Transit Issues
Public transportation is a critical component of smart growth. By allowing people to travel without a car, transit supports vibrant, walkable communities that are designed for people, not cars.
New Jersey is fortunate to have one of the most extensive transit systems in the country, including commuter rail, buses, light rail, subways and ferries. That network helps power the state’s economy by giving millions access to jobs, goods and services, while also helping reduce auto congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Central Jersey Housing Resource Center honored New Jersey Future with its Outstanding Achievement in Affordable Housing Award.
A new Rutgers report highlights the coming problem of aging and abandoned suburban office parks. Those facilities that cannot be repurposed to meet the market demand for mixed-use, transit-accessible employment centers should not be the recipients of state job-creation incentives.
The Federal Transit Administration’s awarding of a $400,000 grant to examine the possibility of building a new light-rail station in Jersey City demonstrates tangible commitment to advancing economic development through transit-oriented development.
During National Walk and Bike to School month, we look at some compelling reasons to make it easier for schoolchildren to walk or bike to school – most notably increased physical activity and reduced traffic. The new federal transportation legislation includes funding for cycling and walking programs and infrastructure, but also enough flexibility that those funds might get diverted for other uses. We urge the New Jersey state DOT to keep bicycle and pedestrian funding, and we encourage the development of more communities where housing and schools are within walking distance of each other.
The transit station inventory provides policy makers, municipal officials and development professionals with a systematic way to identify the highest-potential opportunities for various kinds of development around transit stations.
New Jersey has 243 transit facilities, ranging from small single-track stations to major multi-line hubs. The unique characteristics of each station, of its immediate neighborhood, and of its surrounding municipality mean that a wide variety of development strategies should be brought to bear in order to maximize each location’s potential. This report shows how data assembled by New Jersey Future can be used to make decisions on how to target various kinds of transit-oriented development efforts. September 2012.
Two plans, an innovative zoning code, a feasibility study and three projects are winners of New Jersey Future’s 2012 Smart Growth Awards. Joseph M. Taylor receives the Cary Edwards Leadership Award.
Sept. 24, 2012: New Jersey Future announced it has assembled a comprehensive database of development-related statistics for the state’s 243 transit stations and their surrounding neighborhoods.
June 29, 2012 — In response to the announcement of a conference committee deal to authorize the federal transportation program through September 2014, transportation advocates expressed disappointment at the bill’s lack of reforms and at provisions that would make it harder for communities in New Jersey to provide input on major projects and improve street safety
Collaborative initiative using transit to bolster redevelopment along the Haddon Avenue corridor.
See all Future Facts and Articles in this category »
Reports, Presentations and Testimony
- 03/30/2011: Testimony: Preserve Transit Villages in Transportation Capital Plan
- Getting to Work 11-08
- A Citizen's Guide to Transit-Oriented Development
- 04-02-2009 Testimony re Proposed Cuts in NJ Transit Budget
- 05/07/2009 Testimony on Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Act
- 04/02/2012: NJFuture Comments to State Planning Commission on Draft State Strategic Plan
- Targeting Transit -- New Jersey Future
