Earlier in the year , and shortly after three troubling motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians ( one fatality ), The Council tasked Westwood Police to examine and report findings on over three years of traffic accident reports . Out of 543 traffic accidents during the study period , 27 involved pedestrians .
The Police Department compiled the information and provided a series of graphs , charts and event diagrams ; from which we ’ d hoped to discern patterns , any common threads , that might guide changes to make Westwood ’ s streets safer for pedestrians . The data told us that the accidents occurred mostly during the day rather than at dusk / nightfall when visibility can be poor . Most occurred on weekdays rather than weekends .
The crash diagrams were most revealing . Several of the accidents , but not all , along Westwood Avenue involved pedestrians already in the crosswalks hit by vehicles turning onto Westwood Avenue from Center Avenue or Fairview Avenue . Although for 2017 , the Kinderkamack Road fatality , another involving three victims on Westwood Avenue and Park Avenue & 3rd Avenue - the drivers were traveling straight not turning . More than 50 percent of all on-street pedestrian accidents examined involved pedestrians hit while walking inside the striped crosswalk .
Drivers inching out onto Westwood Avenue are necessarily looking away from the direction they are turning to anticipate and gauge the speed and distance of oncoming traffic . The crosswalks are right on the corner . A pedestrian entering a crosswalk while the turning driver is facing away may be at risk , particularly if the pedestrian feels secure in the crosswalk and is not paying attention to traffic behind and to the side .
From this ad hoc review of the WPD documents , the Council formed the Pedestrian Safety Task Force to further study the problem and come up with strategies to address problematic intersections . One of the first things we did was re-stripe the faded crosswalk boxes at the intersections along Westwood Avenue . We also removed parking stalls from the corner of 3rd and Park avenues to improve sightline visibility for drivers observing pedestrians entering the crosswalk .
Meeting with WPD and Boswell Engineering ( key players on the Task Force ), we discovered that Westwood Avenue between Kinderkamack Road and Broadway is too narrow ( per Department of Transportation Guidelines ) to install “ Stop for Pedestrians ” signs in the roadway . That is why these signs remain on the sidewalks .
We did task our DPW with deploying new “ in road ” signs warning motorists to “ Stop for Pedestrians in the Crosswalk ” where the streets are wide enough to take them . They are at the intersections of 3rd Avenue and Washington Avenue ( east and westbound ), Kinderkamack Road and Westwood Avenue ( southbound ) and Broadway at Westwood Avenue ( north and southbound ). A second sign was placed on Harrington Avenue just east of Berkeley Avenue to alert drivers of this crosswalk .
COUNCIL CORNER
Christopher Montana Council President
While our initial focus was to remedy recurrent problems as revealed in WPD ’ s pedestrian accident study ; we have expanded our scope . We will also be paying particular attention to crosswalks and signage along the routes to and from the borough ’ s schools . We have charged our DPW Superintendent to create an assessment of these crosswalks and to schedule an annual inspection in May / June for any required repainting or remediation prior to the beginning of the school year . DPW will assign grades 1-3 , 1 = poor condition , 2 = average condition , 3 = good condition . Crosswalks in poor condition will be addressed and those labeled with a2 will be addressed within a 6-12-month window .
Stop bars were recently added on 4th Avenue and a crosswalk repainted on Mill Street . We have also restriped the crosswalks at Washington and Garden and Washington and Summit , and new “ Stop for Pedestrian ” signs were added at those locations as well .
Also in discussion at the request of parents is the addition of crossing assistance at the corner of Broadway and Washington Avenue during the afternoons when school lets out . The Train / Traffic Re-Signalization work alleviated a traffic bottle neck / gridlock situation . It also enabled a greater volume of traffic to flow more freely through this area , especially right turns onto Broadway from Washington Avenue . Placing a human asset there during the spring and fall may be more effective when dealing with middle / high school students coming into town after school .
The Westwood Police Department has begun to distribute Safe Street New Jersey pedestrian and driver educational materials in and around the Central Business District . Our Police Specials and Police Reserve Officers will be offering handouts while on patrol in the CBD . WPD will also work with our schools to disburse Safe Street New Jersey handouts to our school children .
SSNJ posters were given to school administrators and hung in borough buildings . The police will provide selective enforcement and warnings as they implement discipline necessary to change what has grown from discourteous driving habits to dangerous and deadly ones . WPD will provide statistics on their efforts to the Task Force .
Finally , planning for the Girl Scout Troop # 4730 Silver Award project to add pedestrian crossing flags at certain intersections is underway . The scouts will install pennants in holders on the corners for pedestrians to use while crossing — to better signal their presence in the crosswalk to a distracted or inattentive driver . A nice side effect of this approach is flag wielding pedestrians have their hands engaged in securing their own safety , rather than manipulating their cell phones with their heads down as they cross . The Troop is fundraising for this project as a Silver Award requirement and are looking to see the flags available in the Spring of 2018 . Kudos , Troop , for the initiative .
The Council ’ s initiative on Pedestrian Safety will be ongoing , adjusted and expanded as needed to make Westwood ’ s streets safer for all our residents and visitors .
4 NOVEMBER 2017 MyWestwood