$5M HUD Grant to Help Link Transportation, Housing and Jobs in Region
The NJTPA is among consortium that has received a $5 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant award.
The North Jersey Sustainable Communities Consortium will be administered by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers. Other members of the project team are NJ Transit, the New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy (NJOPA), the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDN-NJ), the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey (MLUC), NJ Future, the New Jersey Regional Coalition (NJRC), PlanSmart NJ and the Regional Plan Association (RPA).
The 2011 Sustainable Communities Grants are designed to help communities and regions improve their economic competitiveness by connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools and transportation. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez were in New Brunswick on Nov. 21 to announce the award.
The North Jersey Sustainable Communities Consortium grant will develop a Regional Plan for Sustainable Development (RPSD) for the 13-county NJTPA region. The plan will use sustainability, transit system connectivity and transit-oriented development as the central framework for integrating plans, regulations, investments and incentive programs at all levels of government to bring jobs and create additional economic development opportunities in the area. Development of the RPSD will be closely coordinated with, and contribute to, the State Strategic Plan which is intended to guide future economic growth in the state and the updating of the NJTPA’s Regional Transportation Plan which will be undertaken over the next two years.
“The NJTPA region is the fifth-largest metropolitan planning organization (MPO) in the nation and is both highly motivated and well positioned to take advantage of the opportunity provided by this grant program,” said Union County Freeholder Daniel P. Sullivan, Chairman of the NJTPA Board of Trustees. “New Jersey has long been a pioneer in sustainability planning and many of the jurisdictions in the region have developed plans and programs to promote sustainable communities. These efforts…provide the region with a solid foundation on which to build a sustainable future.”
“This grant will help our region—an area that is rapidly approaching build-out—take the next step in sustainability planning,” said Jon Carnegie, project coordinator for the consortium and Executive Director of the Bloustein School’s Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center. “The consortium will provide the framework for engaging a broad cross-section of citizens and representatives from the public, private and non-governmental sectors in a new and innovative process to create a shared plan for sustainable development that can be used to reshape state, regional, local and private-sector decision-making toward more sustainable outcomes.”
More information about the grant announcement and HUD’s Sustainable Communities Awards is available at www.hud.gov/news.
The North Jersey Sustainable Communities Consortium plan will promote economic development in the region by capitalizing on assets such as northern New Jersey’s transit network and walkable downtowns.
NJTPA Funds Clean Construction Equipment in Urban Areas
The NJTPA Board of Trustees, at its Nov. 14 meeting, unanimously approved $800,000 in federal funding to retrofit off-road construction equipment such as bulldozers, graders and pavers with pollution control devices that will reduce diesel emissions.
The funding supports Phase 1 of New Jersey’s Clean Construction Program, which will allocate a total of $2.5 million to retrofit 175 pieces of equipment being used for state-financed projects in urban environments. In April, Gov. Chris Christie signed an executive order establishing the program to improve air quality in densely populated urban areas, where residents are disproportionately exposed to emissions from construction sites.
“This is an important public health measure that will help protect residents from the heavy diesel exhaust produced by construction vehicles and equipment,” said NJTPA Chairman Daniel P. Sullivan, also a Union County Freeholder. “People who live and work in northern and central New Jersey’s urban communities will breathe cleaner air when there are road projects in their neighborhoods thanks to this program.”
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has committed the remaining $1.7 million toward the program. The NJTPA’s contribution will come through the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program, which funds projects that reduce congestion and emissions from fossil fuels.
More information on CMAQ-funded projects in the region can be found on the NJTPA’s website, www.njtpa.org. Additional information on the state’s efforts to curb diesel emissions from mobile sources is available at www.stopthesoot.org.
First Vice-Chairman Gene F. Feyl speaks at the Board’s Nov. 14 meeting.
NJTPA Reorg, 2012 Meeting
The NJTPA Board of Trustees will select its new Executive Committee at a reorganization meeting on Jan. 9 at 10 a.m.
A committee was formed at the Nov. 14 meeting to nominate NJTPA Board members to hold leadership posts for two-year terms running from 2012 through 2013.
