By Greg Myer

April 8, 1999

The Honorable Bret Schundler
City of Jersey City
City Hall
280 Grove Street
Jersey City, NJ 07302

Dear Mayor Schundler:

I am writing from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a consortium of thirteen leading environmental, planning, and public interest groups working to reform transportation policy in the NJ-NY-CT area. Consortium members include Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Regional Plan Association, and NJPIRG Citizen Lobby. In New Jersey our chief focus is to monitor and redirect state transportation spending toward more sustainable and least-cost alternatives to relieving congestion and improving mobility, which includes boosting investment in transit infrastructure, investing in rail freight and ports as a means to reduce truck traffic, and ensuring that modes of transportation such as bicycling and walking are safe and attractive, especially in places such as Jersey City where the land use is dense and mixed enough to make it viable. Finally, we seek to ensure that adequate investment is made in preserving our existing infrastructure before major new capital projects are prioritized.

The purpose of this letter is to express our concern about pedestrian safety in Jersey City. On March 8, I had the opportunity to hear you speak about the Bergen Arches conversion proposal at the NJTPA board meeting. While it remains to be proven whether moving more automobiles to the Waterfront is the most efficient use of the Arches, I was impressed with your concern about the safety of pedestrians. It is a well-placed concern, considering that 10% of all journeys-to-work in Jersey City are made on foot, a number when combined with transit (which necessitates walking to and from stops) puts pedestrians at over half of all commutes by Jersey City residents. These numbers are even more staggering considering the number of schoolchildren who walk or bike to school; the 1990 Census showed that 39,000 Jersey City residents were between 4 and 18 years of age.

Despite their statistical prominence, pedestrians are the losers in Jersey City's streets. According to the NJ Department of Law and Public safety, Jersey City is right after Newark in numbers of pedestrian traffic injuries; between 1993 and 1995, the latest years for which figures are available, the number averaged 445 annually. Last year, 3 people died on foot in Jersey City from injuries sustained by motor vehicles. The most dangerous streets in the State were identified in an ongoing study undertaken by the NJ Department of Transportation. Jersey City possesses thirteen of the top 100, and they include Kennedy Boulevard, Montgomery Street, Communipaw Avenue, and the Columbus-Grove Street intersection. One should add Jersey Avenue and 12th-14th Streets to the list: that's where a high school student was killed by van last year. The wide crossings of high-speed Marin and Washington Boulevards are accidents waiting to happen.

If 3 people were killed and 445 injured in school each year, or from hazardous waste poisoning, the City would surely attack the problem responsively. But I am concerned that Jersey City has not acted to counter its poor pedestrian safety record, even with new funding specifically made available to do so. Last year, Governor Whitman allocated $1.5 million in discretionary local aid for pedestrian safety as a means to cut State pedestrian fatalities in half. She also made $10 million available for bicycle accommodation projects, including bike lanes and paths. Jersey City failed to request a cent, according to NJDOT records. I am aware that Jersey City has submitted applications for federal transportation enhancement funds and is directing those funds at the rehabilitation of Journal Square. While the Journal Square fixup is commendable, I urge Jersey City to tackle its other pedestrian problem areas as well.

Fortunately, NJDOT's fiscal year 2000 promises additional funds for pedestrian and bicycle improvements, and a solicitation is planned for June or July. Based on current cost estimates, approximately $3 million will be available next year under NJDOT's "local pedestrian projects" line item. For bicycles, $7 million will be available in a competitive local aid solicitation. Finally, $5 million of federal "enhancements" funds will again be available that could fund anything from improved pedestrian safety features at the Grove Street PATH stop to streetscape amenities along the light rail line to the Hudson River walkway. The federal and state transportation agencies are recognizing the need to not only tolerate but promote walking and bicycling in engineering decisions. As Jersey City strives to become the State's largest and most dynamic city, its residents and workers deserve an aggressive response. I encourage your administration to execute projects that will improve safety and livability for the majority of your population, the pedestrians.

Thanks for your attention. I would be happy to meet with you and your staff to discuss this matter further. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Greg Meyer
NJ Coordinator
Tri-State Transportation Campaign

CC:
Ms. Cheryl Allen-Munley, Director, Bureau of Hydraulics and Transportation
Mr. Robert Byrne, City Clerk
Mr. Robert Cotter, Director of City Planning