Safe passage for pedestrians
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
8/21/2009

Motorists in the township may want to think twice before they zoom by pedestrians looking to cross busy roadways in a crosswalk.

Mayor Bernie Platt, Burlington City Mayor Dr. James Fazzone, and Pam Fischer, director of the division of highway safety in the Attorney General’s office, unveiled a new pedestrian safety program designed to curb aggressive driving in Cherry Hill. Standing amidst police officers from Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland and Gloucester counties, the three leaders unveiled “Cops in Crosswalks,”

an initiative to help prevent pedestrian fatalities.

The new initiative will see undercover police officers acting as pedestrians and placed at crosswalks throughout the community. The undercover officer will attempt to cross the roadway and any motorists who fail to yield to the officer are stopped and either warned or ticketed by uniformed officers a short distance away.

“My administration has made it clear that we consider the safety of our residents crossing our roadways a top priority. Our fine police officers are out every day patrolling Cherry Hill with this safety issue in mind. However, I believe we need to amplify our efforts,” Platt said.

Funded through federal grants of $4,000 provided to each participating police agency, Fisher said Gov. Corzine has made it a priority to increase pedestrian safety in the state. Each year about 150 pedestrians are killed in traffic-related crashes, she said, but through the first seven months of 2009 the number has increased significantly.

Pedestrian fatalities in 2009 are up about 40 percent over the 2008 rate. As of Aug. 8, 102 pedestrians have been killed in the state, she said.

“To ensure the safety of all roadway users, motorists and pedestrians must remain alert at all times and take personal responsibility for their actions,” she said.

Cherry Hill Police Chief Charlie Jones said the program would be a good educational tool for township drivers. It’s not a program to just deliver tickets or warnings to unsafe drivers, he said, but to educate motorists on the importance of pedestrian safety.

A number of teams will be set up at various points throughout the township, he said. He has a good idea of where the teams will be deployed, but did not want to reveal their locations.

The program was already working as several police officers from the Cherry Hill department provided a demonstration. Ron Harrison, an officer in the Cherry Hill Traffic Safety Unit, took his position as a decoy dressed in plain clothes and waited patiently at a crosswalk in front of Cherry Hill West High School. Another officer with a radio kept in constant communication with another team of officers about 100 yards away.

After about five minutes the team had pulled over three motorists who failed to yield for the decoy officer. The tickets issued by the officers included a $100 fine and two points on the license.

“Combined with recent enhancements we have made to crosswalks and signage, this safety initiative will make it clear to drivers in Cherry Hill that they must yield to those on foot,” Platt said.