Police department receives pedestrian safety grant

The Brick Township Police Department has received a $20,000 Pedestrian Safety Education and Enforcement Grant from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. The grant will pay for Brick Township's Walk Safe in Brick Program that will target motor vehicle and pedestrian violations and educate the community about pedestrian safety.

The Police Department will schedule 80 overtime shifts between now and the end of September that will focus on enforcement. The officers on these shifts will target areas identified as being among the most hazardous for pedestrians and will look for motorists committing moving violations that put pedestrians at risk as well as pedestrians who's own actions put them at risk. In particular, the officers will look for aggressing driving near intersections, such as vehicles running red lights and speeding.

The cost of these 80 shifts will be $16,000 and will be covered by the grant.

The grant also provides funding for 40 hours of education shifts where officers will raise awareness of pedestrian safety throughout the community.

In addition, the Police Department will be distributing reflective 'snap' bracelets and reflective shoe tags for pedestrians. The bracelets are approximately 10 inches long and 1.5 inches thick and can be worn around the wrist. The shoe tags have adhesive backs and can be applied to shoes. When worn, both the bracelets and shoe tags will make the person wearing them more visible to motorists. Anyone who would like a bracelet or shoe tag can visit the Brick Township Police Department in the Municipal Building.

One of the stated objectives of the grant program is to reduce the number of pedestrian injuries by 25 percent in 2006 in each municipality.