To insure that our transportation taxes are spent cost-effectively to improve mobility, support economic progress and safeguard the environment, the federal government has established locally-controlled planning agencies, called Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), in each urbanized region of the country.
The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority or NJTPA is the MPO for the 13-county northern New Jersey region. The NJTPA serves a region with 6.6 million people and 3.5 million jobs. It is the fifth most populous MPO region in the nation.
The links at left provide details on many aspects of the NJTPA and its work. This page provides an overview of key features of the NJTPA.
Membership: The NJTPA Board of Trustees includes 15 local elected officials, including one representative from each of the 13 northern New Jersey counties as well as from Newark and Jersey City. The Board also includes a Governor's Representative, the Commissioner of NJDOT, the Executive Directors of NJ Transit and the Port Authorityof New York & New Jersey and a Citizens' Representative appointed by the Governor. Click on the link at left for the list of Board members.
Guiding Legislation: Enacted in 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) calls for integrating all modes of transportation—cars, trains, trucks, buses, ferries, walking and biking—into a single, efficient and "seamless" transportation system. It supports local control over transportation funding decisions through MPOs such as the NJTPA.
Key Products: The NJTPA prepares and updates a number of documents that detail the investments and planning activities that will help improve regional transportation. They include:
- Regional Transportation Plan for Northern New Jersey (RTP) - Updated every four years, the RTP sets out a vision for the development of the region's transportation infrastructure over the next twenty-five years. It includes goals and objectives, analysis of regional trends and planned improvement projects.
- Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) - Updated annually, the TIP is a four-year agenda of improvement projects drawn from the Regional Transportation Plan. To be eligible for federal funding, proposed projects must be approved by the NJTPA Board for inclusion in the TIP.
- Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) - Updated annually and guided by the Strategic Business Plan, the UPWP summarizes the transportation planning activities of the NJTPA staff, its member agencies and other transportation agencies in the region.
- Strategic Business Plan - Updated every few years, the Strategic Business Plan establishes the operational policies, goals and objectives of the Board to support the mission of the NJTPA. The current Business Plan was adopted by the Board in November 2010.
Organizational Structure: Three standing committees—Planning & Economic Development; Project Prioritization; and Freight Initiatives—make recommendations on action items to be considered by the full Board of Trustees. The Board and committees are supported by a 50-person staff, located in Newark, NJ. The NJTPA staff also supports and directs planning work by county and city members agencies, known as subregions. A Regional Transportation Advisory Committee composed of planners and engineers from the subregions meets bi-monthly to review regional issues.
Meetings: The Board of Trustees meets every two months. Committee meetings are held on alternate months. All Board and Committee meetings are open to the public. See the Calendar.