A panel of national and state experts focused on the role of transportation in a future marked by steeply rising energy costs, global warming and economic uncertainties at a "Transportation 2035" symposium on June 26, sponsored by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA).
The symposium was held to explore issues that will be addressed in the NJTPA’s updated long range Regional Transportation Plan, which is scheduled for adoption next summer. A panel of six experts addressed more than 100 participants and responded to their questions.
NJTPA Chairman Susan M. Zellman said it was a “valuable and and productive” session. The speakers, she said, “helped us understand the issues and factors that come into play as we go about the serious business of planning the future of transportation in our region.”
The six speakers were:
- James W. Hughes, Dean, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University
- Joseph Giglio, Senior Academic Specialist and Executive Professor of General Management, Northeastern University
- Daniel Lerch, Program Manager, Post Carbon Institute, Post Carbon Cities Program
- Anne Canby, President, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership
- Eileen Swan, Executive Director, New Jersey Highlands Council
- Robert Ceberio, Executive Director, New Jersey Meadowlands Commission
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Experts (l to r): Robert Ceberio, New Jersey Meadowlands Commission; Christine Danis, New Jersey Highlands Council; Daniel Lerch, Post Carbon Institute; Joseph Giglio, Northeastern University; Anne Canby, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership; and James W. Hughes, Rutgers University. |
This special issue of the Communiqué features articles summarizing the presentations at the symposium. Audio files and slideshows are available at www.njpta.org.
The 2035 transportation plan the NJTPA is preparing will be more than a routine update to meet federal requirements, NJTPA Executive Director Mary K. Murphy said in welcoming remarks. The issues of global warming, the environment, fuel scarcity—and heightened citizen awareness of these issues—create an impetus “to make this plan very different, to really stretch what the NJTPA and this region is thinking about as it prepares the 2035 plan,” she said.
The symposium was the first of many opportunities for the public to become involved in the development of the 2035 plan. This includes an online survey, an interactive website, roundtable discussions on special topics and outreach meetings to be held in each of the 13 counties and two cities on the NJTPA board. More information is available at www.njtpa.org.
"Today’s symposium is a starting point," said Chairman Susan M. Zellman. “We look forward to your participation in the outreach efforts and focus groups helping to form our 2035 plan.”
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Dean James W. Hughes of Rutgers University |
New Jersey is on the cusp of a profound transformation of its "economy, demography and geography" in response to higher energy costs, climate change, lower population growth and increased global competition, among other hard realities. That was the message of James W. Hughes, Dean, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, in opening remarks at NJTPA’s June 26 symposium.
The transformation, Hughes said, has parallels in two other eras of change—first, the transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy at the turn of the century, which was accompanied by waves of European immigrants and large-scale urbanization; then again at mid-century with the transition to a knowledge-based economy, accompanied by immigration from Asia and Latin American and suburbanization.
Now, said Hughes, “New Jersey will have to reinvent itself again.” He noted that “the dynamics that underpinned the geography of the second great transformation—cheap energy, automobile dependency and consumption of vast swaths of land and vast numbers of resources—have obviously changed dramatically and are no longer sustainable.”
Among other challenges, New Jersey will have to cope with dramatically higher energy prices. This means for the first time, said Hughes, “distance matters greatly.” Lengthy commutes and distribution of goods from neighboring states and around the globe may no longer be viable.
While the rapid pace of technological change will create economic opportunities in the next 25 years, New Jersey will also face stiff competition from other states and nations. Without investments in a “a comprehensive multimodal transportation grid,” he warned, New Jersey will “cease to become a competitive economic player.”
Part of the competition, he said, will involve attracting an educated and skilled work force, long one of the state’s strengths. During the past decade, immigration from abroad has filled losses from declining population. “The question is,” said Hughes, “will New Jersey continue to be an economic magnet?”
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Anne P. Canby, President, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership |
The world has changed, and so must regional transportation planning in the NJTPA region, according to Anne P. Canby, a nationally recognized advocate for transportation reform.
Canby, President of the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership in Washington, D.C., and a former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, had a clear and sharp assessment of how well the region has prepared for a future where soaring energy costs will transform the economy and transportation.
"We’re not ready for it," she said.
Canby said the NJTPA’s next long-range plan must strengthen the connection between transportation and land use. The rising cost of energy means that people can no longer assume transportation will be cheap. That means they will decide where to live and work based on the combined cost of housing and transportation.
"Energy is clearly a front and center issue and has to be incorporated into anything we do with transportation from here on out," she said.
