Essex County PRT System

Stephen Lambe 16 January, 2006 Essex County PRT System

Land Use description for Essex County Essex is the second largest county in New Jersey by population. Its population was

798,301 as of July 1, 2002; which is 9.2 percent of New Jersey's total population. The median age is 34.7 years. Land area is 127 square miles. Approximately 6,298.7 persons live in each square mile. Essex County has three of the nation's major transportation centers: Newark Liberty International Airport, Port Newark and Penn Station. The population grew 2% from 1990 to 2000 and 11.9% of the population is 65 years old and over. As of the 2000 Census, there were 301,011 housing units and also 283,736 households. An average of 2.72 persons lived in each household. Total private nonfarm employment in 1999 was 334,015, which represents a 5.7% decrease from 1990. Retail sales, in 1997 were $4,518,098,000.

Existing transit service for Essex County

Essex County, by virtue of having Newark within its borders, has an extensive existing public transit system including subway, light rail, commuter rail and buses. New Jersey Transit provides these services to the residents of Essex Co. Newark is served by both buses and a subway system, a map of which is shown below as Figure

3. This subway operates above ground as well, classifying it as light rail also.

Connecting to this, as well as to the rest of the state-wide rail system, is the Newark Penn

Station which serves as a hub for the commuter rail system coming out of NYC. NJ

Transit commuter rail in Essex includes two main lines, the Morristown line serving southern Essex County and the Montclair Boonton line which travels north-south in the center of the county. Additionally, the Northeastern Corridor line proceeds from the

City, through Newark Penn Station and then south out of Essex. See figures 1 and 2 for more detail on the commuter rail system. As far as air travel is concerned, Essex’s sole airport is Newark Liberty International

Airport, serving the greater NY/NJ area with over 50 airlines operating out of it and over

400,000 flights transiting it in 2003. Newark Liberty connects into the regional train

network via Newark Liberty station, which is on the NJ Transit rail line, and also is

serviced by Newark Airtrain, taking travelers straight from the terminals to the train

station.

The commute times for county residents are shown below. Quite notable is the

fact that those using public transportation must endure over 20 more minutes of commute

each way when compared to the alternatives. This would certainly imply that many will

choose public transit alternatives if they can afford them. PRT will hopefully be able to

narrow the gap if not reverse this deficit between public and personal transportation

options.

Commuting time Number Average travel time to work 31 (minutes) Average travel time to work 51 using public transportation Average travel time to work 26 using other transportation Source: 2000 US Census Figure 1

Source: njtransit.com

Figure 2

Source: njtransit.com Figure 3

Source: njtransit.com

Description of PRT Network for Essex County

The network consists of 504 stations and 446 miles of guideway. The following table summarizes the characteristics of the network. Figure 4 provides a look at the network itself. Stations are indicated by red markers and interchanges with green markers. The network is designed with a grid in parts of Newark and Caldwell with

interconnected hubs and spokes used elsewhere.

Number of stations, interchanges 504 stations, 247 interchanges Miles of guideway 446.44 miles Total number of daily trips served 1,915,200 trips (estimated) Average passenger volume (per annum, 699,048,000 passengers estimated) Cost of track (10% rural/ 90% urban) $1.25 billion Cost of stations $504 million Overall cost $1.754 billion

Figure 4 PRT Service to Employment

Essex County has a working labor force of 364,513 individuals. Over 70% of

these do not use public transit in their commutes; commutes which average 31 minutes.

See the following table for exact figures on current transit to employment.

Transportation to work Number Percent Public transportation 61,185 18.6 Car, truck, van or 241,104 73.5 motorcycle Walk 13,922 4.2 Work at home 9,106 2.8 Source: 2000 US Census

PRT will provide for many of these workers to switch out of their vehicles and into mass

transit. The following top employers in Essex County will all be served by PRT stations

within walking distance.

Prudential Financial Verizon Public Service Electric & Gas Company Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Continental Airlines MBNA McCarter & English Sills Cummis Epstein & Gross Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione University Hospital Rutgers University University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey New Jersey Institute of Technology Gateway Security NJ Transit RBP Member Directory Source: NJ PRT 04 report, p. 111

PRT Service to Retail

Essex County has 3 main malls in its boundaries. The largest and most prominent

is the Mall at Short Hills, which houses numerous haute couture designers in addition to Macy’s and a wide selection of less expensive stores. Also present in the county are

Cedar Mall Plaza and Livingston Mall, both in Livingston. See below for web links to all three malls. Each of these is serviced by at least one PRT station. In fact Short Hills

Mall will have several stations due to its expansive size and popularity.

Cedar Mall Plaza Livingston

Livingston Mall Livingston

The Mall at Short Hills Short Hills

PRT Service to Recreation

Essex is home to a wide range of recreational facilities including parks, museums, golf courses and a handful of museums. Each park will have its own station or in certain cases where the park is less significant in size, a station will be within easy walking distance. Essex County also has twelve country clubs and private golf courses. They total approximately 2,000 acres and provide a significant area for recreation and open space.

These are listed below, with their municipality in parentheses.

