The Jersey City Independent "

View Hudson Ped Fatals 2006-2008 in a larger map

It’s John F. Kennedy Boulevard, according to a new analysis of federal traffic fatality data by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

Kennedy Boulevard accounted for four of Hudson County’s 22 pedestrian deaths in the three years between 2006 and 2008, the “Most Dangerous Roads for Walking” report finds. Released this morning, the campaign’s analysis identifies the most dangerous roads for pedestrians in the entire region and calls for specific policy changes to help make them safer.

“Wide, busy roads — essentially highways with traffic lights — are the worst offenders for pedestrians,” says Zoe Baldwin, Tri-State’s New Jersey advocate, noting that Kennedy Boulevard certainly fits this bill.

But there is an interesting wrinkle in the data compiled in the report: Hudson County is actually much safer than many of its neighbors. In Essex County, there were 48 pedestrian deaths in the same time period, and in Bergen, there were 37. Down in Middlesex County, there were 49.

The reasons for the disparity here are complex, to be sure, but Baldwin points out two main factors.

“The cars are physically going slower,” she says. “In a city, where there are more cars and more pedestrians, the speed limits are slower.” This leads to fewer fatalities in most cities.

It’s pretty simple: there is a much greater chance of dying if you’re hit by a car going 60 miles per hour than if you’re hit by one going 20. For example, while Kennedy may seem like utter mayhem at times, with cars careening down the Boulevard, it doesn’t quite stack up to suburban roads like Route 1, which accounted for 14 deaths between 2006 and 2008 in Middlesex and Union counties alone.

In addition, New Jersey’s cities, particularly older ones like Jersey City, have a more pedestrian-friendly design. This couples with the slower speed limits to create a safer environment for those on foot.

Baldwin says there are a variety of measures that could be taken to make roads like Kennedy Boulevard safer, all of which fall under the broad definition of traffic calming.

“When you have these straight, wide roadways it unconsciously encourages people to speed,” she says. “When this is combined with having many retail destinations on those roads, you’re creating a deadly mix for pedestrians.”

One suggestion, which Baldwin says was recently undertaken on Ferry Street in Newark, where she lives, is to create curb extensions. This design tactic extends the sidewalk space into the street at crosswalks, and has the effect of slowing vehicular traffic as well as creating a shorter trip across the street for the pedestrian.

She also says that good old traffic enforcement and more visible crosswalks — which have been popping up around Jersey City, thanks to the federal stimulus package — are “really cheap fixes” with “a great return on investment.”

The campaign’s report comes as a new administration is set to take office in Trenton, and Baldwin says that’s no accident.

“This should serve as a guide for incoming Gov. Christie and his Department of Transportation (NJDOT) commissioner,” she says. “We want them to use this report to inform the state’s safety and funding priorities.”

The campaign’s report applauds efforts already being made by New Jersey to reduce pedestrian fatalities and set aside significant funding for pedestrian safety projects. The NJDOT’s new Safe Corridors program, for example, has a goal of improving pedestrian safety along especially dangerous roads. In addition, the state recently signed a Complete Streets policy, which requires that transportation planners and engineers consider all potential users of a roadway — including pedestrians and bicyclists — in the design of a new or significantly retrofitted road.

“As more and more New Jersey residents seek to live in walkable communities, this report shows that we must do more to ensure that all residents, not just drivers, can get around safely,” New Jersey Future executive director Peter Kasabach says. “The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s recent adoption of an internal Complete Streets policy is a good first step, but we must make pedestrian safety a priority at all levels of government.”

The report, along with Google Map mashups of pedestrian fatality data, can be found online here.

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