The NJTPA bases its Regional Transportation Plan on a wide-ranging analysis of the needs of our complex and growing region. This approach to identifying needs and setting priorities includes extensive data analysis, public involvement and other planning work.
The plan is a living document developed in response to the region’s vision of its future. By considering the growth and development goals of the region, the NJTPA can set a Capital Investment Strategy – a policy-level approach to transportation spending that seeks to steer the region’s future in a desired direction.
Successful planning also depends on a robust technical analysis of transportation and land-use data. The NJTPA’s Strategy Evaluation looks at transportation data in terms of people and places, creating different ways to look at the needs of residents of cities, suburbs, town centers and rural areas. Technical analysis and modeling identify the areas most in need of improvement and suggest the best strategies to better move people and goods. In addition, certain key areas become candidates for more detailed corridor studies to improve mobility further.
Planning leads to project, but even then the NJTPA still must prioritize the region’s needs. The Project Development Work Program and Transportation Improvement Program are developed annually and contain specific projects in various stages of planning and construction. Prioritizing the hundreds of potential projects in the region is a critical and difficult task, for the region’s transportation needs consistently outstrip the resources available to address them.
Even after projects are built, the NJTPA’s planning work continues. By analyzing current transportation trends and data, the NJTPA monitors performance of transportation on a regional level. This allows future planning efforts to be adjusted as needed to better address the ever-evolving needs and challenges of this diverse and densely populated region.
More information about these various aspects of the planning process is available by clicking the links to the left.