If you live, work, or study in Bergen, Monmouth counties, or the urban areas of Passaic, Essex and Union Counties, EZ Ride TMA is your Transportation Management Association (TMA) funded by NJDOT and NJDHTS to provide free safety programs. EZ Ride seeks to improve pedestrian and road safety, transportation access, and to reduce congestion, air pollution and traffic injuries by working with business, government agencies, schools, and other partners to address transportation challenges. EZ Ride’s wide-ranging services include shuttles, transportation for older adults and those without cars, speed studies, a program called EZ Wheels 4 Work providing refurbished bicycles for people to get to work, as well as a full range of bicycle, pedestrian and driver safety programs focused on education, pedestrian and street safety campaigns, and infrastructure audits and improvements.

EZ Ride’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Team regularly provides bike and walking audits of neighborhood areas to assess and make recommendations for safety. Their team makes bicycle, pedestrian, walking, e-scooter, e-bike, and driving safety talks for schools, senior groups, scout groups and other community groups and can teach people how to ride a bike or how to ride safely. They also work with schools and municipalities to adopt Complete streets and SRTS policies to promote biking and walking and make roads safer for all users. They also promote Walk and Roll days and Golden Sneaker events for students in October and a NJ Walk & Roll campaign and biking events in May. You can see their campaign here: https://ezride.org/transportation/bikepedestrian-program/walk-bike-roll-challenge/

Since 2020, the intersection of Hope Avenue & Monroe Street in Passaic has experienced 48 car crashes, four pedestrian crashes, and four bicyclists crashes. On May 1st, EZ Ride’s Bike and Pedestrian team partnered with the City of Passaic to install a temporary Complete Streets demonstration project to show the community how the intersection can be made safer. Complete Streets make the roads safer for users of all ages and abilities, including pedestrians, cyclists, Seniors and other vulnerable users.

Striped high visibility crosswalks and a bright intersection mural help alert drivers to the presence of pedestrians; with studies showing that these murals slow drivers. EZ Ride also painted yellow striped areas on corners and installed delineators to prevent cars from parking and to help drivers see pedestrians waiting to cross. The painted areas also shorten the crossing area for pedestrians. The team engaged residents after the installation to gather feedback about safety in the area. We also are collecting community input using surveys with the end goal of making these types of changes permanent.

In addition, EZ Ride will partner with Passaic’s Recreation department to hold two Learn to Ride classes and a Bike Safety Skills class for children and youth or adults. The EZ Ride Bike and Pedestrian Team has encouraged walking and biking in Passaic for several years, including the following results:

  • Conducted Safe Routes to School safety talks to 1,122 Passaic students, in three schools and helped them to win SRTS Recognition Awards since January 2022
  • Worked with the Passaic Schools Superintendent and BOE to help them adopt a district-wide SRTS Policy in March 2023
  • Conducted two SRTS walk and bike audits which enabled the City to win a $425,000 SRTS Infrastructure grant in 2022.
  • Encouraged children’s independence and healthy lifestyle habits

For more information on how to make your roads safer or to work with EZ Ride to implement Complete Streets in your community, be sure to visit their website https://ezride.org/transportation/bikepedestrian-program/ or email info@ezride.org.