Avenues in Motion Brings Together Community Leaders and Transportation Experts to Enhance Road Safety
(Randolph, NJ)– Local nonprofit Avenues in Motion hosted municipal officials, law enforcement, planners and other transportation professionals at their second annual Municipal Transportation Forum on Wednesday, March 27. Designed to address transportation safety issues at the local level, participants heard from a range of experts and agency representatives and collaborated with fellow attendees on how to implement improvements, build coalitions, and generate community buy-in and support to make their streets safer for everyone.
Morris County Commissioner Deputy Director Stephen Shaw welcomed participants to the forum, held at County College of Morris in Randolph, NJ, and emphasized the importance of transportation to the livability and economic vitality of Morris County and the region.
The event featured two panels. The first, Placemaking and Demonstration Projects: Improving Safety through Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives, asked the question, “how can your town go from zero to Vision Zero?” Panelists included Jasmine Grossmann of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority; and Yahayra Mejorada, Constituent Affairs Coordinator for the Town of Dover.
Participants learned how to implement low or no cost projects that involve the community in a culture of safe streets. The session featured a successful roadway mural project in Dover and materials available from regional planners that can be loaned out to towns for temporary pop-up demonstrations.
The second panel entitled, A Conversation About the Safe System Approach, explored the national framework to achieve zero fatalities on U.S. roadways adopted by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and how communities can implement the Safe System Approach to prevent serious crashes on local roadways.
This moderated conversation around the principles and core elements of the Safe System Approach featured experts and key stakeholders discussing how to take this holistic and comprehensive guidance and turn it into local action.
Panelists included Stephen Dunn, aka “The Biking Fireman,” a social media influencer and first responder from the Elizabeth Fire Department; Pam Shadel Fischer, Senior Director of External Engagement at the Governors Highway Safety Association and Chair of the Avenues in Motion Board of Directors; Lauren Paterno, Senior Government Affairs Advisor at AAA Northeast; and Rachana Sheth, Senior Planner/Urban Designer at NV5.
“Forums like this are critical in not only spreading a message of traffic safety, but also to get leaders and professionals on the same page as we aim to drive down the rates of fatalities and serious injuries on our roads,” said Dan Callas, president of Avenues in Motion.
“Every death on our roads is a tragedy, and a preventable one at that. Zero is the only acceptable number,” he added.
The 2024 event, sponsored by Boxcar, an integrated commuting company focused on transportation and parking demand, also featured opportunities for participants to collaborate on local traffic safety challenges in breakout groups.
About Avenues in Motion
Avenues in Motion, formerly TransOptions, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Transportation Management Association serving northwestern New Jersey that delivers programs and services to improve mobility, the environment, roadway safety and overall quality of life in northwestern New Jersey. Avenues in Motion assists businesses and commuters with sustainable commuting options, communities with road safety and accessibility efforts, and schools through the Safe Routes to School and Junior Solar Sprints programs, among many others.
For more information about Avenues in Motion and its programs visit https://avenuesinmotion.org/
