To address traffic safety concerns, a new traffic bureau has begun in Cranbury.
On April 11, Cranbury Police Department officials announced that with the addition of two new officers to the police force, the department has reassigned veterans Michael Cipriano and Jillian Dworzanski to the newly launched Traffic Safety Bureau.
According to officials, Cipriano and Dworzanski will carry out the day-to-day operations of the new bureau.
“Traffic Safety is routinely regarded as the number one quality of life concern by the residents of Cranbury. The addition of the Traffic Safety Bureau will allow the department to better address this issue,” Cranbury Police Chief Rickey Varga said. “Over the past decade, the level of traffic safety that our residents are accustomed to has been challenged due to both residential and commercial growth in and around Cranbury.”
The idea of the Cranbury Traffic Safety Bureau is to put two officers where pedestrian safety is the top priority, Cranbury officials said.
“They make sure traffic is getting consistent focus over the course of the week,” Committeeman Mike Ferrante said.
Varga said officers Cipriano and Dworzanski will heighten traffic safety awareness through enforcement and programs, which will target traffic safety needs specific to Cranbury.
“With feedback from the Department’s Traffic Complaint System and use of specialized equipment such as the covert traffic counter, we have identified and are prepared to target all of our traffic safety concerns,” he said. “Enforcement strategies will place an emphasis on motor vehicle stops and summonses for those drivers violating motor vehicle laws. Traffic awareness programs will be deployed to educate motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians alike in an effort to share in the responsibility of traffic safety. Programs will be geared towards interactive awareness with the public.”
The use of electronic speed signs, message boards, banners and lawn signs will complement the speeding, distracted driving and pedestrian crosswalk enforcement and awareness campaigns, according to department officials.
“In addition, officers will work with children through programs specifically designed to help them better understand their role in traffic safety,” Varga said. “Investing our children in traffic safety not only helps to insure their safety now, but also better prepares them to understand and appreciate the importance of traffic safety when they find themselves in the driver’s seat. Our steadfast goal is to keep Cranbury one of the safest communities in the state.”
The traffic bureau will serve the community all year long.
“The officers will focus on high pedestrian hours Monday through Friday during daylight hours. This is not a temporary thing; it will be a permanent structure of the police force,” Ferrante said.
John Glennon and Nicholas Rodrigues were the recently hired police officers in Cranbury. The two will raise the number of officers on the force to 19. They are assigned to the Patrol Division.
He said prior to the traffic bureau, the function of traffic safety was shared among the responsibilities of the 19 officers on the force.