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:
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.
Performance Results: Assessing the Impacts of Implemented Transportation Projects -
To better understand the benefits produced by investments in the transportation system, the NJTPA has begun a Project Performance Results study. The study is examining about a dozen northern New Jersey transportation projects implemented in recent years, including various roadway, public transit, pedestrian/bicycle, freight and other types of improvements.
Jersey City Bus Study – This study will evaluate current and future service needs in Jersey City. As part of the study, launched in the fall of 2008, public input and data will be analyzed to determine recommendations for bus services and capital improvements that will meet riders’ long-term needs. The study will involve an in-depth assessment of NJ Transit and private bus operations in Jersey City, gauge the dimension of service shortages and analyze options for response. It will suggest methods to better adapt and integrate bus services into Hudson County’s overall transportation network.
Bergen-Passaic Bus Study – This comprehensive review of transit services in northeastern New Jersey will focus on improved bus services and intermodal connections. Extensive investments in the area’s roads, highways and rail system are planned over the next 5-10 years. Integration with the new rail services and rail corridors will be examined, with special attention on access to new and improved rail service resulting from ARC. In addition, an investigation of buses using the George Washington Bridge to access Manhattan will look at mobility needs around the toll plaza. The two-year bi-county study is jointly funded by NJ Transit and the NJTPA.
Newark-Elizabeth Comprehensive Bus Study – This three-year study aims to improve bus and light rail services in the greater Newark area. The study area focuses on Newark, Elizabeth and urban Essex County, but bus service improvements in this core area will positively impact service in Union, Passaic, Bergen and Hudson counties as well. For more information see the Transit webpage.
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. For more information see the Transit webpage.
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. For more information see the Transit webpage.
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: The NJTPA North Jersey Truck Stop Study Refinement - The purpose of this continuation of the original NJTPA Truck Rest Stop Study was to augment the intital findings, and make further recommendations with regard to providing additional parking capacity in the region, especially in those corridors with the greatest need. Continued coordination with our public and private partners (NJDOT, NYMTC, NJTA, NYSDOT, DVRPC, PennDOT, PA Turnpike Commission, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, ConnDOT) was a key component of this study effort.
COMPLETED: Regional Transportation Plan 2035 Update - The NJTPA adopted an update of its long range plan on August 24, 2009. It provides 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.
COMPLETED: Freight Rail Grade Crossing Assessment Study -
Phase I of this study, completed in September of 2008, examined a total of 64 crossings on the Lehigh, West Trenton, Chemical Coast, Port Reading Secondary and River rail lines and developed problem statements for the top five grade crossings in most need of improvements. The problem statements contain potential solutions developed for each location and are the first step in developing projects that might become eligible for federal or state funding. The NJTPA Board of Trustees approved an extension of this work to develop problem statements for the next ten grade crossing locations prioritized in terms of needs in the original study. The additional work (Phase II) was completed in August of 2009.
COMPLETED: 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.).
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. The second phase, called the Central New Jersey/Raritan Valley Transit Study, began in 2008.
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 was part of a larger tri-state metropolitan NY-NJ-CT analysis of truck stop issues. Other studies were conducted by NYMTC and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. These studies will be compiled by NYMTC into a final comprehensive tri-state regional report.
COMPLETED: The Strategy Refinement study builds upon the work done in Strategy Evaluation, the NJTPA's assessment of how the region’s transportation system can best meet residents’ needs. Strategy Refinement identifies about 30 project concepts that can be advanced for more detailed study and project development.
COMPLETED: Strategy Evaluation Study- 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 — Plan 2035 — reflects the results of the Strategy Evaluation conducted in 2006-2008.