Shifting demographics also will have a strong effect on transportation, with the region seeing an aging population and fewer households with children. The plan also should look at how to improve reliability (“It’s not how long will it take me to get there, but do I know how long?”) and safety while addressing climate change.
Metropolitan regions may have to do this with decreased federal help, as the long-term outlook for national funding is far from rosy, according to Canby. The current transportation approach in Washington “is broke and broken,” lacking both money and vision, she said.
"This program has really sunk to being a money fight between the states and an earmark contest among members of Congress,” Canby said. “This is not national policy.” Instead, she said, the nation needs objectives regarding climate change, economic competitiveness and other key areas that will guide funding decisions.
At the regional level, officials must work together to make rational decisions about housing, economic development and land use and their effects on transportation. That means metropolitan planning organizations like the NJTPA need to have a larger role in funding decisions.
Canby also stressed the need for performance and accountability. When the public sees real results—better performance, improved infrastructure and the like—they are willing to invest in transportation.
And many transportation solutions—including increases in funding—are going to have to come from the local level, Canby said, perhaps in the form of user fees, public-private partnerships or other revenue sources.
To make any of this work will require good public outreach and participation from the residents of the region. “Success will be driven by the public saying ‘We’re ready to come with you and we’ll help you get there,’ ” she said.
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Joseph Giglio, Professor, Northeastern University |
When it comes to paying to pave Main Street, the government could learn a few things from Wall Street, according to Joseph Giglio, a public policy expert and professor at the College of Business at Northeastern University, Boston.
Giglio shared a unique perspective on transportation issues stemming from his diverse background working in top management positions at major financial institutions as well as working in a number of capacities with government, academic and nonprofit agencies dealing with the transportation sector.
According to Giglio, American transportation funding decisions are being guided by the unimaginative policies of the past and could benefit from reforms based on free-market principles. It’s time to stop talking about next year’s re-authorization of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) and start talking about ways to comprehensively transform the nation’s funding strategy, Giglio said.
Giglio offered his thoughts on actions the government should stop doing, keep doing and start doing in order to improve transportation funding. A key problem that must end is the politicization of investment decisions, he said, noting that one out of every $14 in SAFETEA-LU was earmarked for Congressional pilot projects. The government should continue to provide incentives for state and metropolitan agencies to try market-based pricing to manage their transportation networks, streamline programs and encourage regional solutions to problems. In the future, resources should start being allocated more toward America’s largest urban centers, where populations are concentrated and the greatest returns can be realized.
"There is a disconnect right now between federal policy for allocating transportation funds and the realities on the ground," he said.
Progressive states are successfully trying the privatization of assets, tolling and market-based pricing, he said, and modern technologies will open up new possibilities for alternative revenue sources. If the public sector really believed in accountability, he said it could charge a driver more for the guarantee of a minimum level of performance, like 45-55 mph per trip.
In closing, Giglio said that the people who created today’s transportation problems can’t be relied upon to come up with fresh solutions. He offered the transportation professionals in the audience two final words of advice: “Stay new.”
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Daniel Lerch, Manager, Post Carbon Institute |
If America’s cities are to thrive in a future of energy and climate uncertainty, policymakers must start making fundamental changes regarding transportation and land use planning, according to Daniel Lerch, a program manager with the Post Carbon Institute (PCI).
Lerch, a Rutgers University graduate, is the author of Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, the first major municipal guidebook on peak oil and global warming. The Oregon-based nonprofit PCI’s mission is to encourage and assist leaders in swiftly ending society’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Because of the way America set up its infrastructure over the last 60 years, it’s impossible for most people to do something as simple as buy a loaf of bread without burning gas in a private car, Lerch said.
"If we can’t change that, then everything we do—converting our traffic lights to [energy-saving] LEDs, putting green roofs on city hall, all of these great things that more and more cities are doing—none of that will matter," he said. “It’s the transportation-land use connection that is key.”
Lerch attributed America’s peak oil problem to three main factors:
- The era of easy oil is over. Discoveries of oil supplies peaked in the 1960s and are plateauing today, even as demand continues to rise.
- “Difficult” (or unconventional) oil won’t fill the gap. Sources like deep-water oils and tar sands present serious logistical issues and their supply potentials are uncertain.
- What’s left isn’t ours to buy. Consumption is rising in industrial nations like India and China. Producing nations may also want to keep their supply for their future generations.
