| Issue 224 | June 11, 1999 |
Highlighting Newark's pedestrian fatality rate - the highest in NJ - they called for substantial revision to Newark's Transportation Plan in a letter to Newark Mayor Sharpe James and Newark Planning Board Chairman Anthony Machado.
When questioned by NJN News on Wednesday, Mayor James said that he would consider amending the Plan to reflect the concerns of the groups.
In 1998 alone, 15 pedestrians were killed by autos and over 900 pedestrians were hit by cars. Despite the fact that the New Jersey Department of Transportation has recommended traffic-calming and engineering improvements for many of Newark's intersections, these intersections are barely mentioned in Newark's Transportation Plan. A safe pedestrian environment is crucial to making Newark more amenable to re-investment, and the groups chastised the city for neglecting this opportunity to improve street safety.
The groups questioned the Plan's neglect of native Newarkers, who use transit and their feet to get around. Of the 48,000 people employed in Newark who also live in the city, 57% walked or took the bus or subway to work. Development in the city should take advantage of this very high walking and transit usage rates and encourage trends in this direction by planning for better bus service and friendlier walking conditions. The Transportation Plan instead assumes that approximately 2/3 of the people accessing new jobs will drive to work, skewing the Plan's recommendations toward more expensive highway investments.
The groups also noted a glaring omission in the Plan - improving Newark's bus service, which is notoriously slow with poorly-timed transfers. There is clearly a major need for better bus service within the city and to and from surrounding communities, and improved mass transit is imperative if the city is serious about its goal to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
Truck traffic, which is a problem in urban areas like Newark with air pollution and asthma problems, should be limited to specific non-residential routes, the groups said. While they recognize the importance of trucks to commerce, the groups recommended that the city route them away from downtown and residential neighborhoods, use rail whenever possible, and increase use of alternative-fuel vehicle trips.
Despite the fact that Newark's entire central business district can be accessed by rail, bus, and subway, and despite the Plan's recognition that limiting parking supply is the only way to encourage more transit use, the Plan recommends the addition of 5,000 parking spaces to the central business district. The groups' letter to the Mayor asked that this space be used instead for economic development that would bring Newark more economic renewal than parking lots.
The groups signing the letter were: the American Littoral Society, NJ/NY Baykeeper, Church and Clergy Fighting Back, Friends of the Passaic River, Greater Newark Conservancy, Hispanic Development Community Center, Ironbound Community Corporation, New Community Corporation, Newark Environmental Coalition, Newark Fighting Back Partnership, Regional Plan Association, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and Weequahic Park Association.
Newark: Pedestrian Danger Capital Of NJ
Source: New Jersey Department of Public Safety
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