Hoboken Streets Safer, City Says, But What About Lockdown Effect?

Hoboken NJ

17 March, 2021

8:21 PM

Description

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced last week that decreases in various types of traffic accidents in Hoboken indicate that city streets have become safer from 2019 to 2020. But how much of an impact did coronavirus precautions have, considering fewer cars were on the road? "I love that all of our crash statistics have declined," said Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher last week. "But does Mayor Bhalla really believe it has nothing to do with COVID?" Bhalla announced last week improvements in three of Hoboken's "Vision Zero" safety categories. From 2019 to 2020, Hoboken saw a 54 percent decrease in pedestrians struck by a vehicle, a 13 percent decrease in bicyclists struck by vehicles, and a 37 percent decrease in vehicle-on-vehicle crashes, the city said. The statistics were calculated via a detailed analysis of crash reports by members of the traffic division of the Hoboken Police Department, according to the city. In 2020, for the third consecutive year, Hoboken had no traffic-related fatalities, the most important benchmark in Hoboken's Vision Zero campaign, the city said. When asked about the impact of the lockdowns, city spokesman Vijay Chaudhuri said, "The pandemic led to more people staying home and [fewer] cars on the road in 2020, but this ultimately resulted in higher vehicular speeds, and consequently more traffic-related fatalities nationwide. As a result of improved street design, especially on Washington Street, Hoboken bucked this national trend and had less pedestrians and bicyclists struck by vehicles in 2020, less vehicle on vehicle crashes, and most importantly, zero traffic related fatalities." The city said that these were the numbers: Pedestrians struck by vehicles: 2019 – 54 2020 - 35 Bicyclists struck by vehicles: 2019 – 35 2020 - 31 Vehicles struck by other vehicles: 2019 – 1,410 2020 – 1,027 Hoboken City Hall "It's clear that our Vision Zero pedestrian safety campaign is creating even safer streets for all of our residents and vulnerable users, despite nationwide trends going in the opposite direction," said Bhalla. "Our focus on improved street designs that include a variety of pedestrian safety measures including new high-visibility crosswalks, curb extensions, bike lanes and more are a major reason why we've had another year of 0 traffic-related deaths in Hoboken. We will continue to prioritize safe streets in the years ahead to achieve our goal: 0 traffic-related deaths and injuries by 2030." You can find the city's release here. In August of 2019, Bhalla signed an Executive Order officially launching the Vision Zero safety initiative, establishing a Vision Zero Task Force and creating a Vision Zero Action Plan, the city's roadmap for achieving the elimination of traffic-related deaths and injuries by 2030. An Action Plan is currently being finalized by the task force and will be presented to the City Council and the public in the coming weeks, the city said. The city said that Hoboken's Vision Zero improvements in 2020 coincide with higher traffic fatalities in New Jersey, which increased from 524 in 2019 to 552 in 2020, according to the New Jersey State Police. Got news? Email [email protected]. Got photos? Please include express written permission from the photographer for us to use them. To be the first to get free news alerts with breaking stories in your town, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.