Putting the Focus on School Zones and Youth leadership: A Recap of the 2026 NJ Safe Routes Academy

The 2026 New Jersey Bike & Walk Summit, hosted by the NJ Bike & Walk Coalition, was a resounding success, bringing together attendees from across the state who are committed to advancing bicycle and pedestrian safety. This diverse group of elected officials, urban planners, community advocates, and researchers came together to share expertise and explore innovative approaches for creating safer, more walkable communities. Through dynamic discussions and collaborative sessions, participants advanced a collective vision for improving mobility and strengthening active transportation opportunities throughout New Jersey.

As part of the annual Summit, the NJDOT Safe Routes Academy attracts a diverse audience eager to empower their communities through practical informative and hands-on sessions highlighting best practices and resources that participants can use to increase safety and accessibility in their communities, prioritizing Safe Routes to School. Sessions provided participants with tools, policies, and success stories they could apply to their own communities.

The following is a brief recap of each session:

Session One: Start with the School Zone

The first session, moderated by Bill Riviere, (Division of Safety Programs & Transportation Data, NJDOT), focused on why people looking to make their community safer for walking and bicycling should focus on school zones. Presenters Sean Meehan and James Sinclair of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center discussed best practices available for improving school zone safety, both infrastructure changes as well as ideas for short term lower cost projects that can still make a big impact. Through the interactive presentation, attendees explored a variety of school zone improvements form throughout New Jersey, highlighting what they like, what they didn’t like, and discussion whether these improvements really had an impact on decreasing speeds in the school zone.  The session culminated in interactive breakout groups, where small groups of attendees worked together with a facilitator to look at pictures from select school zones throughout New Jersey to brainstorm what short-term and long-term interventions could help make those school zones safer. Attendees left the session equipped with new ideas and new recommendations for creating safer, more effective school zones in their own communities.

Session Two: Rethinking our Roads with Youth Leadership

Our second session, once again moderated by Bill Riviere (Division of Safety Programs & Transportation Data, NJDOT), focused on effective and meaningful strategies for engaging youth as true partners in transportation planning. After a short presentation on efforts to increase high school student participation in New Jersey’s Safe Routes to School program given by Sean Meehan (Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center), Isabella “Izzy” Gonzalez (Keep Middlesex Moving, Inc.) led a discussion on why empowering young people with the skills, tools, and platforms to share their perspectives is critical to shaping communities that work for everyone. Sangeeta Badlandi (Nikhil Badlani Foundation & Families for Safe Streets NJ) discussed the successes of Nikhil Badlani Foundation Youth Advisory Board groups, highlighting how the Youth Advisory Board provides an opportunity for students to express their ideas and develop recommendations for traffic safety projects. The highlight of the session was hearing directly from Angie and Autumn; two members of the Dunellen Youth Advisory Board who spoke on their experiences working on their own community to engage their peers, educate their community, and advocate for safer streets.