Jersey towns and cities to take action, such as from NJTPA. The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority is the federally authorized Metropolitan Planning Organization for the 13-county northern New Jersey region. Each year, we oversee over $2 billion in transportation improvement projects and provide a forum for interagency cooperation and public input.

Federally, the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Transportation Discretionary Grant program provides a unique opportunity for the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to invest in road, rail, and transit.

The Rutgers New Jersey Bicycle & Pedestrian Resource Center assists public officials, transportation and health professionals, and the public in creating a safer and more accessible walking and bicycling environment through primary research, education and dissemination of information about best practices in policy and design.

Let’s make Asbury Park an accessible, equitable city for everyone.

Onward.

Polli Schildge, Editor

February 15, 2024February 20, 2024

APCSC Testified today for NJ Target Zero Commission with Teeth. And Protect access to e-bikes.

Hello supporters~

I was honored on Thursday, 2/15 to be among other equitable mobility advocates giving powerful testimony in favor of a strong Target Zero Commission.

We all urged the very receptive Senate Transportation Committee to establish the Target Zero Commission to include a commitment for an action plan and timeline in Bill S361 sponsored by @patrickdiegnan

Contact Senator Patrick J. Diegnan Jr

Listen to the recording of the meeting, including testimony for Target Zero Bill 361 at 49:00. Prior is great testimony on other transit issues, including the (really bad) E-Bike Bill: S4132.

Senate Transportation Meeting Thursday, February 15, 2024

This Commission will provide leadership and encourage municipalities like Asbury Park to craft policies and implement safety measures to make streets safer for everyone. (Scroll down to read my testimony.)

Equitable Mobility Advocates with NJ Senator Patrick Diegnan.

Additionally others among us testified against the really bad E-bike/e-scooter Bill S4132 requiring licensing and registering low-speed e-bikes and scooters.

Why Every E-Biker Should Be Worried About NJ’s Proposed Micromobility Insurance Law Additional testimony was given on the terrible e-bike and scooter insuring, licensing, and registering bill.

Take Action to Protect Access to E-Bikes in New Jersey

Low speed e-bikes and scooters should not require insurance, licensing, and registration.

Here’s my testimony today, February 15th for the NJ Target Zero Commission, and Bill S361:

I’m Polli Schildge, a founding member of Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition.

*APCSC initiated a city wide movement to urge the city to implement the road diet on NJ Rt 71 Main St. It’s better, but still not great. There is still so much more to do.*

We’re happy to support the NJ Target Zero Commission, and Bill S361, including a commitment to an action plan with a specific timeline for implementation of road safety measures.

In the past few years our city has experienced a Renaissance, which has resulted in increased traffic, speeding, and drivers ignoring traffic signals and signs.

At the same time nearly half of residents are at, or under the poverty line, which is almost twice the national average. Many residents don’t own cars, and rely on walking or rolling as their primary transportation.

Road safety really is an issue of equity. *Everyone walking or rolling or driving has to cross NJ State Highway, Rt 71, our Main Street which bisects the city, to travel east and west. Driver behavior is terrible, and speeding is rampant.*

When I came upon the site of a recent crash and fatality of a person on a bike, all that remained was debris, and the squashed bike tossed to the side of the road. There was no news report on the crash or the person whose life was lost.

*I walk and bike by choice, not necessity. But many people walk and bike because they have no choice. – mothers with children, and elderly struggling to cross Rt71. I recently witnessed 2 people on bikes in the crosswalk, in a left turn hit and run, and learned of another person hit on a bike in critical condition.*

The social, economic, physical and mental repercussions of crashes is a true human health crisis, disproportionately affecting communities like Asbury Park. When anyone is killed or seriously injured in a crash, families under financial stress might be displaced, causing a ripple effect, and straining resources in the city itself.

*We don’t have accurate crash data – crashes are unreported because people may be undocumented or have criminal records.*

PSAs, signs, education, and enforcement don’t change human behavior. The ONLY way to reduce and ultimately prevent crashes, injuries and deaths is to change the built environment.

Everyone deserves to get around safely, especially the most vulnerable road users – I used to think it meant elderly, or children – but it really means everyone outside of a car.

Driving is a privilege, not a right. We all deserve the right to equitable mobility, which can be achieved by implementing policies, and building infrastructure to enhance the health of our communities, and most importantly, to save lives.