The committee consists of Union County Freeholder Daniel P. Sullivan, the current NJTPA Chairman; Hunterdon County Freeholder Matthew Holt, currently NJTPA Third Vice-Chairman; and Somerset County Freeholder Peter S. Palmer, currently Chairman of the NJTPA’s Freight Initiatives Committee. The full Board will vote on the candidates nominated by the committee.
NJTPA Board and committee meeting dates for 2012 also have been announced. (The four NJTPA committees are Project Prioritization, Planning & Economic Development, Freight Initiatives, and Regional Technical Advisory Committee.) Check the calendar at www.njtpa.org for meeting dates and other updated information.
Presenters Focus on Transportation Technology
Presentations on some of the latest transportation operations technologies being developed by U.S. Department of Transportation and Rutgers University were conducted at the NJTPA on Oct. 28.
The first presentation, via web conferencing, was by Debby Bezzina, the Assistant Program Manager at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute.
Bezzina talked about a pilot program to determine the effectiveness of using wireless technologies to enable vehicles to “communicate” with each other and to roadway infrastructure (i.e. traffic signals, curve warnings, signs). The program is part of the USDOT Research and Innovation Technology Administration’s initiative on “connected vehicles” aimed at improving vehicle safety and transportation system operations.
The second presentation was by Dr. Nadereh Moini, Senior Transportation System Engineer at Rutgers University’s Center for the Application of Information Technology. Moini spoke about efforts to develop real-time applications that would enable motorists to find on-street parking through the use of vehicle sensing technology. or details on either program, contact Solomon Caviness at scaviness@njtpa.org.
Hunterdon County Freeholder and NJTPA Third Vice-Chairman Matthew Holt (right) delivers a report summarizing the recent activities of the NJTPA Planning and Economic Development Committee (PEDC) during the Nov. 14 Board of Trustees meeting. Also pictured is Hudson County Executive and NJTPA Second Vice-Chairman Tom DeGise, and NJTPA Executive Director Mary K. Murphy.
Somerset County Plan Wins Award
A Somerset County Planning Board study funded by the NJTPA won an Outstanding Plan Award from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association (NJAPA).
Planning Board Director Robert Bzik and Supervising Transportation Planner Walter Lane accepted the award for the project, “Making Connections: Somerset County Circulation Plan,” at the NJAPA’s annual conference held on Nov. 3 in New Brunswick. The award category recognizes plans of “unusually high merit.”
The Circulation Plan, for which the NJTPA contributed $300,000 in federal funding, creates an action-oriented plan for a countywide, multi-modal transportation network for the movement of people and goods. It also strengthens the linkage between land use and transportation and emphasizes environmental quality as well as the need for increased public transit to reduce traffic congestion.
A key goal of the project was to make the updated circulation plan truly reflective of Somerset County’s diversity. To that end, the county developed a comprehensive and inclusive process (including stakeholder and public meetings and an online survey) to identify the varied issues, interests, needs and concerns of those who live, work, govern and do business in the county.
“It’s great to see Somerset County recognized for its ongoing emphasis on addressing quality of life issues, like transportation, and for its top-notch planning efforts,” said Somerset County Freeholder Peter S. Palmer, who is a member of the NJTPA Board of Trustees.
Somerset County Freeholder Peter S. Palmer
N.J. Adopts New Strategic Plan
The State Planning Commission on Dec. 7 accepted the draft State Strategic Plan, a document that provides a blueprint for future economic growth, development and conservation in New Jersey. The State Strategic Plan will help guide the development of the NJTPA’s update of its Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) over the next two years and also provide a foundation for the Regional Plan for Sustainable Development, being developed by the NJTPA and other members of the North Jersey Sustainable Communities Consortium under a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (see P. 1).
The proposed plan represents the first update of New Jersey’s statewide plan since 2001. The following are among the goals outlined in the State Strategic Plan:
•Targeting economic growth by identifying and promoting growth in regions of the state with clusters of critical or emerging industries that will be drivers of strong economic growth.
•Effective planning to grow and promote communities with access to quality education, housing, public transportation and infrastructure, parks and recreation.
