One of Teaneck's Tough Pedestrian Crossings Gets An Improvement Thanks to AARP Grant

The walk to Teaneck's municipal complex has just gotten a little easier, thanks to a new pedestrian-triggered warning light being added to the crosswalk at the intersection of Cedar Lane and Broad Street.

The Township received a $10,000 grant from the AARP’s nationwide Community Challenge competition in the fall, money that was put toward making it easier for pedestrians to cross at this heavily travelled location,
That intersection - which links the popular destinations of the municipal complex, Holy Name Medical Center and the Jewish Community Center - had been identified as a troublesome crossing at a Senior Walkability Workshop in October 2018, co-hosted by Age-Friendly Teaneck and Teaneck Township.
The installation of the new flashing beacon light is just the first step toward making cars more aware of pedestrians at the location, said Township Manager Dean Kazinci.
"We would not have been able to do this without the AARP grant," Kazinci said.
Later in the spring, when the weather warms up, Bergen County - which has jurisdiction over Cedar Lane - has committed to re-striping the roadway and pedestrian crossing, narrowing the lanes of traffic and creating an "area of refuge" in the middle of the street where a pedestrian can safely wait if unable to cross ahead of oncoming traffic, Kazinci said.
In addition, Kazinci said the Township will spend close to $250,000 this calendar year - money collected from the police forfeiture fund - to make pedestrian crossing improvements in other locations.
Plans are still being finalized, but Kazinci said he expects to put out a request for proposals soon to install flashing beacons at up to 5 more crossings, including one in front of the movie theater on Cedar Lane. Teaneck has also ordered 15 LED-light equipped pedestrian crossing signs that are more visible to drivers to install at other locations and also plans to buy some portable radar machines that can be mounted at intersections as a way to alert drivers that they are driving above the speed limit.
"We're looking at a lot of our more heavily used pedestrian crossings and determining locations where we need to try to slow traffic down and make it safer for pedestrians to cross," Kazinci said. 

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