VELO Bloomfield RELEASES STATEMENT ON BLOOMFIELD AVENUE
For Immediate Release:
Contact VELOBloomfield@gmail.com
September 21, 2017
VELO Bloomfield RELEASES STATEMENT ON BLOOMFIELD AVENUE
(Bloomfield, New Jersey) — VELO Bloomfield, a nonprofit that advocates for a walkable and bikeable Essex County has launched an online petition to get infrastructure changes to Bloomfield Avenue.
As of September 21, 2017 New Jersey has had 411 people killed in 388 car crashes. Crash fatalities in New Jersey have risen every year in the last three years.
“Signs aren’t good enough. Personal choice should not be the only tool for a safe Bloomfield Avenue. According to Vision Zero, a program that has reduced crashes worldwide, the most effective tool in making streets safer is infrastructure changes. We want Essex to focus more on infrastructure,” said Lark Lo, director of VELO Bloomfield.
Bloomfield Avenue isn’t dangerous just because people are not following the rules of the road, it is dangerous, because the four-lane configuration is one of the most deadly road designs.
“Four-lane undivided highways have a history of increased crashes as traffic volumes rises, due to motorists sharing the inside lane for high speed through movements and left turns.” –US Department of Transportation, Federal Highways Administration, Case Study, Safe Road for Safer Future.
The pedestrians, drivers and people who ride bicycles in New Jersey need more than signs and tickets.
“Traditional officer-initiated enforcement should be a tactic of last resort in traffic safety efforts, not the first line of attack. No amount of police presence can overcome road designs and policies that simply don’t work well enough.” —Vision Zero Network
If we want a safer Bloomfield Avenue there needs to a holistic approach to transportation.
We need infrastructure changes, policy changes and social engagement.
The focus must be street design, technology and the policy of shared responsibility. We have the technology and the knowledge to mitigate human error and to create Complete Streets infrastructure in all of Essex County.
The most economical and weakest solutions, which are police and education can not be the only tools used.
Sign the petition for a Safer Bloomfield Avenue
https://velomynameis.org/2017/
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VELO Blooomfield advocates for #CompleteStreets in the cities that touch and/or impacted by Bloomfield Avenue. Our goal is for the streets of Essex County, North Jersey to be safe for all modalities of transportation regardless of age, race, disability and/or socioeconomic status of the population that takes its streets.