•Preserve and enhance critical state resources through continued support for New Jersey’s preservation programs and balanced state, regional and municipal planning that properly considers transportation, energy, water supply, water quality and air management needs now and in the future.
•Implementation of the plan driven from the executive branch through a cabinet-level steering committee.
These and other elements of the draft State Strategic Plan are consistent with the goals of Plan 2035, the NJTPA’s current RTP. This RTP will be updated to a 2040 horizon year, with the final document scheduled for adoption by fall 2013. The RTP update will address the need to more efficiently use available resources in making investments while promoting economic recovery, both key focuses of the State Strategic Plan.
Among other elements in the State Strategic Plan, transportation is seen as a key feature of efforts to promote “Garden State Values.” One such value involves efforts to “Provide Transportation Choice and Efficient Mobility of Goods.” This value is seen as improving “access, safety, affordability and air quality for all users: walkers, bikers, transit-users, ride-shares and drivers.”
Another Garden State Value is to “Concentrate Development and Mix Uses” including building with suitable designs and densities that support walking, biking and public transportation.
To accomplish the goals of the plan, state agencies will develop and implement functional plans, for example, to coordinate transportation, energy, water supply, water quality and air quality management, with economic development goals and objectives.
Hearings on the draft State Strategic Plan will be held beginning in January. Further details are available at http://www.nj.gov/state/planning/index.html.
New Publications, Multimedia Resources Available Online
The NJTPA recently posted several publications, multimedia files and other resources on the agency’s website, www.njtpa.org. Among them are:
•Videos, presentation files and a new Issue Spotlight newsletter summarizing the NJTPA’s Oct. 28 symposium “Technology Update: Improving Real-Time Operations.” Search for “Real-Time Operations” on the homepage.
•A publication high- lighting the NJTPA’s Local Safety and High Risk Rural Roads programs. The document includes a history of all projects approved under the programs by year and statistical analysis of the impacts of some projects on crash rates in the areas. A PDF version of the document is linked to the Local Safety page on the website.
•Final reports for FY 2010-11 Subregional Studies. Search for “Subregional Studies” on the homepage.
•The fall 2011 issue of InTransition magazine. The issue includes a series of stories that examine planning for and responding to catastrophic incidents. Visit www.intransitionmag.org to read or subscribe to the magazine.
East Orange Walkable Workshop
The latest in a continuing series of Walkable Community Workshops, facilitated by NJTPA staff, was held Nov. 15 in East Orange. This workshop focused on the need to improve accessibility and safety to make it easier for pedestrians to cross busy Freeway Drive East and West between the Brick Church and East Orange train stations.
After an opening presentation, nearly 20 participants (including local officials, residents, and representatives from the NJDOT, N.J. Division of Highway Traffic Safety, NJ Transit, Meadowlink Transportation Management Association, and Rutgers University) went on a walking tour of the area. The group reconvened to identify and prioritize potential improvements such as intersection signalization, additional speed limit signs and sidewalk upgrades in the areas around the East Orange train station and bus stop.
A final report is being prepared and will be posted shortly. For more information, contact Elizabeth Thompson at ethompson@njtpa.org.
Participants during the walking tour at the Nov. 15 workshop in East Orange.
NJTPA Funds Services for Disabled
The NJTPA Board approved $36,000 at its Nov. 14 meeting to provide transportation for people with disabilities in portions of Hunterdon and Warren counties over the next two years. The grant funding comes from the federal New Freedom Program, which is intended to help Americans with disabilities overcome mobility barriers and fully participate in the workforce and society. The services covered in this allocation include on-demand rides to medical offices and other important destinations. The grant application was submitted by the Warren County Department of Human Services (DHS) in coordination with the Hunterdon County DHS and NJ Transit. For more information, contact David Schmetterer at dschmetterer@njtpa.org.
NJTPA Mourns the Loss of Fe’Tia Daniels
The NJTPA’s Business Manager, Fe’Tia Daniels, passed away suddenly on November 25, 2011.
Tia, 27, had been with the NJTPA Central Staff since 2006. She was known for her bright smile, engaging personality, and eagerness to help others both personally and professionally.
Tia will always be missed and remembered by her many friends and colleagues.
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