Politics & Government

Planning Board Recommends Complete Streets Policy to Committee

State policy would provide safe access to major roadways for all users, including bicyclists and pedestrians

The township Planning Board approved a resolution recommending the township adopt the state Department of Transportation's Complete Streets Policy, which would provide safe access to major roadways for all users, including bicyclists and pedestrians.

“They’re trying to impose it at the Planning Board level,” board engineer Bruce Jacobs said.

The resolution states that the township has conducted a comprehensive study of its land use ordinances in connection with its review of its Master Plan and thoroughly reviewed the Complete Streets Policy.

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The Complete Streets Policy would be implemented through the planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of new and retrofit transportation facilities within public rights of way that are federally or state funded capital programs, the resolution says.

The policy would provide safe access by designing and operating a multi-modal network of transportation options. Some of which could be imposed at the Planning Board level, Jacobs said, in addition to those administered through the DOT’s capital program.

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“When it comes to Complete Streets, New Jersey is leading the way toward safety for all who share the road,” said DOT Commissioner James Simpson in a news release. “Our Department-wide policy, adopted by NJDOT in 2009, has earned high praise for New Jersey and is being used as a model by other states and communities as they craft their own policies.”

According to the DOT, the policy would:

  • Improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, children, older citizens, non-drivers and the mobility challenged.
  • Provide connections to bicycling and areas of employment, education, residential, recreation, retail centers and public facilities.
  • Promote healthy lifestyles.
  • Create more livable communities.
  • Reduce traffic congestion, reliance on carbon fuels, and greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Make fiscal sense by incorporating such infrastructures into the initial design of projects rather than later.

Retrofits included in the policy are sidewalks, curb ramps, crosswalks, countdown pedestrian signals, signs, median refuges, curb extensions, pedestrian scale lighting, bike lanes, shoulders and bus shelters.

Paved shoulders or a multi-use path should be developed in all new construction and reconstruction projects on roadways used by more than 1,000 vehicles per day.

The policy also requires the DOT to establish a procedure to evaluate resurfacing projects—length of project, local support, environmental constraints, right-of-way limitations, funding and resources and bicycle and pedestrian compatibility.

A Local Aid Program will also be developed by the DOT for municipalities and counties.

The following exemptions would be considered: non-motorized users are prohibited on the roadway; scarcity of population, travel and attractors indicates the absence of need for Complete Streets Policy accommodations; detrimental environmental or social impacts outweigh the need for accommodations; cost of accommodations is excessively disproportionate to the cost of the project; the safety or timing of the project is compromised by the inclusion of Complete Streets.

The Planning Board’s resolution will next go to the township Committee.


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