The City of Summit Police Department is holding a press conference on Tuesday, September 6 at 11AM at City Hall on the corner of Morris and Springfield Avenues to announce its participation in Street Smart Summit, a pedestrian safety initiative focusing on outreach, education and enforcement designed to change unsafe behavior by pedestrians and drivers on our roadways.
Speakers at the press conference will include Summit Mayor Nora Radest, Summit Police Chief Robert Weck, President of TransOptions, Inc. John F. Ciaffone and Overlook Hospital physician Jeffry Leary, MD. Executive Director of NJTPA Mary K. Murphy and Union County Freeholder Angel Estrada are expected to attend along with local, county and state elected officials.
The Street Smart campaign is launching in early September to coincide with the start of back to school; it will focus on reducing accidents to prevent injury, while increasing compliance of life-saving traffic and pedestrian safety laws. The Summit Police Department is partnering with TransOptions, a non-profit transportation group serving northern New Jersey, to deliver the program.
“Every time you get behind the wheel of a vehicle or cross the street, you need to be alert and ready to respond to the unexpected,” explains Summit Police Chief Robert Weck. “The goal of the Street Smart campaign is to educate motorists and pedestrians on how to more safely share the road. It is our continuing priority to make Summit a safer community for walking, biking and driving.”
Street Smart is a collaborative effort between the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), Federal Highway Administration, New Jersey Department of Transportation and New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. TransOptions is working with NJTPA to coordinate the Street Smart campaign in communities throughout northwestern New Jersey. Street Smart aims to change pedestrian and motorist behavior to reduce pedestrian-related crashes, injuries, and fatalities. The campaign uses the slogan “check your vital signs” to remind motorists and pedestrians of safe travel roles and responsibilities. Vital signs are displayed on tip cards, posters and temporary street signs throughout the community as a visual reminder for drivers and pedestrians.
In the state of New Jersey, from 2010 to 2014, 750 pedestrians were killed and 17,000 were injured. Between 2013 and 2015, there were 34 pedestrian-related accidents in Summit. Of those incidents, 85% resulted in a pedestrian being injured. Summit also ranked #9 in pedestrian accidents in Union County between 2013 and 2015.
For more information on TransOptions and the Street Smart campaign in other municipalities, go to transoptions.org or contact Laura Cerutti at 973-267-7600 or lcerutti@transoptions.org. For additional details on Street Smart Summit, please visit cityofsummit.org.