'What is a 'Stroad?' Why Route 1 is a perfect example
Transportation experts say roads like Route 1 are designed to move traffic quickly while also serving businesses and neighborhoods — a combination that can create safety challenges for drivers and pedestrians.
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Most people know the difference between a road and a street. But transportation experts say many of New Jersey's busiest highways are actually something in between — a "stroad."
The term combines the words "street" and "road" to describe corridors that are expected to do both jobs at once: move traffic quickly while also providing access to businesses, homes and other destinations.
Route 1 is one of the most recognizable examples in New Jersey.
A road gets you somewhere, while a street is somewhere.
"A stroad tries to be both," says Dr. Michael Smart, a professor of transportation planning at Rutgers University.
According to Smart, that creates a design problem.
"Everything about it tells you you should drive fast," he said. "It looks like a highway. But you also have a lot of driveways, so you're driving very fast and braking very often."
Experts say that combination can increase conflict points for drivers while also making it more difficult—and dangerous—for pedestrians trying to cross multiple lanes of traffic.
Leigh Ann Von Hagen, executive director of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University, says improving these corridors starts with deciding what they are meant to be.
"If we want people to spend time in a place, we should make those streets safer and more attractive," Von Hagen said. "For stroads, we need to think about land use and how to minimize the problems these roadways create."
Transportation planners say New Jersey has many examples of stroads, particularly along state highways that have evolved over time as commercial development has expanded.
