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Transportation Advisory Committee Presents Findings, Recommendations from November 2020 Mobility Survey

With over 700 residents responding to the survey, Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) members present their findings and subsequent recommendations to the Township Committee
Dr. Randall Emond and Deputy Mayor Gyorfy present TAC’s findings.

 
During the May 19th Township Committee meeting, the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) presented the findings of their November 2020 Personal Mobility Survey. Dr. Randall Emond, lead TAC member for the mobility survey and TAC Chair and Deputy Mayor Mark Gyorfy reported that the survey, responded to by over 700 residents, provides important data on: 1) how households use the Township's roads, paths, and trails for recreation, 2) what issues residents face with the current infrastructure, and 3) what improvements for safety, convenience, accessibility, and connectivity residents wish to see. Residents can view the full recording of the presentation here (00:16:00) and review the presentations slides here.
Data from the survey was split into five census "tracts".

Mobility Survey Findings

The Mobility Survey’s topics ranged from mobile activity and frequency; safety, access, and convenience problems; and pinpointing problems in need of solutions. According to the survey, 96% of households report at least one adult in the home actively walks or hikes, 39% of households have an adult who runs, and 44% of households have an adult who bikes or skates.  

High-level Themes - More assurance for personal mobile safety and access
 
  •  Residents feel that recreational travel around the Township is generally safe, but improvements are needed. 76% of the respondents agree there are certain walkways, intersections, roads and paths that are difficult for walking, running, or biking due to vehicle traffic
  • There is a need for traffic calming considerations as part of all future reconstructions to create a smarter balance between personal mobility and vehicular speed/traffic
  • Pedestrians and cyclists would like to use some arterial and collector streets
  • There is a demand for information on bikeways, paths, sidewalks, destinations, and connections within and outside the Township
  • Two-thirds of respondents (66%) believe there is a need for more sidewalks and walking paths

Key Findings

  • More than half (56%) believe traffic is a problem
  • Half (52%) believe sidewalk quality is an issue
  • Four out of ten (41%) believe streets are too narrow
  • 70% believe there should be special travel lanes for bicyclists or pedestrians
  • 70% want recreational travel to be safer
  • Two-thirds (67%) want to learn more about Township pathways and destinations
  • 64% think crosswalks should be safer
TAC’s Recommendations

Since its establishment in 2019, resident volunteers who serve as members of TAC have been studying up on the rules and regulations governing our roadways and have been listening to input from members of the public. To thoroughly review the data, TAC split into different groups to focus on specific sections of the Township, known as census tracts. After completing this initial assessment based on geography, TAC then evaluated the data by subcommittee: walking, biking, driving, and parking. TAC’s recommendations encompass specific needs and desires as well as overarching themes and high-level projects. Their recommendations broken down by subcommittee include:

Driving Subcommittee
 
  • Implement a formal Morris Township Traffic Calming Policy
  • Develop and implement a Morris Township Complete Streets Policy
  • Publish a “Public Projects” list on the Morris Township website
  • Apply the Traffic Calming Policy, as appropriate
  • Perform a traffic study of Hanover Ave

Biking Subcommittee
 
  • Install lane narrowing and sharrows for speed/traffic mitigation and pedestrian/bike safety on selected roadways
  • Create a Loantaka Bike/Walking Loop for resident recreation
  • Create path extensions to Frelinghuysen School/Parks/Fields into the Summit neighborhood where feasible

Walking Subcommittee
 
  • Collect, update, and adapt trail/path information and place it at a centralized location on the Township website, include:
  •  Township, county, federal and nearby municipalities paths/trails
  • Access and parking
  • Rules of the road
  • Recommend the construction of a sidewalk along Normandy Parkway
  • Fill Madison Ave sidewalk gaps between Madison Ct and Punch Bowl Rd
  • Fill sidewalk gaps to connect sidewalks between neighborhoods and recreation complexes

Parking Subcommittee
 
  • Map parking locations for trails, parks and other recreation areas where feasible for residents to view before visiting recreation facilities, whether they are Township or county-owned
What Happens Next?
 
The Township Committee continue evaluating the survey data and TAC recommendations to deliberate which recommendations to focus on in both the near and long-terms.

Desired projects that were mentioned by residents in the survey and that are already underway include the following:

  • James Street Sidewalk expansion (completed)
  • Traffic calming measures as part of Sherman Ave reconstruction project
  • Woodland Ave sidewalk project
  • Adoption of a Traffic Calming Policy
  • Adoption of a Complete Streets Policy
  • Creation of a centralized website for traffic and circulation items
  • Publish Public Project list
  • Pathways map of trails, sidewalks, parking lots, destinations
  • Sidewalk installation on Sussex Ave between Patriots Path and Sunderland Dr
  • Lake Valley Rd sidewalk project

To learn more about TAC’s work, residents are encouraged to join them for their monthly meeting on Zoom, which take place at 7:00 pm on the second Wednesday of the month. Details can be found at MorrisTwp.com

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Morris Township • 973.326.7400 • www.morristwp.com