Regional News Roundup
A comprehensive roundup of transportation-related news – from daily, weekly and online media outlets – compiled and posted every few days.
Through January 31, 2012
COUNTY: OCEANIC REPAIRS ON SCHEDULE
RedBankGreen.com, 1/30/12. Fingers crossed, but so far, the repair job on the Oceanic Bridge over the Navesink River between Middletown and Rumson is going like clockwork, thanks to relatively mild winter weather.
Central Jersey: Hard to define, easy to love; Online debate persists over where, what it is
Asbury Park Press, 1/30/12. A question posed to registered subscribers of a Garden State subsection of the social news website reddit.com were asked a simple question: “Do only North and South Jersey exist, or is there such a thing as a ‘Central Jersey?’ ” More than 200 comments later, little seemed to be settled.
Why Do Some Cities Get Car Shares and Others Not? The Answer…
Transportation Nation, 1/30/12. So how do ZipCar, Hertz On Demand, Car2Go or any of the other car sharing startups pick between cities when plotting their exponential expansion? According to the companies, mass transit is a big factor.
West Milford officials call for streetscape progress
Suburban Trends, 1/29/12. Some local representatives are calling for a renewed focus on a pair of specific streetscape matters in 2012, which could launch a series of stakeholder meetings in the coming months.
Road Warrior: Light rail coming but maybe not to Tenafly
The Record, 1/29/12. Whaddya know! Some of us thought it would never happen, but the Day of Reckoning is here. The trolleys are coming.
Frustrated Flanders homeowners await new bridge to town
Star-Ledger, 1/29/12. FLANDERS — Marriage is for better or for worse. That unspoken thought passed between Phil, 60, and Meg Costello, 56, on their 36th wedding anniversary as they slowly, laboriously carried heating oil in 5-gallon drums — weighing roughly 40 pounds each — across two footbridges to their home on Mill Road in Flanders.
Herald News: In need of a master plan
Herald News/northjersey.com, 1/29/12. ONE REASON mass transit is such a hard sell in the suburbs is because the long-term benefits of a rail line are often appreciated after its completion, rather than before it is built. Another reason is people just don’t want it. Just ask the residents of Tenafly.
Congressman warns U.S. faces possible cuts in counterterrorism funding
Star Ledger, 1/28/12. The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said yesterday he was impressed with the police presence and other security measures he saw while touring transportation and port facilities along the northern New Jersey waterfront.
Reviewing Hudson tunnels and transit sites that are still considered top targets of terrorist acts
Jersey Journal, 1/28/12. WEEHAWKEN -- “The fact is that the New York City metro area, including New Jersey and Long Island, remains the number one target for al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorists,” said Peter King, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. U.S. Rep. Albio Sires, D-West New York, met with King, D-N.Y., at the Port Authority Administration Building in Weehawken, located at 500 Boulevard East, to discuss homeland security issues yesterday afternoon.
Journeying on historic U.S. Route 1 in New Jersey
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM, 1/28/12. A recent toll hike on the New Jersey Turnpike has folks, for at least a moment, talking and thinking about U.S. Route 1.
Hoboken and Jersey City are both doing surveys to help shape bike-sharing programs they hope to launch as early as summer
Jersey Journal, 1/27/12. The Mile Square City could have a new transportation alternative by this summer. The city of Hoboken has posted a bike share survey to collect information from residents on the possibility of installing a bike-sharing system in time for this summer. Jersey City, meanwhile, hopes to have the survey up on its website and Facebook page today.
Community transportation comes to Sussex County
Township Journal, 1/27/12. SUSSEX COUNTY — After years of planning, studies and surveys by Sussex County Public Transportation, an overhauled, countywide, community transit system has gone into effect that is aimed at servicing more than just the senior community.
Rutgers infrastructure and transportation center awarded $3.5M grant
The Star Ledger, 1/27/12. The blacktop workshop in Piscataway is part of the university’s Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation, which last week was awarded a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in an increasingly competitive selection process that left the the center one of only 10 remaining U.S. DOT Tier I university transportation centers in America.
Lautenberg Urges House Transportation Committee Leaders To Maintain Truck Limits
NJ Today, 1/27/12. WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the House Transportation Committee prepares to unveil its surface transportation reauthorization legislation, U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) has called on committee leaders to leave out any language that would increase the size or weight limits for trucks on our highways.
Alliance for Biking & Walking Releases 2012 Benchmarking Report
Mobilizing the Region, 1/26/12. This week, the Alliance for Biking and Walking released its 2012 Benchmarking Report, and the timing is impeccable. As Streetsblog points out, the release coincides with the soon-to-appear national surface transportation bill, and in the tri-state region, it comes just after state legislatures have gotten into full swing.
