Since the rollout of the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program in 2022, municipalities, counties, and regional agencies across New Jersey have been awarded millions of federal dollars to produce comprehensive safety action plans, with the goal of winning implementation grants to build the projects identified in those plans. In addition, the State’s counties and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) have expanded efforts beyond just SS4A with federal funding through the New Jersey Department of Transportation. In fact, there are now safety action plans in progress or completed that cover the entire state. For the first time, all counties in New Jersey will have countywide action plans to guide local, state, and federal investments in roadway safety.

Below, we’ve listed resources by county – including some upcoming public meetings – to help community members gain insight into their local circumstances, ways their counties can enhance safety for all road users, and opportunities for involvement.

There are three MPOs that cover the entire state of New Jersey. In North Jersey, there is the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), which encompasses 13 counties and generally covers areas where New York City is the primary commuter destination. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is the MPO for the greater Philadelphia region, including five counties in Pennsylvania and four in New Jersey. Finally, the South Jersey Regional Planning Organization (SJTPO) covers the four southernmost counties in the state.

The three metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in New Jersey (Source: NJDOT Safe Routes to School Resource Center)

Background on SS4A

In 2022, the United States Department of Transportation unveiled a new competitive grant program called Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A). Applicants to the SS4A program apply directly to the US DOT, who seeks to award projects based the safety context, focusing on projects with the greatest impact on safety and equity. The goals of the SS4A program focus on eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries through data-driven analysis and a reorientation of road design and management towards the Safe System Approach.

The Safe System Approach is a major part of the National Roadway Safety Strategy, which underscores the need for a shift in the strategy for how we confront the over 40,000 annual roadway fatalities in the United States, of which a disproportionate number of victims are people walking and cycling. In New Jersey, pedestrian and bicycle fatalities exceed national averages as a percentage of total traffic fatalities, highlighting the urgent need for effective policies and infrastructure to protect vulnerable road users.

SS4A Grant Awards in New Jersey

As of October 2024, six New Jersey counties have been awarded SS4A planning funds directly from the federal government. The DVRPC was also awarded planning funds for its entire region, including the four counties in New Jersey. Elsewhere in the state, the NJTPA and the SJTPO, in coordination with the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), have dedicated funding from different programs to complete safety action plans.

Since many counties throughout the state are currently developing comprehensive safety action plans, residents of North, Central, and South Jersey can explore the plans being formulated in their respective areas.

This list focuses on county-level and regional action planning efforts, but there are many other active SS4A projects across the state at the municipal level.

Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon at a crosswalk outside Somerville train station (Source: NJDOT Safe Routes to School Resource Center)

New Jersey counties by safety action plan types. All county-level plans are intended to meet the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) requirements for a comprehensive safety action plan, which is the requirement to apply for implementation grant funding. (Source: NJDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center)

New Jersey counties by lead agency on their safety action plan. In addition to being included in DVRPC’s nine-county Regional Vision Zero plan, the counties of Mercer and Burlington also received direct SS4A funding to expand their planning efforts. (Source: NJDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center)

North Jersey Region

The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority is a 13-county region covering most of the northern half of the state all the way from Sussex County to Ocean County.

SS4A Plans in North Jersey

Four counties in North Jersey have been awarded SS4A planning funds to develop county level Comprehensive Safety Action Plans. Because the timeline for receiving and spending federal funding can sometimes be unpredictable, these county plans are in different stages of development. The counties of Monmouth, Essex, and Union are still in the early stages of the planning process, so public facing resources have yet to be released.

Hudson County

Hudson County has launched its Hudson County Vision Zero website, where community members can learn about outreach events and demonstration projects related to the initiative.

Middlesex County

Within this region, Middlesex County has completed its 2040 Vision Zero Action Plan, making it the only county in the state with a complete safety action plan.

NJTPA Local Safety Action Plans

The NJTPA is partnering with the remaining eight counties in the region and funding the development of county-level Local Safety Action Plans. To expand the visibility of these developing plans to the public, the NJTPA released its Local Safety Action Plan website. The website includes a data dashboard with crash statistics, as well as a survey and mapping tool to collect feedback from community members about their safety experience while driving, walking, and rolling in the region.

The Local Safety Action Plan website also provides data dashboards and public outreach information for each participating county, as follows:

Delaware Valley Region

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission is a bi-state, nine-county metropolitan planning organization headquartered in Philadelphia. In addition to Philadelphia County and four suburban ring counties surrounding it in Pennsylvania, DVRPC includes the New Jersey counties of Mercer, Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester. In 2022, DVRPC was awarded an SS4A grant for $1.47 million, covering all nine of its counties, and in September 2024, the USDOT awarded DVRPC an additional $1.52 million for supplemental planning and partner support.

As an addition to the Regional Vision Zero Plan, the New Jersey counties of Mercer and Burlington both recently received additional SS4A funding to do planning and demonstration project activities in their respective counties. Burlington County was awarded $400,000 to develop the Burlington County Complete Network Plan which will identify and prioritize crash trend locations of vulnerable road users and will identify opportunities to create safe and accessible multimodal infrastructure. Mercer County was awarded $625,000 to systematically screen roadway facilities and analyze crash data to identify locations at which to install FHWA Proven Safety Countermeasures.

More information, including a survey for residents and resources for local and county governments, are available on the DVRPC Regional Vision Zero Plan website.

South Jersey Region

The South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization is the metropolitan planning organization that covers Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem counties in South Jersey. SJTPO is using Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds to develop a Local Road Safety Plan for each of its four member counties to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on county and municipal roadways. As an extension of their local road safety plans, SJTPO has also allocated additional federal HSIP funds from NJDOT, which will be used for a comprehensive systemic analysis, additional technical assistance, and demonstration projects in a Year 3 implementation phase.

SJTPO developed the Safe Roads South Jersey website to share resources and information about this initiative. County-specific information is available from the following pages:

SJTPO is hosting four public meetings (listed below) about their Local Safety Action Plans in October. The public will have an opportunity to learn about the plans and provide comments before they are finalized.

Is your community looking to improve road safety for all users?

The Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program offers a powerful opportunity for communities to fund projects that prioritize safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers alike. Reach out to your municipal or county leaders to find out if they have plans to apply for SS4A grants. If they haven’t started yet, offer to help raise awareness and organize support. For more information and resources, visit the USDOT’s Safe Streets and Roads for All website, or check out our blog articles on SS4A and other grants below:

By Greg Woltman, AICP