Officials Ask: What Roads Are Most Dangerous?

Photo courtesy Exit 80 Scanner News

  OCEAN COUNTY – Members of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners are looking for your help in improving traffic safety.

  The Local Safety Action Plan will identify and prioritize transportation safety enhancements in an effort to reduce serious accidents.

  The first step of the action plan is encouraging residents to participate in a survey and web mapping activity at Ocean.SafetyPlansNJ.com.

  Ocean County Commissioner John P. Kelly, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Department of Engineering and is a North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority Board Member remarked, “Ocean County places the highest importance on the safety of its roadways and transit users. Creating a Local Safety Action Plan (LSAP) is a vital step to make sure we continue to prioritize safety across all forms of transportation.

   “Creating a Local Safety Action Plan will boost safety for Ocean County residents traveling throughout the area and provide us with future opportunities to obtain funding for safety upgrades. We are eager to collaborate with local stakeholders and transportation users to promote safer transportation across Ocean County,” Kelly added.

  The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority is funding the federally authorized metropolitan planning organization for 13 counties in northern and central New Jersey.

  Over 59% of all fatal and serious injury crashes in the county occur on local roadways. The Federal Highway Administration has identified local safety action plans as an effective strategy to lessen these crashes.

  Ocean County residents will have several ways to provide feedback to help guide the creation of this plan, including the online survey and in-person events.

  “Ocean County’s population continues to grow exponentially putting more motorists and pedestrians on our roads. Our population also more than doubles during the summer tourism season adding tremendously to the number of vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists using the roads,” Kelly added.

  According to the NJTPA, creating LSAPs can aid counties and towns access new funding opportunities to implement safety plans, including federal programs such as the $5 billion Safe Streets and Roads for All Program.

  To learn more about the Local Safety Action Plan and the current status about ways to contribute to the plan, visit Ocean.SafetyPlansNJ.com.