Ever since the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) adopted its Complete Streets policy in December 2009, New Jersey county and municipal governments have adopted similar policies or have been discussing the potential to adopt similar policies. NJDOT’s Complete Streets policy encourages these local policies and NJDOT awards an extra point for Local Aid applications if a county or municipality has a policy on the books. Despite this interest and encouragement, county and municipal officials report that when it comes to implementation of Complete Streets designs, their main concern is liability.

In response to these concerns, Tri-State is releasing the New Jersey Complete Streets Liability Primer, intended to be used by local officials and employees interested in passing Complete Streets policies or implementing Complete Streets designs. It contains a basic overview of liability issues related to roadway planning and design in New Jersey, highlights the benefits of Complete Streets designs, and provides information about Complete Streets planning resources. Tri-State has included similar liability primers in the “Complete Streets in a Box Toolkits” released last year in New York and Connecticut.

The Primer also includes statements from the Federal Highway Administration that underscore the importance designing and building roadways that accommodate all users:

With every passing year, the courts become less and less sympathetic to agencies that have not understood the message: bicyclists and pedestrians are intended users of the roadway… highway and recreational facilities that fail to fully incorporate the needs of all users increase the likelihood of potential court settlements in favor of those who are excluded.

This document provides local officials and employees with an introduction to the basic issues related to implementation of Complete Streets policies and designs, and ultimately concludes that local streets and county roads designed to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians are not subject to different legal requirements than any other roadway planning or design decisions.