Thank you for your submission. We will inspect and evaluate this cross-section and respond with our recommendation.

It is current City policy to limit the installation of stop signs along arterial roadways.

Why, can they put speed humps to slow the traffic down so nobody gets hit or killed? You don’t have to add a stop sign but some mechanism to prevent someone from getting hurt or is it the city’s policy to not care for the citizens that live here?

Garfield Avenue is not eligible for speed humps per State Statute 39:4-8.10, which prohibits the construction of speed humps along roadways with greater than 3,000 vehicles per day. However, we will conduct a preliminary traffic assessment to determine what type of treatment is warranted at this intersection. Please allow 3 to 4 weeks for the preliminary study to be completed.

This issue was recategorized from Traffic/Pedestrian Safety Study Requests to Traffic: Traffic Signal Request.

A preliminary traffic assessment was conducted based on Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidelines as outlined in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The assessment included a review of the intersection’s crash history and traffic volume. Based on this data, this intersection does not meet the minimum FHWA threshold for major crashes or the minimum volume requirements to warrant a change in traffic control. Therefore, we do not recommend the installation of a traffic signal or stop signs at this location at this time.

A change in traffic control is not warranted at this time.

I find your response to be poor in all sense of the word. I hope this string of complaints comes back to bite you, your office and the mayor hard once someone is killed there for your negligence in ensuring people’s safety as they cross the street. I worked for government for 13 years and jersey city has to be the worse under this administration in ensuring people can cross the street. I find that until there is a regime change this is as good as it will get for jersey.

A traffic study was conducted in accordance to federal guidelines and based on the study, the data at this intersection does not meet the minimum major crash threshold or minimum traffic volume requirements to warrant the installation of a traffic signal at this time. It is also current City policy to limit the installation of stop signs on arterial roadways. Unjustified traffic signals or stop signs can result in one or more of the following disadvantages:
A: Excessive delay;
B: Excessive disobedience of the signal indications/stop signs;
C: Increased use of less adequate routes as road users attempt to avoid the traffic control; and
D: Significant increases in frequency of collisions (especially rear-end collisions).

Therefore, we do not recommend a change in traffic control at this time. However, the City has installed the Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) or user-actuated flashing pedestrian crossing signs to help indicate that pedestrians are waiting to cross the street. If motorists are not yielding to pedestrians, this is now an enforcement issue.

Thanks, Jennifer.
What steps can be taken to enforce safe crossings at this intersection?
As a resident in this neighborhood, I know for a fact, these "RRFB" signs are not adequate for this intersection.

Our office spoke on the phone with James Eugene at 3pm on Thursday, February 2020 about this issue. We provided a summary of previous requests for studies, the analyses conducted, and signage improvements that have been implemented since that time. More specifically, we provided a summary of the warrant analysis study that was conducted in accordance with the MUTCD which is published by the FHWA. We also provided a summary of crashes that have occurred at this intersection since the warrant analysis had been conducted. The number of crashes alone does not meet the thresholds for construction of a traffic signal. However, it is possible that traffic volumes may have changed since the warrant analysis was originally conducted in 2016. As such, our office committed to conducting new traffic counts at this intersection to re-run the warrant analysis. Accordingly, we will mark this SCF issue as "In Progress". Due to the complexity of the data collection and warrant analysis effort, we anticipate being able to provide our findings in 4 to 6 months.

With the recent pavement restoration at this location, high-visibility crosswalks were striped. A curb extension has also been installed to prevent vehicles from parking within 25 feet of the crosswalk and enhancing visibility of pedestrians. Additionally, the City was awarded a grant from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) to construct pedestrian safety improvements along the entire Garfield Avenue corridor. The project design phase kicked off last year, and a public meeting to review the recommended improvements will be held in 2023. The City will continue monitor conditions at this location and evaluate additional measures that could be considered to further calm traffic and enhance pedestrian safety.