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BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
WESTWOOD, NEW JERSEY — Encouraging seniors to send out for groceries, taking large trucks off some roads, and slowing traffic downtown are three of the proposals the police department has offered to keep pedestrians safer.
Officials say something has to change. They’re concerned about a “significant increase” in incidents involving motorists striking people on foot and on bicycles in the past year and a half, looking at reports going back four years.
That includes last week’s tragedy in which the victim, a 77-year-old woman, was struck crossing Broadway and Irvington the morning of Feb. 6. She died at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack that evening.
The driver, an 86-year-old woman from River Vale, was cited for careless driving. Police said the investigation is closed and a report is forthcoming.
In announcing that the victim had died, police extended their condolences to everyone involved.
According to Pedestrian Safety Task Force Chairman and Council President Chris Montana, “When an unfortunate issue like that comes up we just try to figure out what more we can be doing, what more we can bring to bear.”
Over the past six months, he said, officials have seen several street and parking lot incidents of varying severity.
The task force, which pools the expertise of residents, the police department, and the borough engineer, was formed in June 2017 in response to a spike in incidents noted that year:
- Three female pedestrians, one pregnant, were struck down at Westwood and Center avenues.
- A pedestrian was seriously injured after being struck by a vehicle driven by an elderly motorist outside Westwood Cemetery on Kinderkamack Road.
- Later, a 30-year-old borough woman was run over at Westwood and Center avenues by a borough man, 76, driving a pickup truck the late afternoon of Dec. 18, 2017.
“If you look at the trend it’s raised even more concern because we have not seen that number in such a short period going back four years,” he added.
Asked if the task force has a preliminary hypothesis as to why the streets have gotten less safe, Montana said no.
“You had to ask that question. It’s a great question and that’s what we’re looking at. We’re looking at all the police reports to understand why that’s occurred. I don’t have firm information yet on the recent hits,” he said.
He added the data being compiled drilled down to time of day, time of year, road conditions, the speed and direction of the hits, the age of the participants, and other information.
He cautioned that age was not established as a cause.
“If we look at the reports, they tend to show age is not necessarily a factor,” he said.
“If you look at the individuals who have been hit, it’s a mix of young as well as older adults. It looks like we have, over the past year, year and a half, a higher incidence of drivers [involved] being over the age of 60 or 65,” he said.
Montana said it could just be that there are more drivers of a certain age on the road, not that older drivers are necessarily more dangerous.
The goal, he said, is to educate the whole community.
Dangerous time all around
Westwood’s trend appears to echo what’s happening statewide. According to the Street Smart NJ Safety Campaign, the Garden State ranks 14th in the nation in pedestrian fatalities and is a Federal Highway Administration designated focus state.
Between 2011 and 2014, 591 pedestrians were killed and more than 17,000 were injured on the state’s roadways. That’s one death every 2.5 days and 11 injuries daily.
In 2015, 562 people died in motor vehicle crashes in New Jersey. Thirty percent of those were pedestrians.
In Park Ridge on Feb. 8, a 54-year-old Montvale man was struck by a Honda Civic outside a crosswalk, sending him to the hospital with non-life-threatening head injuries, police said. No summonses were issued, and that investigation is ongoing.
Montana added of a borough that promotes its charms as “Destination Westwood” that its officials can do only so much.
“All we can do is make sure the environment is as safe as possible without distracting anybody. After that, the responsibility really comes down to the driver and pedestrian. I can’t stress that enough. It’s really up to them to do whatever they can to stay as safe as possible,” he said.
Stepped up outreach is planned at the Thomas J. Riley Senior Center, Westwood House, Westwood Senior Fellowship meetings, churches, synagogues, and the schools, he said.
