Hudson County aims to eliminate traffic fatalities through smarter road construction
The county is installing pedestrian-forward infrastructure, such as bike lanes and dedicated turning lanes, with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities.
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Road work around Hudson County is causing more traffic jams than usual. It’s all in an effort to make county roads safer.
The county is installing pedestrian-forward infrastructure, such as bike lanes and dedicated turning lanes, with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities.
It’s called “Vision Zero.”
"We think it's an aggressive goal, but I want to be aggressive,” said Hudson County Executive Craig Guy. “It's all about saving lives."
According to state police data, 11 people have died in a traffic-related incident in Hudson County this year. Five out of those 11 were pedestrians or cyclists, underscoring the importance of Vision Zero.
Some of the county’s busiest roads are targeted, including parts of Paterson Plank Road, John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Tonnelle Avenue and Bergenline Road.
Hoboken is ahead of the game. The city hasn't had a traffic-related death since 2017. Some of the linchpins of its road design are coming to the rest of Hudson County, including the "daylighting" of crosswalks and concrete islands around bike lanes.
It means commuters will face temporary traffic impacts around the region as crews redesign congested roads. News 12 received calls of a traffic jam earlier this month when traffic condensed to one lane on River Road in North Bergen.
"We all know that construction means some inconvenience,” said Guy. “It's always like the ‘Not in my Backyard’ mentality. As soon as we found out that there was a traffic problem up there, I took a ride up there myself. We addressed them with some immediate law enforcement coverage. We addressed them from a traffic design coverage. That project should be ending in the next several weeks."
Vision Zero in Hudson County is funded largely by grants. The executive hopes that changes in administration don't jeopardize that money.
"If we have to put up with a few minutes' worth of traffic, compared to saving one life, I would hope that most people will err on the side of saving lives,” said Guy.
