138-24 Exhibit to Resolution Adopting the Township of West Orange Vision Zero Action Plan.pdf

To achieve the Vision Zero Action Plan goals, the Township will initiate the following key components: • For Safer Streets: The Township will invest in engineering measures that improve the safety of our roadways. This includes the redesign of intersections, the installation of better signage and lighting, and the creation of pedestrian-friendly walkways and dedicated bike lanes. • Education: The Township is committed to increasing awareness and understanding of road safety. We will work closely with schools, community organizations, and the local media to promote safe behavior for all road users. • Enforcement: Our law enforcement agencies will play a crucial role in ensuring that traffic laws are obeyed. We will support their efforts to make our streets safer by addressing speeding, reckless driving, and impaired driving. • Data Collection: The Township will gather and analyze data on traffic crashes and their causes to make informed decisions about improving road safety. • Community Engagement: The Township values constructive input and participation. We will hold community meetings, workshops, and surveys to understand the community’s concerns and preferences regarding road safety measures. • Inclusivity: Vision Zero is about creating safer streets for all members of our community, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation. We are dedicated to making our Township accessible and safe for everyone. I urge you to get involved and volunteer if you can in this important effort. Your support and active engagement will be instrumental in making our streets safer for all. Please look for announcements about community meetings and initiatives related to Vision Zero, to make your voice heard. Together, we can work towards a goal where our children can play on our streets without fear, pedestrians and bicyclists can travel without anxiety, and where traffic crashes are a thing of the past. The Vision Zero initiative is not just a program: it's both a commitment and an investment in our future toward the safety and well-being of our community. Respectfully, Mayor Susan McCartney WEST ORANGE TOWNSHIP: VISION ZERO ACTION PLAN 7

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS Vision Zero Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries in the road system. This was first implemented in Sweden in the 1990s, has become standard and successful across Europe, and has begun to spread across the world. Vision Zero reframes traffic safety, from severe car crashes being inevitable accidents that are part of modern living to being preventable crashes to be prevented in as many ways as possible to save lives. Vision Zero acknowledges human error, systems over individual responsibility, and that saving lives is not expensive. Safe System Approach The Safe System Approach is a framework to address roadway safety that has been adopted by the US Department of Transportation. It builds multiple layers of protection for road users to both prevent crashes and mitigate the harm caused in crashes. KSI Crash KSI Crashes are crashes where a victim is killed (K) or severely injured (SI). Proven Safety Countermeasures The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has identified 28 countermeasures and strategies with proven effectiveness in reducing crash rates and/or crash severity. These are context- and user-specific but can make significant improvements to the safety of a road system when applied broadly. Complete Streets Complete Streets are streets designed to safely support all road users. This applies to both all modes of travel and also all abilities of the road users, including people with disabilities, children and seniors, and more. Complete Streets require varying degrees of intervention depending on the context, both in terms of land use and in terms of traffic volumes and speeds. Environmental Justice Environmental Justice is, as defined by the EPA, “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” High-Injury Network Vision Zero Action Plans idenfity a High-Injury Network (HIN), the roadways in a municipality or city's road system with the highest prevalence of crashes or greatest crash severity. Actions to address these issues are concentrated on the HIN. Vulnerable Road Users Certain Users of the road system are those not protected inside a vehicle when using the road system. This includes pedestrians,

dress these issues are concentrated on the HIN. Vulnerable Road Users Certain Users of the road system are those not protected inside a vehicle when using the road system. This includes pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders, rollerskaters and more.

The plan will serve as a roadmap to achieve the goal of zero traffic-related deaths and severeADDRESS injuries in J VISION ZERO GOAL West Orange. It will lay out the key action items to implement a comprehensive Vision Zero policy. West Orange Township will eliminate WEBSITE Vision Zero is based on data collection and crash analysis traffic deaths and life-altering that will identify the causes of crashes in our community and workinjuries to prevent bythem. theTheyearWest2030. Orange Vision Go Zero Action Plan will include a prioritizedMAIL list of street improvement projects,education initiatives,city programs and proposed changes to policy to achieve Vision Zero! NAME WHY VISION ZERO? BY THE NUMBERS* 28 + More than 2 PHONE Number of severe injury crashes LOCATION 7 3 people have lost their lives in a Pedestrian ADDRESS Bicyclist and Pedestrian Tra Traf PER Prev crash every IND Fatalities Severe Injury year WEBSITE Savin Crashes Sourc * Source: Safety Voyager crash data

