Montclair Planning Board Approves 'Safe Streets' Plan

MONTCLAIR, NJ — After years of debate, the Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) Complete Streets Implementation Plan gained a key thumbs-up from the Montclair Planning Board earlier this week.

On Monday, the planning board voted 8-1 to incorporate the SAFE Complete Streets plan into the town’s master plan. Watch a video of the meeting below.

The Montclair Town Council previously commissioned the SAFE Complete Streets plan with a grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The plan's purpose is to “provide guidance to ensure that Montclair’s streets are designed to encourage safe driving, bicycling and walking and to advance the township’s SAFE/Complete Streets philosophy.”

See the plan here.

The board’s vote will amend the master plan’s circulation component to include Safe Streets, but as a design guide, not a directive, Montclair Local reported.

Montclair council member Peter Yacobellis said he commended the planning board for taking a “historic action” on its transportation infrastructure.

Yacobellis said:

“I want to thank the previous council and community leaders for all of the years of work that went into this. We wouldn't be here without them. I'm grateful to Mayor Spiller for his progressive vision and to Councilwoman Schlager for her support from a Planning Board perspective. I also want to thank the Montclair Police Department for their strong endorsement and of course Bike & Walk Montclair for their tireless work to get us here. Lastly, I want to thank the residents and business owners from all four wards of Montclair taking the time to make their voices heard. We can design a safer future for Montclair and thanks to this action, we're now on the right path.”

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