Zero-tolerance proposals look at lighting, speed limits
As part of the Pedestrian Safety Task Force’s work, the day before Feb. 6’s fatal accident, Police Sgt. Michael Pontillo set up an end-of-week meeting with members of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, which coordinates the Street Smart NJ pedestrian safety campaign; and EZ Ride, which arranges carpools, vanpools, shuttles, and transportation for older adults and people with disabilities, and bike and pedestrian programs, to see about bringing in additional resources.
Montana described that meeting as “very productive” and lauded Pontillo as “taking the bull by the horns and executing this.”
Pontillo also presented a set of recommendations for the borough to consider in beefing up education and enforcement.
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Highlights include:
- Increased lighting in the Central Business District, perhaps two arms per pole, using higher powered bulbs and having the start time of the lighting occur prior to dusk and the shut off time after dawn.
- The possible removal of large truck traffic from Westwood Avenue from Broadway to Kinderkamack to prevent line of sight problems and maintain space between parking spaces and the lane of travel. Westwood Avenue is a county road, and this would require county approval.
- Increasing the number of portable signs at intersections to remind drivers to stop for pedestrians. Pontillo said this needs to occur at all four sides of the downtown “X” intersections. He said removable signs would meet DPW concerns on snow removal.
- “Enhancing and advertising” the flag program two Troop 4730 Girl Scouts, Jenna Visich and Mia Marinkovic, are initiating to increase pedestrian visibility throughout town. The work is for the scouts’ Silver Award.
- Adding banners from AAA on pedestrian safety at both ends of town to raise awareness.
- Continuing the use of special police officers for the pedestrian safety pamphlet program downtown during peak hours to raise drivers’ awareness. Pontillo said this is “crucial.”
- Incorporating pedestrian safety as a part of the LEAD (Law Enforcement Against Drugs) curriculum to teach good habits to the younger and more vulnerable kids who frequent the downtown.
- Setting daily enforcement efforts by police targeting pedestrian safety. “Both the drivers and pedestrians need education,” Pontillo said.
- Initiating an education program at Westwood House and senior group meetings to reach out to drivers/walkers to promote alternative means of transportation. Pontillo listed senior busing, Uber and Lyft programs, and teaching seniors how to order groceries online and get them delivered as other options. “There are many things that can be offered to limit the exposure faced by senior drivers and pedestrians,” Pontillo said.
- Making use of grant program participation for Safe Routes to School, Pedestrian Safety, and other traffic safety initiatives available from the NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
- Considering lowering the speed limit downtown to allow for slower average speed of vehicles in this area. “This increases reaction time for driver and pedestrian alike and may prevent accidents,” Pontillo said. Again, this would require county cooperation.
- Reviewing traffic light cycles and timers.
- Stepping up enforcement, including warnings and summonses “to remind those who cannot conform after all of the above. Violations are being committed by both drivers and pedestrians,” Pontillo wrote.
There is increased spending in the 2018 budget on crossing guards and special officers to protect school children at the end of the school day, and there’s a capital request in for two or three pole-mounted radar signs to show drivers their speed.
Montana said changes made at Third and Washington had improved driver and pedestrian attentiveness there.
Meanwhile, the police have issued a public safety announcement with tips from the State Attorney General’s Office:
Pedestrians
- Always cross at corners, within marked crosswalks where available.
- Look left, right and left again before crossing. Watch for turning cars.
- Always walk facing traffic.
- Obey traffic signals, especially “Walk/Don’t Walk.”
- Remain alert. Don’t assume that cars are going to stop.
- Wear reflective clothing when walking at night.
- Stay sober. Walking while impaired greatly increases your chances of being struck.
Motorists
- Stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. Failure to stop carries a $230 fine, a two-point license penalty, and court costs.
- Watch for pedestrians when turning right on red.
- Obey speed limits.
- Do not block or park in crosswalks.
- Keep your windshield clean for maximum visibility.
- Be alert for pedestrian at all times.
— Editor’s note: This story was updated Feb. 28 to properly identify that the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority coordinates the Street Smart NJ pedestrian safety campaign