This Commission will provide leadership and encourage municipalities like Asbury Park to craft policies and implement safety measures to make streets safer for everyone.

Thank you.

Onward~

Polli Schildge

Editor APCSC

October 13, 2023October 14, 2023

League Of American Bicyclists Instructor Seminar

News!

Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition will host a League Of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructor seminar on November 3rd, 4th, and 5th at The Boys And Girls Club.

Bicycling in Asbury Park has been transforming over the 8 years years that APCSC has been in existence.

When APCSC was founded there was only one (very worn) bike lane in the city.

People were riding bikes for daily transportation or recreation with zero awareness of the need for safe infrastructure. Main Street was a speeding 4 lane highway, many businesses had been abandoned, and drivers ruled city streets.

Locals began advocating with us and learning how we can #slowthecars with traffic calming measures like bike lanes, bumpouts, mini traffic circles, raised crosswalks, and speed bumps. The Main Street road diet was implemented after an energetic 18 months APCSC campaign.

Streets that are safe for anyone at any age to ride a bike will encourage people to ride bikes.

Residents and visitors now are beginning to understand the need for safe bike riding infrastructure – for health, economic, and social benefits.

We still have a long way to go, but improvements are being made all over the city. During these years people have become aware of the need for equitable mobility for the most vulnerable road users – which is everyone outside of a vehicle.

Take a look at the Asbury Park Plan For Walking And Biking, particularly beginning on page 63 to see plans for the current work on Memorial Drive!

Our hope is that we might be able to encourage parents, teachers, and residents to be a part of a “Bike Bus” – a global movement in which adults on bikes pick up kids on bikes at “bus stops” all over town and guide them to school.

Here’s a video of Montclair’s Bike Bus In action on a recent Friday with 163 kids. 143 adults!

And in Williamsburg, Brooklyn: Make Way for the Bike Bus. For the school commute, families are taking to the streets with two wheels. Some have termed the movement “kidical mass.”

This is where League of American Bicyclist Instructor training comes in!

The League Seminar will equip instructors to educate members of the community, particularly parents and school kids to ride bikes confidently and safely.

Certified LCIs are empowered to teach courses that cover youth riding, how to ride confidently and legally with traffic, how to share paths and trails, motorist education, bike handling, group riding, and more.

Membership in The League Of American Bicyclists and the Smart Cycling course are prerequisites. The courses are held throughout the year in locations all over the US.

For more information, email apcompletestreets@gmail.com if you’re interested in becoming a League Certified Instructor.

Onward~

Polli Schildge, Editor APCSC

May 1, 2020May 1, 2020

This Is Our Future. The Birth Of A Healthy, Resilient City

Asbury Park is looking at a great opportunity to initiate progressive, and permanent change to prioritize people walking and people riding bikes, to offer alternative transportation, and to restrict the use of cars. We owe it to ourselves. This is our future, so let’s plan for it.

Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been countless articles about cities creating more space for people to protect the environment and to save lives. I’ve had so many in the queue I can barely keep up.

Read more here in this deep dive into what’s happening all over the world, followed by a great Twitter thread for more illumination.

Are we witnessing the death of the car?

“Cities around the world are seeing dwindling numbers of fossil-fuel powered cars on their streets, and many are planning to keep it that way after

lockdowns ease.”

To accommodate streets now busier with bikes, as well as facilitate social distancing, some places have installed temporary cycle lanes or closed streets to cars. Pop-up bike lanes have appeared in cities including Berlin, Budapest, Mexico City, New York, Dublin and Bogotá. Governments from New Zealand to Scotland have made funding available for temporary cycle lanes and walkways amid the pandemic. In Brussels, the entire city core will become a priority zone for cyclists and pedestrians from early May for the forseeable future. Meanwhile, temporary street closures to cars have taken place in Brighton, Bogotá, Cologne, Vancouver and Sydney as well as multiple US cities including Boston, Denver and Oakland. In England, restrictions have been lifted to enable and encourage councils to more quickly close streets to cars.

But these, of course, are temporary measures. What will happen when lockdowns are lifted?

Cities that seize this moment to make it easier for people to walk, bike and take public transport will prosper after this pandemic and not simply recover from it – Janette Sadik-Khan

This Twitter thread from @modacity, begins with a post from PhD candidate Brett Petzer.