 Canoe Brook Country Club (Millburn)  Cedar Hill Country Club (Livingston)  Crestmont Country Club (West Orange)  East Orange Golf Course (Millsburn)  Essex County Country Club (West Orange)  Essex Fells Country Club (Essex Fells)  Forest Hill Field Club (Bloomfield)  Green Brook Country Club (North Caldwell)  Maplewood Golf Club (Maplewood)  Montclair Golf Course (Montclair)  Mountain Ridge Country Club (West Caldwell)  Rock Springs Club (West Orange) The Essex County website makes large light of their public park system, in spite of the

fact that a report on the same website admits that the county is significantly below the

suggested acreage from the federal government. That being said, they do list every single

park, and these are all shown below. Three public golf courses are among the parks

found in Essex.

PARK ACREAGE LOCATION Anderson 14.85 Bellevue Ave. & N. Mountain Ave., Montclair Becker 147 Roseland Belleville 32.70 Belleville Ave., Belleville Branch Brook 359.72 Park Ave. & Lake St., Newark Brookdale 121.41 Watchung Ave., Bloomfield; Grove St., Montclair Eagle Rock Reservation 408.33 Prospect Ave. & Eagle Rock Ave., West Orange Francis A. Byrne Golf Course 167.71 Pleasant Valley Way & Mt. Pleasant Ave., West Orange Glenfield 20.01 Bloomfield Ave. & Maple Ave., Montclair Grover Cleveland 41.61 Brookside Ave. & Runnymede Rd., Essex Fells Hendricks Field Golf Course 124.99 Franklin Ave. & Belleville Ave., Belleville Independence 12.69 Van Buren St. & Walnut St., Newark lrvington 24.38 Grove St. & Lyons Ave., Irvington lvy Hill 19.96 Mt. Vernon Pl. & Seton Hall University, Newark Mills Reservation 157.19 Normal Ave. & Reservoir Dr., Cedar Grove Orange 47.63 Center St. & Harrison St., Orange Riker Hill Art Park 204.68 Beaufort Ave., Livingston Riverbank 10.77 Market St. & Van Buren St., Newark South Mountain Reservation 2047.14 So. Orange Ave. & Cherry Lane, West Orange Vailsburg 30.32 So. Orange Ave. & Oraton Pkwy., Newark Verona 54.32 Bloomfield Ave. & Lakeside Ave., Verona Walter Kidde Dinosaur 16 Livingston, Roseland Watsessing 69.67 Bloomfield Ave. & Conger St., Bloomfield Weequahic 311.33 Elizabeth Ave. & Meeker Ave., Newark West Essex 1361.33 Eagle Rock Ave., & Passaic River West Essex Trail 23.35 Fairview Ave., near Verona High School, Verona West Side 31.36 So. 13th St. & 18th Ave., Newark Yanticaw 28.75 Centre St. & Park Dr., Nutley Source: http://www.co.essex.nj.us/

Essex County has four museums of any significance, and websites/names are given here.

Each has a PRT station within walking distance.

Montclair Art Museum New Jersey Historical Society Museum Newark Museum Nutley Museum Source: http://www.newjerseyvisitorsnetwork.com

A visitor’s guide website provided a list of popular restaurants found in the county, and

additionally listed their own site along with municipality.

Adega Grill The Newark Club Liberté Restaurant Newark Newark Montclair Aldo's Cucina Palazzo MaizeRestaurant - Robert Wayne Montclair Treat Hotel American Bistro The Park Pub Newark Nutley Nutley The Manor The Appian Way Piccola Italia West Orange Orange Orange Nanina's in the Park Bacchus Chop House and Seabra's Marisqueira Belleville Wine Bar Newark Highlawn Pavilion Fairfield Taro Restaurant West Orange Bruschetta Restaurant Montclair Huddle Inn Fairfield Terrazza Ristorante Fairfield Cabrina's Fine Italian Food Nutley Il Tulipano Nutley Top Notch Restaurant Cedar Grove The Cloverleaf Tavern Montclair Evergreen Restaurant Caldwell Vinnie's Pizzeria & Montclair Corso 98 Restaurant Essex House Restaurant Montclair Bloomfield West Orange Desert Moon Fresh Mexican Wok N Grill Grill West Orange West Caldwell

Source: http://www.newjerseyvisitorsnetwork.com Numerous performing arts venues are also found in the county, and several, noted below,

seemed of greater importance.

Mystic Theatre Bloomfield New Jersey Performing Arts Center Newark New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Newark Paper Mill Playhouse Millburn Source: http://www.newjerseyvisitorsnetwork.com In all cases for these restaurants, museums and performing arts venues, a PRT station

nearby will provide service. PRT vehicle scheduling will take into account for large

numbers of passengers during shows or other important functions and thus will vector in

additional vehicles to meet the increased demand. In many cases the convenience of PRT

will supplant trips previously made with taxis for restaurants, as parking is often a

struggle especially when in urban areas and one dislikes dealing with the lack of privacy

and unseemliness of current mass transit bus and subway options.

