The Borough of Raritan announces the conclusion of the Street Smart pedestrian safety campaign conducted by the Raritan Police Department with assistance from RideWise – the Bridgewater-based nonprofit transportation advocacy organization – and community businesses.
The campaign was initiated last summer, and included 119 hours of pedestrian safety enforcement by the police. To encourage compliant behavior, police handed out gift cards provided by local businesses to pedestrians who used crosswalks. The Raritan Borough Police department received funding for enforcement and outreach through a grant from the Somerset County Regional Center Partnership.
The campaign resulted in increased awareness of the Street Smart messages and an improvement in most pedestrian and driver behaviors. The pre and post campaign observations showed a 69 percent decrease in the number of turning drivers who did not stop for pedestrians at Somerset Street and Loomis Street, and a 27 percent increase in the number of pedestrians who used the crosswalk at Somerset Street and Anderson Street.
To read the final report and learn more about the Street Smart Raritan campaign, click here.
