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Street parking was already scarce in Hoboken, New Jersey, when the death of an elderly pedestrian spurred city leaders to remove even more spaces in a bid to end traffic fatalities.<\/p>\n
For seven years now, the city of nearly 60,000 people has reported resounding success: Not a single automobile occupant, bicyclist or pedestrian has\u00a0died in a traffic crash<\/a>\u00a0since January 2017, elevating Hoboken as a national model for roadway safety.<\/p>\n Mayor Ravi Bhalla was a City Council member in 2015 when a van struck 89-year-old Agnes Accera as she crossed Washington Street in the bustling downtown business district. Bhalla didn\u2019t know Accera but attended her wake and said her death inspired him to push for better safety.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt it wasn\u2019t acceptable,\u201d Bhalla said. \u201cOur seniors, who we owe the greatest duty of safety to, should be able to pass that street as safely as possible. For her to actually be killed was a trigger that we needed to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n Bhalla became mayor in 2018 and the city fully committed to Vision Zero: a set of guidelines adopted by numerous cities, states and nations seeking to eliminate\u00a0traffic deaths<\/a>. Proponents believe no accident is truly unavoidable and even want to do away with the word \u201caccident\u201d altogether when describing roadway fatalities.<\/p>\n Sweden originated the concept more than a quarter-century ago, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg touted Hoboken in 2022 when announcing his department would follow Vision Zero guidelines. Major U.S. cities including New York, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Baltimore and Portland, Oregon, have integrated aspects of the program into their safety plans, including at least some form of daylighting, the term for the removal of parking spaces near intersections to improve visibility.<\/p>\n Hoboken\u2019s success<\/a>\u00a0has chipped away at the notion that reaching zero traffic deaths is more aspirational than achievable.<\/p>\n \u201cThat goal is obviously bold,\u201d said Leah Shahum, founder and director of the Vision Zero Network, a nonprofit advocating for street safety. \u201cIt\u2019s also meant to help us kind of shake off the complacency that we\u2019ve had for too long that traffic deaths are inevitable, that what we\u2019re experiencing today is just an unfortunate and unavailable byproduct of modern society. That\u2019s not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n While Hoboken\u2019s plan has numerous components, including lower speed limits and staggered traffic lights, daylighting is often credited as one of the biggest reasons its fatalities have dropped to zero.<\/p>\n Ryan Sharp<\/a>, the city\u2019s transportation director, said when roads need to be repaved, Hoboken takes the additional step of cordoning off the street corners to widen curbs and shorten crosswalks. It\u2019s already illegal to park at an intersection in Hoboken, but drivers often do anyway if there aren\u2019t physical barriers.<\/p>\n Some of the new concrete structures are equipped with bike racks, benches and even rain garden planters that help absorb stormwater runoff. If there isn\u2019t enough money for an infrastructure solution right away, the city puts up temporary bollards.<\/p>\n \u201cThere really isn\u2019t a silver bullet or any magic, innovative thing where we\u2019ve cracked a code,\u201d Sharp said. \u201cOur approach has been more about focusing on the fundamentals. We\u2019ve created a program where we\u2019re layering these things in year after year.\u201d<\/p>\n But removing parking from a place where it\u2019s in short supply has critics.<\/p>\n Joe Picolli, who opened Hoboken Barber Shop on Washington Street in 2018, said the curb extensions \u2014 or bumpouts \u2014 have made it difficult for downtown merchants to win back business lost during the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the bumpouts, there were a lot more buses, a lot more cars, a lot more parking,\u201d said Picolli, who lives in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, and sometimes has to trail street sweepers to find parking. \u201cIt\u2019s good as far as people walking on the street, but it\u2019s bad because you\u2019re not getting the flow from other towns.\u201d<\/p>\n Although a bit larger than its Mile Square City nickname would imply, Hoboken ranks fourth nationwide in population density, trailing three other New Jersey cities and two spots ahead of New York, according to 2022 census data.<\/p>\n While the compact footprint means everyone is within range of public transit, cars still crowd the major streets and curbsides.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not New York City, but we\u2019re not a suburb, either,\u201d said Tammy Peng, who has lived in Hoboken for more than 15 years. \u201cWe\u2019re kind of a weird in between. A lot of families keep a car because they want to run errands on the weekend, but Monday to Friday they\u2019re commuting into the city.\u201d<\/p>\n While daylighting slightly lengthens her trips to soccer practice or the grocery store, Peng said it\u2019s much easier to spot pedestrians crossing the street.<\/p>\n Overall fatality numbers have remained largely unchanged since New York joined the Vision Zero movement in 2014 with a plan that included widening some curbs. Mayor Eric Adams boosted the city\u2019s commitment in November by promising to daylight 1,000 intersections each year.<\/p>\n Some cities have even used the practice to beautify their downtowns. Baltimore hired artists to liven up curb extensions with geometric shapes and vibrant colors.<\/p>\n States are embracing daylighting as well. More than 40 had enacted some sort of daylighting law when California\u2019s Legislature approved a new statewide rule in 2023 that prohibits parking within 20 feet (6 meters) of an intersection. Cities can set shorter distances with proof their plans are safe. Violators started receiving warnings in January and face fines beginning early next year.<\/p>\n