Letters: N.J. toll road drivers are taking an unfair hit with increase
Atlanticville, 1/26/12. New Jersey Turnpike Authority Commissioner Michael DuPont’s justification of a 50 percent toll increase is an example of the arrogance and disdain displayed against drivers on toll roads by the toll authority, but this is not surprising.
FAIR HAVEN TO DIM ‘RUNWAY’ WATTAGE
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna says it looks like “an airport runway,” and he’s not the only one who marvels at the candlepower along River Road in neighboring Fair Haven. ... The sarcasm, however, may be in for a dial-back soon – at least as it regards late-night travel along the road.
Route 571 in Jackson due for improvements
Tri_town News, 1/26/12. JACKSON — An estimated $4 million road improvement project planned for Route 571 near Francis Mills in Jackson is among a list of 21 pending projects scheduled to be completed during the next decade, according to documents released by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Menendez bill offers incentives for natural-gas vehicles
The Record, 1/26/12. A bill co-sponsored by Sen. Bob Menendez would provide the kinds of incentives for more natural-gas-powered trucks and buses that President Obama called for Thursday.
Englewood light-rail hearing draws supporters for project
The Record, 1/26/12. ENGLEWOOD – NJ Transit’s Thursday afternoon meeting on extending the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system into eastern Bergen county drew roughly 100 people, most of them eager to see the electrical trolley cars roll through their communities – though with several caveats.
Parkway toll cheating down, but thousands of violations have been waived
Asbury Park Press, 1/26/12. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s crackdown on exact-change lane toll violators on the Garden State Parkway continues to discourage cheaters as the violations rate dropped from 9 percent to 3 percent. But authority officials also had to waive 10,551 of the 87,120 violation notices issued as of Jan. 23, said Thomas Feeney, authority spokesman.
***NJTPA Mention***
Hudson freeholders to study express bus service between Jersey City and Bayonne
Jersey Journal, 1/25/12. Hudson County is set to take one step closer to connecting Journal Square in Jersey City to Bayonne with an express bus service. The Hudson County Board of Freeholders who met for a caucus yesterday afternoon will introduce a resolution at their regular meeting scheduled to start at 6 p.m. tomorrow at the County Annex, 567 Pavonia Ave., to award a $192,000 contract to Newark-based transportation consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff to prepare a Bus Rapid Transit Study for the two cities. ... The study is being funded with a grant from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.
Bowman Road Bridge Repairs On Schedule for September Completion
J-Town, 1/25/12. With A March 15 deadline looming, initial work to replace the Bowman Road Bridge in Jackson Township is under way.
Grant may open pathway to Union Transport trail in U.F.
Examiner, 1/25/12. UPPER FREEHOLD — Residents may be able to access the Monmouth County Park System’s (MCPS) Union Transport trail via the municipal complex property if the township receives a grant to construct a walkway to the trail, which runs behind the site.
Aberdeen reworking road program
Independent, 1/25/12. ABERDEEN — Township officials have decided to prioritize roads in need of repair after falling a year behind on the road program.
Update: Tenafly officials, residents vow to fight light-rail plan
The Record, 1/24/12. TENAFLY — Residents and officials on Tuesday blasted a plan to extend the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail through the community, saying it would bring pollution, accidents and noisy train horns.
PATH trains handled record ridership in 2011
The Star-Ledger, 1/24/12. JERSEY CITY — PATH ridership reached an all-time high in 2011, when the 76.6 million trips on the interstate subway system marked a 3.6 percent increase over the year before, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.
***NJTPA Mention***
QUO VADIS?
GlobeSt.com, 1/24/12. Where is the state going in terms of development? That’s being determined right now, as the latest revision to update the 2001 New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan is now at the public hearing stage – and it couldn’t come at a more critical time for the state.
Plan to extend light rail service into easter Bergen County faces test today
The Record, 1/24/12. Tenafly could lose 12 private properties. As many as 126 employees at an Englewood business could have to relocate. And up to 1,255 homes could be within earshot of horns from passing light rail and freight trains. This is some of the impact residents could face if a decades-old plan to bring light rail service, similar to electric trolleys, to eastern Bergen County moves forward.
Study finds dangers of walking with headphones
Daily Targum, 1/24/12. Injuries among pedestrians wearing headphones have more than tripled in the last six years, according to a University of Maryland study.
PATH system reports record ridership for 2011
Jersey Journal, 1/24/12. In spite of a 25 cents per ride fare increase that took effect in September, the Port Authority's PATH rail system reported record ridership in 2011, officials said today.
Region Feels Effects of Transit Tax Hike
Mobilizing the Region, 1/23/12. Transit riders throughout the tri-state region are facing heavy financial burdens after the transit commuter benefit was rolled back on January 1.
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