NEWARK, NJ - It was hard to get cars to stop for pedestrians -- especially elderly ones -- at the Sanford Avenue and Sanford Place intersection until a new traffic signal was installed about a month ago, Valerie Crute said.

The three-way intersection in the city’s West Ward only had one stop sign for drivers looking to turn from the less busy, one-way Sanford Place. Sanford Avenue, a county road, had no stops signs or traffic signals.

“I’m told it’s always been a dangerous corner over there, and they’ve been trying to get something done for years,” Crute said of the Sanford Place Block Association, & Friends, which she’s been president of for about three years. “Especially during rush hours. So you’ve got the morning rush and then the people, the business that are there.”

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That has all changed now, ever since the county installed traffic lights at all three points of the intersection. Pedestrian signals with countdown timers were also put in place.

The intersection at Sanford Avenue and Sanford Place was one of 32 locations throughout Newark to receive traffic signals as part of a $270,994 project funded by county's budget. County officials today unveiled the new traffic signal and county-wide project.

“This roadway's a busy roadway,” said Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo as he stood at the intersection. “This intersection is a very, very busy intersection. You have young people, you have some older people that need for more time to be able to cross the street and make it safe for themselves.”

Locations for traffic signals were chosen based on crash data that was compiled by Dynamic Traffic, based in Lake Como. Tiffany Electric, a Parsippany-based company, was selected through a public bidding process to do the construction.

The signals at the Sanford Avenue project also have GPS clocks that are able to communicate with other signals that make traffic flow more easily throughout the area. The project also included new sidewalk bump-outs, while the pavement that was damaged during construction was also repaired.





Last year, Newark received 16 new traffic signals, said the county Department of Works Director Sanjeev Varghese.

Essex County Freeholder President Brendan Gill said the project is part of a concept known as Complete Streets, which helps buses run on time and makes it easier for pedestrians to cross streets to access shops.

“We were one of the first counties that have been a big proponent of a planning concept called Complete Streets,” Gill said at today’s unveiling. “And what Complete Streets literally means is when you have infrastructure projects like that, you're literally completing the street in ways that promote pedestrian safety, promotes slowing traffic down and also contributes to the creation of economic development around it.”

There were 29,635 crashes in Essex County last year, according to state Department of Transportation data. While that figure is lower than the number of crashes in 2001 through 2005, collisions in the county have generally increased for about the last 12 years.

Essex County also had the highest number of reported crashes in the state. Bergen County, the most populated in the state, had 28,903 crashes, according to the state DOT.

Crute, the block association president, couldn’t recall any accidents that have happened at the Sanford Avenue intersection in the past three years, so the installation of traffic signals could be seen as a proactive move from the county.

“It’s doing its job,” said Crute, who added that it was a “blessing” to have the new traffic signal. “I can come out into the street with no problem, without the worry of someone hitting me. That was always a major concern of mine. It’s a whole lot easier whenever everybody has to stop.”

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