“Cities across the globe are moving quickly and ambitiously to reclaim hundreds of kilometres of streets from the car monopoly and reallocate these public commons to people walking, cycling and rolling. It‘s like seeing decades of activism happen in a month.”

“The Great Reclamation: I am losing track of the number of cities that have moved suddenly and ambitiously to reclaim hundreds of kilometres of streets from the car monopoly and reallocate these public commons for people walking, cycling and using wheelchairs.”

@modacity began with a family’s move in 2010, and was the impetus to “educate people and cities about the inherent benefits of moving away from a car-centric transportation model, to a more inclusive one that is accessible to people of all ages, abilities, and economic means.”

“Using writing, photography, film, and the power of social media, we used this revelation to communicate a more human image of multi-modal transportation.”

“It is like watching decades of activism happen in a month. Like watching generations of ‘cycling and walking plans’ or ‘sustainable mobility plans’, which have always been aspirations, turn into facts (literally) overnight.

It has taken a crisis that is new, sudden, total and full of unknowns to break, albeit briefly, the car monopoly on urban space which has been in place for 70-100 years in the rich West…”

Read the tweet here.

April 19, 2020April 19, 2020

The World Without Cars – Let’s Keep It This Way

Do we really want to go “back to normal”? Every city in America struggles with parking issues and traffic congestion. But now, in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, streets are free of traffic and air is remarkably cleaner. Let’s learn from this. We can seriously consider who needs to drive in our city – do we really need to allow large delivery trucks on Main Street and Cookman? The proposed parking garage should ease parking issues to a degree, and we’ve been discussing car-free zones, a network of connected bike lanes, and restricting deliveries to small vehicles and cargo bikes.

A quote from the article could easily describe Asbury Park or any city, “The same way we will have to reimagine so many elements in our city, we must do the same with our streets,” said Danny Harris, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group. “We can’t go back to streets that are littered with traffic and parking.”

The downside of open roads is that driver entitlement is more evident in an increase of speeding.

N.Y.’s Changed Streets: In One Spot, Traffic Speeds Are Up 288%

Faster buses. Plentiful parking. Cleaner air. A shift in habits offers a glimpse of what the city could be like without so much congestion.

Read about it:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-empty-streets.html

April 16, 2020April 15, 2020

How Do We Think About Bikes Now?

LET’S CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER

Stop shaming people riding bikes.

Cars are killing us.

Stop shaming people running/jogging.

The reduction of driving is at least temporarily clearing the air we breathe.

The enemy is not each other.

It’s the virus.

And cars.

COVID-19 may change the way people think about bikes

Lloyd Alter lloydalter April 6, 2020

In fact, everything about the way people on bikes are treated in North America is absurd. Right now there are so many people competing for sidewalk space that some cities are converting the almost empty traffic lanes to create more space for bikes, runners and pedestrians. It’s got to the point where people have stopped complaining about cyclists and are complaining about runners instead, which is a nice change. It really is time for a reallocation of road space to give more room for people who walk, and a safe, separated space for people who ride bikes or use other micromobility platforms. It’s also time to recognize how useful and important bikes can be in a crisis like this.

https://www.treehugger.com/bikes/covid-19-may-change-way-people-think-about-bikes.html

April 15, 2020April 14, 2020

APCSC Signed Letter: “America’s Transportation System Is In Crisis”

APCSC is proud to be a signatory on the letter sent to Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader McCarthy, and Minority Leader Schumer: “We write because America’s transportation system is in a crisis…”

“The point of transportation is to get people where they need to go, meaning we should prioritize infrastructure and transportation projects that connect people to jobs and services. Since the dawn of the modern highway era, we have used vehicle speed as a poor proxy for access to jobs and important services like healthcare, education, public services, and grocery stores. The way we build roads and design communities to achieve high vehicle speed often requires longer trips and makes shorter walking, bicycling, or transit trips unsafe, unpleasant, or impossible. New data can help to address decades of disinvestment which have disconnected communities and worsened economic outcomes.”

Hundreds tell Congress that we need a new framework for transportation

14 Apr 2020

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to shift the political landscape, 293 elected officials and organizations from 45 states signed Transportation for America’s letter urging Congress to reform the federal transportation program in the upcoming reauthorization. Because rethinking transportation policy matters now more than ever.