Greatly complicating matters, there is currently no viable substitute for oil, he said. In order to stop contributing to global warming and break dependence on oil, local governments must cut their consumption and produce goods locally whenever possible, he said. Oil permeates every aspect of American life, and that reliance leaves our economy vulnerable in many ways, Lerch said.
"We assume it’s going to be there tomorrow, and next year, and five years and 10 years down the road, and we also assume it’s going to be affordable. If we could not make those assumptions, we would make very different decisions about our planning and infrastructure investments," Lerch said.
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Eileen Swan, Executive Director, New Jersey Highlands Council |
One of the state’s leading land preservationists spoke about ways transportation can support smart growth and environmental protection principles throughout northwestern New Jersey’s Highlands Region.
Eileen Swan, a former director of the state’s Office of Smart Growth and a co-chair of Gov. Jon Corzine’s environmental policy team, is currently the New Jersey Highlands Council’s executive director. The council is in charge of carrying out the provisions of the state’s 2004 Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, including the development of a master plan for the region.
The Highlands Region is a 3.5 million-acre region stretching across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. In total, 88 municipalities from seven counties (Hunterdon, Somerset, Sussex, Warren, Morris, Passaic and Bergen) are included in the New Jersey portion of the Highlands Region.
One of the main goals of the Highlands Regional Master Plan is to preserve the Highlands as a natural resource for the entire state. She estimated that 65 percent of the state’s water supply comes from the Highlands, although the region only accounts for 18 percent of the state’s land area.
The Highlands contains major highways such as Interstates 78, 287, 80 and 280 and NJ Transit’s Montclair-Boonton, Main, Bergen County, Morris & Essex and Raritan Valley rail lines. The region also includes freight rail lines and airports.
A transportation element is included in the master plan, which is scheduled for adoption this month. Generally, the transportation element encourages mixed land uses in areas with easy access to transit, she said. In half of the Highlands region -- the “preservation area” -- compliance with the plan is mandatory.
Swan stressed that eco-tourism and outdoor recreation in the Highlands are an important part of the region’s economy that will continue to grow, so the council favors transportation plans that support those activities.
“We don’t [just] want our transit opportunities Monday through Friday,” Swan said. “We need them on the weekends to bring out our bikers and the hikers to enjoy what we have to offer in the Highlands Region.”
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Robert Ceberio, Executive Director, New Jersey Meadowlands Commission |
New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) Executive Director Robert Ceberio gave the audience an overview of the district’s past, present and future, and he is convinced the best is yet to come.
Looking back on the unique circumstances of the Meadowlands District’s creation, Ceberio said a project like that will never again happen in New Jersey. The district was formed in 1969 from parts of 14 Bergen and Hudson county municipalities, and the NJMC (then the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission) was granted total autonomy over its planning and zoning regulations.
The original master plan for the Meadowlands was drafted in 1970, before the birth of the Environmental Protection Agency, Ceberio said. Some 2,000 to 3,000 acres of wetlands were filled in without the environmental repercussions being given much thought, said Ceberio.
In 2004, the NJMC released a new master plan which included stricter codes for businesses in the Meadowlands and decreed no more wetlands should be filled, confining future development to 13 zones where infrastructure and utilities already exist. This stopped the constant battles between developers and environmental groups that tied up progress for years at a time, Ceberio said.
"Everyone, I think, understood there was a better, smarter way of development," he said.
Transportation remains a pressing issue in the Meadowlands, Ceberio said. He spoke of the importance of the Meadowlands 2030 plan and how the NJMC now is in charge of its own transportation planning. The goal of this plan, Ceberio said, is to find better ways to move cars and people in and around the Meadowlands. An example is the extension of NJ Transit’s Pascack Valley Line to the Meadowlands Sports Complex, which is underway.
There are several local transit hubs around the Meadowlands but little connectivity between them, he said. In order to help fix this problem, $40 million has been pledged to a shuttle system to allow more movement between the area’s transit hubs.
"The good news is, the Meadowlands Commission doesn’t receive state appropriations, and so we can do a lot of imaginative, innovative things" he said.
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Photos, June 26, 2008
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| NJTPA Chairman Susan M. Zellman |
NJTPA Executive Director Mary K. Murphy (l) and NJTPA Chairman Susan M. Zellman speak with panel member Anne Canby, President, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership (r).
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| Professors James Hughes and Joseph Giglio |
Audience members listen to the panelists.
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| Panel members Joseph Giglio and Anne Canby |
Audience members listen to the panelists. |
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North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Inc.
One Newark Center, 17th Floor. Newark, NJ 07102
(201) 639-8400; Fax 639-1953
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