Crime & Safety

Route 35's Safety for Pedestrians and Bicyclists

Throughout the summer months, pedestrian and bicycle traffic increases along beach towns in Ocean County. But how safe is it?

The barrier island staple of traveling on foot or by beach cruiser bike has been a way of life for many, as natives and tourists find it easier than trying to drive Route 35 and find parking near their destination.

But is the mix of resort towns, a Route 35 straightaway, and heavy pedestrian traffic a safe one?

On June 17, incident on a Friday night while walking south on the east side of Route 35 northbound near Silver Beach Road. The teen was critically injured. It was the most serious collision between pedestrian and vehicle known on the barrier island this season.

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According to Jon Dee, spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), there are no pedestrian safety projects along Route 35 right now. However, Dee says NJDOT has them all over the state and through the 2012 Capital Program, NJDOT is proposing to double the amount of funding for pedestrian safety projects from $2 million (2011) to $4 million. The NJDOT voted on the issue at the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

"The administration takes the issue of pedestrian and bike safety very seriously," Dee said. 

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The funding and number of crossing guards and police officer stations are a local issue, Dee said. 

Toms River police Chief Michael Mastronardy said Class 1 special officers are employed as crossing guards along Route 35 in the Toms River areas of Normandy Beach, in both the North and South directions, and are funded by Toms River police. 

These crossing guards are on seven days a week and work until beaches close for the day, usually around 5:30 p.m., according to Mastronardy. Toms River police also have set up barrels to allow safe regulations for pedestrian crossing throughout the Toms River section of the beaches, past Seaside Heights. 

Lt. Jim Harris of Toms River police is the instructor for a Pedestrian Decoy Program. According to a presentation available on the New Jersey State League of Municipalities website, Harris has devised a program that "produces a proactive Pedestrian Safety Awareness Initiative that focuses on the driver’s responsibilities when they perceive a pedestrian enter the roadway."

The program was devised based on 2008 statistics of traffic incidents utilizing a "decoy" or undercover officer to cross roadways at clearly marked crosswalks and work with an enforcement team to "identify, stop, and educated violators of New Jersey's Pedestrians Laws," according to the program. 

Harris' program offers guidelines for the safety of the "decoy" as well as the targeted crosswalks, rules and hopeful outcomes of the program in the presentation. According to Harris' summary, he hopes the program will help "Law Enforcement and Community Officials in New Jersey to look at Pedestrian Safety with a different perspective that encompasses both education and enforcement."

As of July 3, the New Jersey Police Fatal Accident Investigation Unit has reported 10 pedestrian accidents in Ocean County following behind a total of 11 pedestrian accidents in Essex County. Ocean County has had the highest number of pedacyclist accidents in New Jersey as of the year to date, with two accidents.

There have also been a total of 22 "crashes" in Ocean and 25 "fatalities" as of July 3, according to these same statistics. 

While statistics are not specified to the exact location within the counties, pedestrian and bicycle traffic throughout the summer months increases along with the number of incidents at nearby beach towns. 

Motorists who fail to stop for pedestrians in marked or unmarked crosswalks risk a $200 fine along with additional penalties, according to the NJ Commuter website.

New Jersey State Highway Route 35 runs through Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties. Throughout the summer months, pedestrian and bicycle traffic along Route 35 in Ocean County becomes dangerous for drivers and pedestrians if traffic laws are not obeyed. 

In Ocean County, Route 35 begins at the entrance to Island Beach State Park in Berkeley Township and heads north, through Seaside Park, Seaside Heights, through Toms River, along Barnegat Bay, Ortley Beach, Lavallette, and through the Dover Beaches North.

The route continues to pass through Brick, Point Pleasant Beach and across a channel of the Manasquan River before entering Monmouth County.

New Jersey Commuter website has a published a list of pedestrian safety tips to give better knowledge to pedestrians and drivers along busy roads in-state. 

These tips include cross at corners, within marked crosswalks where available, walking on sidewalks, walking against traffic, obeying traffic signals, among others. 


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