PRT Service to Education

All significantly sized schools within Essex County will not only have service,

but in fact their own stations. This will thus decrease the volume of school bus and auto

traffic as students previously using either of these options will be able to transition to

PRT. The PRT system will offer reduced fare and monthly passes to school children

riding their network, much like some school districts already partner with public transit to

supplement their school bus offerings when public transit is more economical for the

district. Here are some statistics for the student population in Essex County

Persons 3 years and over enrolled in school 197,601 Preprimary school 14,562 Elementary or high school 128,881 Percent in private school 15.4 College 54,158 Source: 2000 US Census

The following lists provide the names and addresses of the largest schools of various

sizes within the county.

Largest private schools in Essex County students grades 551 6-12 1. NEWARK ACADEMY 91 South Orange Avenue, Livingston, NJ 07039 2. SACRED HEART ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 620 K-8 24 Hazelwood Avenue, Newark, NJ 07106 950 9-12 3. SETON HALL PREPARATORY SCHOOL 120 Northfield Ave, West Orange, NJ 07052 581 7-12 4. ST BENEDICT'S PREP SCHOOL 520 Martin Luther King Blvd, Newark, NJ 07102 637 K-8 5. ST MICHAEL SCHOOL 27 Crittenden St 29, Newark, NJ 071042601 1,044 PK-12 6. THE MONTCLAIR KIMBERLEY ACADEM 201 Valley Road, Montclair, NJ 07042 543 PK-8 7. TRINITY ACADEMY 235 Bloomfield Avenue, Caldwell, NJ 070065115 Source: http://nces.ed.gov/

Largest public high schools in Essex County COLUMBIA SR HIGH 17 PARKER AVE MAPLEWOOD 2017 BARRINGER 90 PARKER ST NEWARK 1960 WEST ORANGE HIGH 51 CONFORTI AVE WEST ORANGE 1931 BLOOMFIELD HIGH 160 BROAD ST BLOOMFIELD 1861 EAST ORANGE CAMPUS HS 340 PROSPECT STREET EAST ORANGE 1857 IRVINGTON HIGH SCHOOL 1253-1273 CLINTON AVE. IRVINGTON 1818 MONTCLAIR HIGH 100 CHESTNUT ST MONTCLAIR 1797 BELLVILLE SR. HIGH 100 PASSAIC AVE BELLEVILLE 1561 LIVINGSTON SR. HIGH ROBERT HARP DRIVE LIVINGSTON 1538 EAST SIDE 238 VAN BUREN ST NEWARK 1489 403 SOUTH ORANGE WEST SIDE HIGH AVE NEWARK 1404 NUTLEY HIGH 300 FRANKLIN AVE NUTLEY 1365 MALCOLM X SHABAZZ HIGH 80 JOHNSON AVE. NEWARK 1298 MILLBURN SR HIGH 462 MILLBURN AVE MILLBURN 1122 Source: http://nces.ed.gov/

Largest public middle/elementary schools in Essex County MILLBURN MIDDLE SCHOOL OLD SHORT HILLS RD MILLBURN 1085 ANN STREET 30 ANN ST NEWARK 1067 MT VERNON 142 MOUNT VERNON PL NEWARK 959 GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER 333 CLINTON PL NEWARK 930 LUIS MUNOZ MARIN MIDDLE 663 BROADWAY NEWARK 924 UNION AVE 427-455 UNION AVE. IRVINGTON 916 ABINGTON AVE 209 ABINGTON AVE NEWARK 906 DR JOHN HOWARD JR U-S-E 199 4TH AVENUE EAST ORANGE 879 DR WILLIAM H HORTON 291 N 7TH ST NEWARK 877 OLIVER ST 104 OLIVER ST NEWARK 844 FIRST AVENUE 284 FIRST AVE NEWARK 818 PESHINE AVE 433 PESHINE AVE NEWARK 813 ROOSEVELT MIDDLE 36 GILBERT PL W ORANGE 810 Source: http://nces.ed.gov/

Essex County has eight institutions of higher education; all are listed below with their

websites and municipalities. It should be noted that half are in the city of Newark, nearby to relatively high quality transit options already. However, PRT will still service each of

these with its own station so that commuters arriving from points more distant than the

Newark subway/bus network will not be left out.

Essex County Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, NJ New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, Caldwell College, Caldwell, NJ NJ Essex County College, Newark, NJ Rutgers University - Newark, Newark, NJ Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ Source: epodunk.com

Service to Housing

The density of Essex County housing is relatively high, a fact borne out in the nearly 20

percent of populace lives in apartment buildings with 20+ units. Due to this high density,

PRT will effectively give the residents of the apartments additional transit options that

offer great flexibility and a much higher level of service than currently available. In

designing the network for Essex, preference was given to those areas and those housing

units with a higher density since these would yield more passengers and thus a more cost

effective station.

Number Percent Total housing units 301,011 100.0

Units in structure

1-unit, detached 103,183 34.3

1-unit, attached 11,848 3.9

2 units 43,847 14.6

3 or 4 units 48,235 16.0

5 to 9 units 19,146 6.4 10 to 19 units 16,509 5.5

20 or more units 57,987 19.3

Mobile home 221 0.1

Boat, RV, van, etc. 35 0.0

Source: 2000 US Census