Citizen's Guide to Transportation Planning in North Jersey
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Citizen’s Guide to Transportation Planning in Northern New Jersey North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Inc. This publication is financed by the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The NJTPA is solely responsible for its contents. NJTPA’s host agency is the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Illustrations by Dean Stanton Citizen’s Guide to Transportation Planning in Northern New Jersey One Newark Center, 17th Floor Newark, NJ 07102 973-639-8400 Fax: 973-639-1953 www.njtpa.org Sussex Passaic Bergen Warren NJTPA Region Morris Essex Hudson NEWARK Population (2010) Union 6.6 million Hunterdon JERSEY CITY Somerset Employment (2010) Middlesex 3.7 million Monmouth Ocean 2 Citizen’s Guide to the NJTPA and Transportation Planning Introduction ment. The NJTPA thinks about he purpose of this Citi- the region’s transportation system zen’s Guide is to give an in the decades to come and sets overview of how regional broad goals and priorities that are Ttransportation planning takes then reflected in regional invest- place in northern and central ments. New Jersey and to let you know Early and active involvement how you can participate in this means greater influence over how important process. The guide millions—even billions—of public points out various opportunities dollars get spent in our region. for public involvement during the planning process. One thing to remember is that the earlier you get involved in the process, the more you can influence the future of our region, your county, your municipality and even your own neighborhood. Many of the most important decisions regarding a transpor- tation project are made years before a shovel breaks ground, during the early stages of regional planning and project develop- 3 What is the NJTPA and The NJTPA evaluates and what does it do? approves proposed transporta- The NJTPA is the Metropolitan tion improvement projects and Planning Organization (MPO) for programs. We also provide a 13 counties in northern and forum for cooperative transpor- central New Jersey. The federal tation planning efforts involv- government authorizes MPOs to ing counties, municipalities and conduct regional transportation government agencies. We sponsor planning and oversee transporta- various transportation and plan- tion investment. This planning ning studies, assist county and process ensures your transpor- city planning agencies and moni- tation taxes are invested wisely tor our region’s compliance with to improve mobility, promote national air quality goals. economic activity and safeguard the environment. Ultimately, all Who makes NJTPA projects that use federal trans- decisions? portation dollars must be planned The NJTPA Board of Trustees and approved through the NJTPA. ultimately makes the critical The NJTPA oversees the invest- regional planning and funding ment of more than $1 billion a decisions that shape our region’s year in federal transportation future. The NJTPA staff works funding in our 13-county region. for the Board, providing technical guidance and support. The majority of the NJTPANJTPA Board Board of TTrusteesrustees 20-member board is made up of elected Bergen Essex Hudson Hunterdon Middlesex officials from the region. The Board membership Monmouth MorrisOcean Passaic Jersey City is shown at the left. The Board of Trust- Somerset SussexUnion Warren Newark ees meets the second Governor’s Citizen Port Monday of every other NJDOT Rep Advisor Authority NJ Transit month (commencing in County Transit January) at the NJTPA Subregions Providers City Appointed offices in downtown Subregions Representatives Newark. All meetings 4 numerous communities over wide areas. A problem at one location, like a bridge closure or traffic tie-up, can spill over into sur- rounding areas and hamper the movement of large numbers of travelers. Recognizing this reality, the federal government in the early are open to the public. The Board 1970s required urbanized regions of Trustees also has standing of the country—areas with more committees that review potential than 50,000 people that consti- NJTPA actions, discuss agency tute distinct “commutersheds”— activities and make recommenda- to establish formal planning tions to the full Board. The com- bodies for transportation. mittees—Planning and Economic Composed of local elected Development, Project Prioritiza- officials and state agency repre- tion and Freight Initiatives—meet sentatives, these Metropolitan in the months when the Board does not. All meetings are open to the public. Many of the counties and cities represented on the NJTPA Board—known as “subregions”— have transportation committees or advisory boards that meet regularly. Planners and engineers from the subregions participate in a Regional Transportation Advi- sory Committee. Planning Organizations or MPOs were tasked with achieving History & Legislation regional agreement on transpor- Regional planning bodies like the tation investments. In 1991, the NJTPA were created to address federal Intermodal Transporta- a simple fact about transporta- tion Efficiency Act, or ISTEA, tion facilities: They span and link greatly enhanced the authority of 5 MPOs. It required their approval for allocating federal funding for many types of highway and transit projects. MPOs were also given responsibility for oversee- ing compliance with air quality standards. As explained below, the Subsequent federal laws, NJTPA’s investment priorities including the current law, Moving guide the state’s “implementing Ahead for Progress in the 21st agencies”—principally, the New Century (MAP-21), have contin- Jersey Department of Transporta- ued to strengthen the regional tion (NJDOT) and NJ Transit— planning conducted by MPOs. which oversee project design, In New Jersey, the NJTPA is one engineering and construction. of three MPOs; the two others Nationwide there are nearly are the South Jersey Transporta- 400 MPOs. The NJTPA, serving tion Planning Organization 6.6 million people, is the fifth which covers four counties in largest in terms of population. the southeastern part of the state; and the Delaware Valley Regional The Regional Planning Commission which Transportation Plan covers Philadelphia and surround- A key NJTPA function is devel- ing counties including four in oping and updating the region’s South Jersey. Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). This long-range plan is a blueprint for 25 years of transpor- tation investment. It is a critical document, because all federally funded transportation projects in the region must flow from the plan. Inclusion in the plan is the all important first step toward making a transportation project idea into reality. The NJTPA updates the plan every four years to reflect our region’s ever- 6 Online Project evolving conditions and priorities. Info & Mapping Federal regulations put limits on the plan. It can only contain The NJTPA Online Transportation projects that the region can rea- Information System or NOTIS sonably expect to afford over the offers citizens an interactive life of the plan. online tool to search and map a In developing the plan and in conducting its ongoing planning wide range of information about activities, the NJTPA analyzes transportation projects and data on many aspects of the studies in the region. Access region and its transportation NOTIS at the NJTPA webpage: system. The data include where www.njtpa.org. and how people travel, pavement condition ratings, accident rates, trends in housing and commer- and identify current needs for cial development and a host of improvement. other measures. Analyzing the The NJTPA often uses data allows the NJTPA to assess Geographic Information Systems how the system is performing (GIS) to array data on maps Organizing the Work Hundreds of planners, engineers and other professionals work on transportation planning in northern New Jersey. This includes the NJTPA staff as well as the staffs of the 15 city and county “subregions” and of state agencies. Two planning tools help organize, direct and coordinate this work: Strategic Business Plan Unified Planning Work Establishes the opera- Program (UPWP) tional policies, goals and Summarizes the transporta- objectives of the Board to tion planning activities of the support the mission of the NJTPA staff and other agencies NJTPA. Updated every five years. in the region. Updated annually. 7 to better assess patterns and large stretches of our regional relationships—for instance, how transportation system and a wide population growth in one area variety of transportation alterna- is affecting traffic volumes or tives—road, rail, bicycle, pedes- transit ridership there. trian and possibly more. Many of The NJTPA also develops these studies are conducted by the forecasts of future conditions and NJDOT, NJ Transit and NJTPA needs. This involves using com- staff. The city and county puter models—essentially, desktop subregions support these efforts simulations of the transportation through planning and studies of system—to predict how current needs at a more local level. trends will affect future trans- In developing the RTP, the portation system performance. NJTPA meets extensively with its This allows the NJTPA Board planning partners—cities, coun- to develop policies that can help ties and state agencies—through- shape the future of transportation. out the region. And, of course, the The RTP also reflects findings public plays a key role in putting of corridor studies which examine together this important