MAKE RUTHERFORD STREETS SAFE FOR WALKING & BIKING

The Issue

Rutherford's streets are getting worse. The solution is in our hands.

Support Complete Streets & the Rutherford Bike Ring Now!

The mega-development of our Meadowlands Region and the superhighways around us cause trucks and cars to cut through the residential streets of Rutherford endangering our residents and and ruining the residential quality of life. Biking and walking our streets is not safe and is is getting worse not better. Students being driven the few blocks to school are causing traffic problems and other dangers around our schools.

Residents and the Rutherford Green Team have worked and studied solutions for these problems for over three years. We obtained Grants from the National Park Service and the NJDOT to help our town. 

Now we have the studies that show where improvements need to take place. We have plans blessed by NJDOT. 

Funding for these important safety measures is available to us now at the State, County and municipal level.

Complete Streets safe for walking, safe for driving and safe for bicycling are the answer. They will calm the traffic, add safety enhancements and introduce the Rutherford Bike Ring as a safe alternative mode of transportation in and around our town

We have enjoyed the support of our friends, neighbors and our government officials - UNTIL NOW. 

At the October 15 council meeting a small group of residents presented our Council with a petition stating that these smart improvements are "ABSURD...INTRUSIVE, UNNECESSSARY & IRRESPONSIBLE" and will "jeopardize the safety of the residents of Orient Way" which is the most dangerous street shown in the studies and the one the needs Complete Streets the most. These 78 petitioners, most of them residents of the two large apartment buildings fear that adding bicycle lanes and safety improvements to Orient Way "offers no redeeming benefits of consequence...and must be DEFEATED" They do not think this is important to the future of Rutherford!

As a result of this petition your councilmembers are now calling for new road plans to be drawn without the benefits of Bike Lanes and shelving the Rutherford Bike Ring plan for possible consideration sometime in the future.

We have personally spoken to hundreds of residents who want Complete Streets. Who want safety improvements and who want the Rutherford Bike Ring to become a reality. We have letters of support from every municipal organization, from the Meadowlands Commission and from every politician up to and including Senator Menedez.

It is crazy to request and receive planning assistance and ignore it. It is absurd to shelve SMART SAFE GROWTH FOR RUTHERFORD and completely change direction after three years of hard work and study.

We want our safety. We want our children to be able to bike safely to our schools and parks and we want COMPLETE STREETS safe for everyone.

To Rutherford Mayor and Council:

Put Complete Streets and the Rutherford Bike Ring back in the plans. Let's plan together for Rutherford's future. 

NJDOT BIKE PED SAFETY REPORT

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John HughesPetition Starter
Media inquiries
This petition had 322 supporters

The Issue

Rutherford's streets are getting worse. The solution is in our hands.

Support Complete Streets & the Rutherford Bike Ring Now!

The mega-development of our Meadowlands Region and the superhighways around us cause trucks and cars to cut through the residential streets of Rutherford endangering our residents and and ruining the residential quality of life. Biking and walking our streets is not safe and is is getting worse not better. Students being driven the few blocks to school are causing traffic problems and other dangers around our schools.

Residents and the Rutherford Green Team have worked and studied solutions for these problems for over three years. We obtained Grants from the National Park Service and the NJDOT to help our town. 

Now we have the studies that show where improvements need to take place. We have plans blessed by NJDOT. 

Funding for these important safety measures is available to us now at the State, County and municipal level.

Complete Streets safe for walking, safe for driving and safe for bicycling are the answer. They will calm the traffic, add safety enhancements and introduce the Rutherford Bike Ring as a safe alternative mode of transportation in and around our town

We have enjoyed the support of our friends, neighbors and our government officials - UNTIL NOW. 

At the October 15 council meeting a small group of residents presented our Council with a petition stating that these smart improvements are "ABSURD...INTRUSIVE, UNNECESSSARY & IRRESPONSIBLE" and will "jeopardize the safety of the residents of Orient Way" which is the most dangerous street shown in the studies and the one the needs Complete Streets the most. These 78 petitioners, most of them residents of the two large apartment buildings fear that adding bicycle lanes and safety improvements to Orient Way "offers no redeeming benefits of consequence...and must be DEFEATED" They do not think this is important to the future of Rutherford!

As a result of this petition your councilmembers are now calling for new road plans to be drawn without the benefits of Bike Lanes and shelving the Rutherford Bike Ring plan for possible consideration sometime in the future.

We have personally spoken to hundreds of residents who want Complete Streets. Who want safety improvements and who want the Rutherford Bike Ring to become a reality. We have letters of support from every municipal organization, from the Meadowlands Commission and from every politician up to and including Senator Menedez.

It is crazy to request and receive planning assistance and ignore it. It is absurd to shelve SMART SAFE GROWTH FOR RUTHERFORD and completely change direction after three years of hard work and study.

We want our safety. We want our children to be able to bike safely to our schools and parks and we want COMPLETE STREETS safe for everyone.

To Rutherford Mayor and Council:

Put Complete Streets and the Rutherford Bike Ring back in the plans. Let's plan together for Rutherford's future. 

NJDOT BIKE PED SAFETY REPORT

avatar of the starter
John HughesPetition Starter
Media inquiries

The Decision Makers

John
John
Responded
“Thank you AARP! The Honorable Joseph DeSalvo Mayor, Borough of Rutherford, New Jersey 176 Park Avenue Rutherford, NJ 07070 Dear Mayor DeSalvo: AARP members in the Borough of Rutherford have made us aware of the proposed plans for safety improvements along Orient Way, including high-visibility crosswalks, traffic calming measures and the addition of bicycle lanes. We are pleased to hear that your community is moving forward with these important measures. As you know, safe mobility options are essential to the independence and well-being of mid-life and older Americans. AARP, with almost 1.3 million members across New Jersey, supports policies reflected in projects such as this because they enhance safe travel for all -- whether driving, bicycling, walking, or taking public transportation. We are particularly concerned about the fact that older pedestrians have the highest fatality rate of any age group. They account for 20% of all pedestrian fatalities, while only 13% of the nation’s population. A pedestrian is killed every 2 hours in the U.S. The pedestrian share of traffic fatalities has been going up over the last 6 years. The number of pedestrians killed in New Jersey rose to 165 last year from 143 in 2011, amounting to the most fatalities since 2006. The pedestrian share of New Jersey traffic deaths has been going up in recent years, now representing thirty percent of the total, more than twice the national average. Beyond the safety enhancement aspects of projects like Orient Way, creating places in which people are able to bike and walk to their daily destinations has a positive impact on property values, economic development, the environment and public health, can reduce traffic congestion, afford families with opportunities to exercise, and can enable seniors to “age in place” within their communities. For these and other reasons, there is a strong demand for bicyclist and pedestrian-focused infrastructure improvements such as the one proposed for Orient Way. According to a 2011 Monmouth University poll, New Jersey residents would like to see more communities where a variety of transportation options exist and neighborhoods are within walking distance of shopping and other services. Two-thirds of New Jersey residents feel the state needs more of these communities and nearly three in four residents say they would definitely (46 percent) or probably (27 percent) want to live in such a community. Again, we appreciate and encourage your efforts to improve access to improve safety in your community, particularly for pedestrians and bicyclists. Sincerely, Brian McGuire C. Brian McGuire Associate State Director, Advocacy AARP New Jersey 101 Rockingham Row | Princeton, NJ 08540 Check us out on Facebook Make your voice heard on Medicare and Social Security. Go to earnedasay.org ”
Rutherford, New Jersey Mayor and Council
Rutherford, New Jersey Mayor and Council
Rutherford Green Team

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Petition created on October 19, 2013