Director Chanel Robinson told commissioners the county will present a resolution approving a Local Safety Action Plan and a Vision Zero goal and described the plan as establishing a framework to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries. The presentation noted the plan was developed with county officials and residents and identifies priority locations and strategies to improve safety for all roadway users.

The plan follows a systems-safety approach endorsed by the United States Department of Transportation and was funded by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Robinson said. County staff identified priority locations through a high-injury network and analyzed crash data by characteristics such as speed limit, roadway width, and presence of vulnerable road users.

At this August work session the measure was presented for discussion only; Director Robinson and staff said formal adoption would occur at the next regular meeting. A motion was made and seconded to add resolutions numbered 25-17-00 through 25-17-93 — including Resolution 25-17-08 approving the Local Safety Action Plan and Vision Zero goal — to the consent agenda for the Sept. 9 regular meeting. The roll call recorded each commissioner present voting yes; a recusal was recorded for some listed items noted during roll call.

Commissioners and staff emphasized senior and vulnerable-user accessibility in remarks elsewhere in the meeting, and the director referenced related investments (for example, ADA-compliant sidewalks and pavilion access at a senior wellness center). No final adoption of the Local Safety Action Plan occurred at the work session; the board scheduled the resolution for consideration at the Sept. 9 meeting.

Background: Vision Zero-style plans frame road safety as a multi-faceted, system-level issue and focus investment in locations where serious crashes cluster. This presentation described Somerset County’s plan as aligning with that systems approach and relying on data (the county’s high-injury network) to prioritize interventions. The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority funded the plan’s development, and the United States Department of Transportation’s systems-safety approach was cited as the model the county followed.

What’s next: Commissioners will consider Resolution 25-17-08 on Sept. 9 during the regular meeting’s consent agenda; if approved then, the county would move from planning and analysis toward implementation planning and scheduling of site-level improvements.