FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWARK – The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority
(NJTPA) is helping communities in northern and central New Jersey identify
ways to improve and enhance walking through a series of “Walkable Community”
workshops in the region.
The program, which already has begun, will run until November 2, with workshops
taking place in the 13 counties of the NJTPA region, as well as the region’s
two largest cities. Each half-day workshop will focus on a selected location
in one community.
At each location, NJTPA staff, county and municipal planners, law enforcement,
business and school representatives, and others will work to identify issues
and opportunities affecting pedestrian travel. An experienced consultant will
facilitate each session and train county staff members to work with other
municipalities in conducting future workshops. Potential solutions might include
addressing missing sidewalk links, traffic signals, crosswalks, signage and
traffic calming, as well as non-engineering solutions such as enforcement
and educational initiatives.
Workshops already have been held in Bridgewater, Flemington and Hackettstown.
The remaining workshops will be held in the following municipalities:
Bergen Hackensack, River Street (Oct. 18)
Essex Caldwell, Bloomfield Avenue (Oct. 19)
Hudson Union City, W. New York, N. Bergen Local Streets @ HBLRT Stations (Oct.
26)
Jersey City Pacific and Communipaw Avenues (Oct. 25)
Middlesex South River, Town Center Streets (Oct. 12)
Monmouth Red Bank, Front & Monmouth Streets (Oct. 11)
Morris Town of Dover, N. Warren/Pequannock & Blackwell Streets (Nov. 1)
Newark Broad Street @ Park & Central & Market @ Ferry Streets (Oct.
24)
Ocean Dover Township, Downtown Toms River (Oct. 10)
Passaic Haledon & Wayne, Pompton Road (Oct. 31)
Sussex Newton & Hampton Township, US 206 (Nov. 2)
Union Elizabeth, South Broad & Elizabethtown Plaza (Oct. 17)
The locations were selected by NJTPA staff in consultation with county and
city officials throughout the region.
Note to Editors and Reporters: The media is welcome to attend these
sessions. However, due to restrictions on the number of people who can participate
in these workshops, the workshops are only open to invitees, not the general
public. Please call the NJTPA for more details.
The NJTPA is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for 13 northern
New Jersey Counties. Under federal legislation, MPOs provide a forum where
local officials, public transportation providers and state agency representatives
can come together and cooperatively plan to meet the region’s current
and future transportation needs. It establishes the region’s eligibility
to receive federal tax dollars for transportation projects.
The NJTPA Board consists of one local elected official from each of the 13
counties in the region (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth,
Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren), and the cities
of Newark and Jersey City. The Board also includes a Governor’s Representative,
the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Executive
Directors of NJ Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
and a Citizen’s Representative appointed by the Governor.
Contact:
David Behrend, Public Affairs Manager
(973) 639-8423