"Slow Down in Our Town"  Press Conference Held  at LMS
Tuesday, October 24, 2006

OCT. 24, 2006 – Middlesex County and Dunellen Borough officials gathered this morning with school children, parents and law enforcement personnel to expand the Middlesex County “Slow Down in Our Town” pedestrian safety program.

In an effort to combat speeding in residential neighborhoods, “Slow Down in Our Town” enlists the use of a new sign designed as part of a student contest in March. Monroe Township 15-year-old Destiny Griggs’ winning design reads “Slow. Residential Zone,” and depicts children, a dog and a ball.

Twenty signs will be erected this week in the neighborhood surrounding Lincoln Middle School and the High School in Dunellen. Some 375 signs will be erected throughout the County as the program rolls out.

““Slow Down in Our Town” is the perfect example of the County working with its residents – including the youngest among us – to effect real change,” said Freeholder H. James Polos, chair of the County’s Public Works and Transportation Committee. “It’s a program that was embraced by the school children and their parents and one that we feel will help us protect our children. We are thrilled Dunellen has agreed to work with us and thank our municipal partners and their residents for their cooperation.”

Polos joined Dunellen Mayor Robert J. Seader and Police Chief Gerard Cappella to unveil the first sign.

Dunellen is the second Middlesex County municipality to participate in the program. South Brunswick began displaying the signs late last month.

“I’m honored to have the “Slow Down in Our Town” program in Dunellen,” Mayor Seader said. “Anytime you raise awareness and slow traffic, it helps all of us.”

Seader said the County program falls in line with a number of traffic-calming measures the Borough has initiated, including restricting trucks over 4 tons from the roads near the schools.

Chief Cappella said the County program will enhance local law enforcement efforts, which include a radar trailer that tells drivers how fast they are traveling and stand-up signs in the middle of the road that tell motorists to yield to pedestrians.

“We can’t be everywhere. The signs will draw the attention of the driving public,” Cappella said. “The “Slow Down in Our Town” program shows the County cares, we care and our residents care about the safety of our neighborhoods.”

 In February of 2005, Safe Kids Middlesex County and the Level One Trauma Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, in collaboration with Freeholder Polos' office, sponsored a Central Jersey Forum to bring together members of local municipalities to discuss the issue of speeding in residential areas. From this was born a task force that developed and implemented the Middlesex County “Design a Sign” Contest, held this past spring and open to all students in public and private schools around the County.

The name for the County’s “Slow Down in Our Town” initiative came from another entry in the student design contest. The phrase appeared on an entry submitted by Michelle Lavash, who attends Linwood Middle School in North Brunswick. She and Destiny Griggs were recognized at this morning’s unveiling ceremony.

“The contest got a much bigger response than I ever thought," Diana Starace, Safe Kids Middlesex County Coordinator, said. "This is exciting. I truly hope and believe it will help.” Starace, the injury-prevention coordinator at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, lives in Dunellen. She learned that, despite the town being only 1-square mile, most children were driven to school because parents didn't feel it was safe for them to walk.

 The Student Council of Lincoln Middle School fully supports this campaign, which encourages the community to be more aware of their speed when driving through Dunellen. The student council wants to help local law enforcement make this happen. They want to “take back their streets” so that pedestrian and biking activities are safe for everyone, especially the youth in their town. LMS Student Council president, Chelsea Suarez, quoted statistics about pedestrians and motor vehicle crashes and spoke about the importance of the campaign with regard to the safety of the entire student body. The group will be helping to promote the campaign to the community in a variety of ways, including fundraising for the purchase of additional signs for the community.