The following are the major transportation studies underway in the region with direct oversight or involvement by the NJTPA. The links provide access to further information elsewhere on this website:
Regional Transportation Plan 2035 Update - The NJTPA is preparing an update of its long range plan, scheduled for adoption in mid-2009. It will provide a vision and foundation for regional transportation investment through 2035.The federal government requires the NJTPA to adopt an updated long range plan every four years as a condition for the receipt of federal transportation funding. Public input and involvement is actively sought. You can sign up for mailing list to be notified of Plan 2035 activities.
Northwest New Jersey Bus Study - This study is a joint effort between NJTPA and NJ TRANSIT. It will analyze opportunities for greater access to jobs and other destinations via buses, shuttles and carpools. It will focus on improving bus service and intermodal connections, and will produce recommendations for more commuting options for individuals who reside or work in the northwestern New Jersey counties of Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Warren. This effort commenced in November 2007.
Freight Rail Crossing Assessment Study - This study is intended to help address the impacts of increased freight rail traffic along the region’s major rail lines. The NJTPA’s Regional Transportation Plan (Access and Mobility 2030) projects that freight rail traffic in the region will double over the next 25 years. This traffic will result in increased delays at grade crossings, and raises issues of safety and quality of life in those communities where these crossings are located. The study will systematically assess these impacts and identify potential remedies to improve traffic flow at critical locations along major rail lines.
Strategy Evaluation - The NJTPA Strategy Evaluation is conducted periodically to assess how well the region’s transportation meets residents’ needs. The project also generates recommendations for specific strategies and programs to benefit particular areas. The NJTPA long-range transportation plan — Access & Mobility 2030 — reflects the results of the Strategy Evaluation conducted in 2001-2002. The NJTPA in Summer 2006 launched a new round of Strategy Evaluation that will serve as a foundation for the next update of the Regional Transportation Plan in 2009.
Regional Safety Priorities Update - The purpose of the Update is to build upon the results of the ”Development of Regional Safety Priorities” study completed in 2005, and further implement the principles of Safety Conscious Planning in the region. Over 75 percent of locations and needs identified in the first study have been or are being addressed through engineering, enforcement and/or educational strategies. The Local Safety Program has funded many regionally identified safety improvements in the past several years. As with the first study, the update will identify priority safety issues at locations around the region and recommend crucial strategies for addressing the needs of the traveling public in general and of particularly vulnerable populations (e.g., pedestrians, bicyclists, older drivers, etc.). This study will conclude in 2008.
Transit Studies - The NJTPA is working with NJ Transit and its subregions on a number of studies of transit in the region. These are discussed on the Transit webpage. They include:
- Newark-Elizabeth Comprehensive Bus Study – This three-year study aims to improve bus and light rail services in the greater Newark area.
- Greater New Brunswick Bus Rapid -Transit NJ Transit is studying the development of a Bus Rapid Transit system for the New Brunswick area in Middlesex County.
- Route 1 Bus Rapid Transit - The NJTPA has joined with NJDOT, NJ Transit and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission in funding a study of a Bus Rapid Transit System along the US Route 1 corridor in Middlesex, Somerset, and Mercer Counties.
Subregional Study Program - This is a competitive program that provides two-year grants to individual subregions -- the 13 counties and two major cities represented on the NJTPA Board –– or subregional teams. The program is designed to assist subregions in refining and developing transportation improvement strategies rooted in the NJTPA’s Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). Ultimately, the program aims to generate project concepts ready for further development or implementation consistent with the RTP and/or other transportation planning activities in the region
Project Development Work Program - Project related studies and planning activities are organized through the PDWP. It authorizes and schedules work to evaluate the need for proposed projects and develops alternative conceptual designs and routes. When development work on a project has been completed, it becomes eligible for inclusion in the TIP.
Studies by Other Transportation Agencies - The NJTPA Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) summarizes and guides the transportation planning activities of the NJTPA staff, its member agencies and other transportation agencies in the region. It covers two years and is updated annually. Volume VI of the UPWP summarizes Regional Transportation Initiatives of transportation agencies in the northern New Jersey region.
Recently Completed Studies
COMPLETED: I-78 Corridor Transit Study – This NJTPA completed a study assessing the need, impact and feasibility of various transit strategies along the I-78 corridor between Lehigh County, Pennsylvania to the west and Somerset County, New Jersey to the east. Phase I of the study addressed bus transit mobility needs through recommendations for bus service and shuttle enhancements, new park and ride locations, and bus priority treatments. A separate Phase II effort will provide a more extensive and detailed environmental and planning assessment of the possible extension of NJ Transit rail service to Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
COMPLETED: The NJTPA Truck Rest Stop Study - The need for the study stems from new rules that have been promulgated by the federal government regarding truck driving hours. The rules reduce total hours for drivers and expand mandatory rest periods that will mainly affect long and intermediate haul truckers. The region has inadequate rest stop facilities, especially accessible to the region's port. This raises safety and environmental concerns throughout the region as well as a potentially dangerous situation for the drivers themselves. The NJTPA, under guidance from its Freight Initiatives Committee, assessed the availability and adequacy of truck rest/service stops throughout its thirteen county area and explored new candidate sites or existing sites which can be expanded. The NJTPA truck rest stop study (NJRest) is part of a larger tri-state metropolitan NY-NJ-CT analysis of truck stop issues. Other studies are being conducted by NYMTC, the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the southern Connecticut MPOs. These studies will be compiled by NYMTC into a final comprehensive tri-state regional report. Study findings are available on the study webpage, NJ Rest.