Road Projects Designed to Improve Pedestrian Safety

Work designed to make busy Fair Lawn streets safer for pedestrians is expected to start next year, officials said.

Pedestrian safety has been an ongoing concern in Fair Lawn, with several people having been hit by cars in the past few years. Police have cracked down on drivers who don't stop at crosswalks and local students will be handing out reflective strips to commuters this week.

The borough is using grants to build one bump-out on Broadway near Warren Point School and five on Fair Lawn Avenue near the library, municipal building and businesses, according to Borough Engineer Ken Garrison.

The bump-outs widen sidewalks, making giving pedestrians a shorter walk across the street and preventing drivers from passing cars waiting to turn, according to Acting Borough Manager Jim Van Kruiningen. There is already one bump-out near the post office on River Road.

Officials had previously hoped to build two or three bump-outs on Broadway, but the Department of Transportation has more stringent requirements there because Route 4 is a state highway. The one bump-out will come with new ADA ramps, upgraded traffic signals and electrical work, Garrison said.

"It increases the cost of the job considerably," Garrison said.

The Fair Lawn Council recently voted to appropriate additional funding for the contract with a consultant working on that project.

Work on the Broadway bump-out is expected to start next summer after school lets out, Garrison said.

Another grant is going to go toward bump-outs on Fair Lawn Avenue at the intersections of George Street, Parmelee Avenue, Chandler Drive, Abbott Road and Radburn Road.