The New Jersey Department of Transportation has launched a new project along a section of Route 129 in Trenton that will include the use of a first-in-the-nation system to regulate traffic lights to improve pedestrian safety.
Plans call for a number of improvements to be made at three signalized intersections on Route 129 at Lalor Street, Cass Street and Hamilton Avenue, an area where a dozen pedestrians have been killed and many more injured since 2000.
According to DOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, a Red Clearance Traffic Signal Extension system is being implemented that will detect vehicles approaching a pedestrian crossing.
“Basically, we let the red light stay a little longer, hopefully to allow pedestrians additional time to get across the street,” she said.
Smart predictive technology
Gutierrez-Scaccetti explained this smart, predictive technology detects the speed of a vehicle approaching an intersection and automatically adjusts traffic signal changes.
“That means instead