WEBSITE Savin Crashes Sourc * Source: Safety Voyager crash data (2015-2021). Crashes on Route 280 are included. This one-year project is made possible through a New Jersey West Orange Pede Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Local WEST Technical MAIL Assistance ORANGE TOWNSHIP: VISION ZEROAssociation, ACTION PLAN Thomas 11 Grant. The organizations listed here supported the Township’s West Orange Allian

VISION ZERO SAFETY PLEDGE Our vision for zero deaths and serious injuries can only be achieved if all community members support and do their part to reach the goal of zero. A traffic safety pledge (in English and Spanish) was developed with the Vision Zero Task Force and was available for the community to sign online and in-person at the public workshops. The Vision Zero Pledge for West Orange will continue to be an important part of engaging and sharing responsibility with the community, well beyond the year 2030. I PLEDGE TO: Only drive when I am sober, alert and without distractions such as my phone or other devices and keep my eyes on the street at all times. Slow down, drive carefully and give at least four feet of space when possible, or slow down to 25 mph when passing bicyclists1. Follow all laws and regulations on West Orange’s streets, especially yielding to all vulnerable users such as pedestrians and bicyclists. Never flee a crash scene because I can save lives by calling 911 immediately. VISION ZERO SAFETY PLEDGE Recognize that as speed increases the risk of I understand that it is possible to eliminate

RO SAFETY PLEDGE Recognize that as speed increases the risk of I understand that it is possible to eliminate fatality and serious injury increases drastically. traffic-related deaths and serious injuries in West Orange Township by doing my part while also supporting the Township in developing a Safe System with Safe Street Design and Safe Speeds in West Orange. sign to pledge NJ Safe Passing Law (h�ps://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-highway-traffic-safety-home/division-of-highway-traffic-safety-pedestrian-safety/) 1 ZERO TRAFFIC-RELATED DEATHS AND SERIOUS INJURIES IN WEST ORANGE TOWNSHIP BY 2030! 12 WEST ORANGE TOWNSHIP: VISION ZERO ACTION PLAN

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USDOT ROADWAY SAFETY STRATEGY The USDOT National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), published January 2022, recognizes that the United States is at a critical juncture in terms of roadway safety1. The rate of fatalities on US roadways decreased consistently from 1980 to 2010, but stagnated after 2010 and spiked nationwide in 2020 (which also occurred in West Orange). An estimated 38,680 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2020, of which an estimated 6,236 were pedestrians. In 2021, this increased by an additional 10.5 percent to 42,915 fatalities including 7,342 pedestrian fatalities. These alarming statistics presented a call to action to make the US roadway system safer for all users, which is why the NRSS sets a vision and goal for the safety of US roadways: zero roadway fatalities. As stated in the NRSS document, "zero is the only acceptable number of deaths on our highways, roads and streets." In order to achieve this, this strategy promotes the adoption of the Safe System Approach, which has seen success in its early adopters such as Sweden, the Netherlands, and more. The Safe System Approach involves anticipating human error by designing the roadway system to keep the risk/impact of the human error low. It takes into account human vulnerability and consists of six principles and five elements. Additionally, roadway safety is an important foundation to achieving success in addressing two other major priorities: equity and climate. By implementing ways to encourage safe multi-modal travel, lower dependency on single-occupancy vehicles and through sustainable and environmentally-friendly street design, this plan will help address climate change. In addition, equity is a defining factor of the West Orange Vision Zero Action Plan. All layers of a Safe System Approach are critical. Source: USDOT National Roadway Safety Strategy To provide an illustrative example, among the 16,261 fatal crashes involving a 1 https://www.transportation.gov/nrss/usdot-national-roadway-safety-strategy vehicle that left the roadway in 2019, thousands also involved other contributing factors: WEST ORANGE TOWNSHIP: VISION ZERO ACTION PLAN 15