When Transportation for America first wrote this letter advocating for groundbreaking changes in the upcoming federal transportation reauthorization, COVID-19 had yet to radically alter our everyday lives. But as the effects of the virus grew more and more dire, we’ve realized that establishing a new framework for U.S. transportation policy matters more now than ever.

We’re not alone: 293 elected officials and organizations from 45 states signed this letter, with many signatories joining as the coronavirus accelerated. While focused on reauthorization, adopting the reforms in this letter is necessary for Congress to guarantee that any future COVID-19 stimulus substantially improves American lives—not just pump more money into a broken highway program that fails to create new jobs.

Drop In Private Car Trips To Less Than Half – Can It Happen by 2030?

“Private car trips will drop by 10% on average by 2030 to make up less than half of all city journeys, while public transport, walking and bicycle will all increase in popularity, the Mobility Futures study found.”

This is good news, but the automotive industry won’t give up without a fight. The result of steadily slumping sales of mid-size vehicles has led to the rise in manufacture and sales of huge vehicles (higher margin per vehicle). These larger vehicles, SUVs and trucks are responsible for the rise in death-by-automobile: 40 thousand deaths a year in the US last year. This figure is a pubic health crisis globally, but it’s been accepted since the 20s and 30s as a natural consequence of owning and driving vehicles, while blaming people walking and riding bikes for being inattentive, not wearing bright colored clothing, or the invention of “jaywalking”.

We can see change starting to happen but can do more as citizens – work with city leaders to help create better systems of mass transport, build more infrastructure for walking and bicycling, and offer other micro-mobility options. We can work to lower speed limits, calm traffic, create spaces for people instead of for cars, raise the cost and lower the availability of parking. THEN we’ll see the change we need to happen, hopefully within the next 10 years. Our lives depend upon it.

Green transport set to overtake cars in world’s major cities by 2030

by Sonia Elks Thomson Reuters Foundation

Monday, 10 February 2020

Many authorities are looking to discourage private car journeys, while a boom in bike-sharing schemes and electric-powered small vehicles are giving residents new ways to get around.

“It’s a job for every mayor, for every city government to do something,” said Rolf Kullen, mobility director at research consultancy firm Kantar, which produced the study, based on surveys in 31 cities.

“Cities are beginning to understand that you do not build your city around a certain means of transport … You should build your city around the people.”

Read about it:

https://news.trust.org/item/20200210112518-99bdu/

December 16, 2019December 16, 2019

NJDOT Has The Money – It’s Time To Use It To Save Lives

NJDOT has money available for walking and biking projects, but small towns and municipalities find it very difficult to access the funds. NJDOT claims that there are not many projects in the pipeline — NOT TRUE.

“New Jersey has the second-highest amount of uncommitted federal transportation dollars in the nation, and it consistently ranks among the worst when it comes to spending a specific type of transportation funds — Transportation Alternatives, which is intended to fund trails, walking, and biking projects. ”

As of last week in NJ, at least 165 people have been killed in 2019 while walking or bicycling. In 2018, New Jersey State Police reported that bicyclists and pedestrians comprised 34% of the state’s crash fatalities.

NJDOT has a responsibility to make the funds available for biking and walking projects in cities like Asbury Park.

Dozens are killed each year walking and biking in N.J. We have the cash to make roads safer. | Opinion

By Star-Ledger Guest Columnist

Sonia Szczesna and Liz Sewell

As of Dec. 9, 2019, at least 165 people have been killed this year while walking or bicycling on New Jersey’s roads. Meanwhile, New Jersey has millions in federal transportation funds it can spend, Sonia Szczesna and Liz Sewell say.

New Jersey has the second-highest amount of uncommitted federal transportation dollars in the nation, and it consistently ranks among the worst when it comes to spending a specific type of transportation funds — Transportation Alternatives, which is intended to fund trails, walking, and biking projects.

At the same time New Jersey has a backlog of transportation dollars to spend, it has an enormous bicycle and pedestrian safety problem. As of Dec. 9, 2019, at least 165 people have been killed this year while walking or bicycling on New Jersey’s roads. In 2018, New Jersey State Police reported that bicyclists and pedestrians comprised 34% of the state’s crash fatalities — the second deadliest year for walkers and bikers on record. The deadliest year was in 2017.