What is the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority?
The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority or NJTPA is the Metropolitan Planning Organization or MPO for the 13-county northern New Jersey region. Like the more than 300 MPOs across the country, the NJTPA is required by the federal government to conduct transportation planning and allocate federal transportation funding to address regional needs. The NJTPA serves a region with 6.5 million people and 3.5 million jobs, the fifth largest MPO region in the nation. An overview is provided on the Who We Are, What We Do page. In addition, the Citizen's Guide provides an overview of the planning process the NJTPA oversees.
How can I get a transportation problem or issue addressed?
The NJTPA invests $2 billion or more in the region's transportation system each year. But even this amount is dwarfed by the region's needs -- for improved roads, upgraded bridges, new buses and rail cars, more park-and-ride lots and a host of other investments. There are numerous projects waiting in line for funding. As a result, competition is great for available federal funding.
The NJTPA seeks to give priority attention to the region's most pressing needs. There are numerous avenues for you to offer input on these needs and how funding should be allocated. Each county and the two major cities (Newark and Jersey City) in northern and central New Jersey have a representative on the NJTPA Board. You can find and contact your representative here. You can also get involved directly in NJTPA meetings and activities and offer us input online. Learn more.
How can I find out about projects and improvements in my town or county?
The NJTPA Online Transportation Information System (NOTIS) offers an easy way -- through either a text- or map-based interface -- to answer questions such as:
- Is there a project scheduled or under study to address
the congestion on the highway I drive to work?
- What transportation projects are planned near my hometown?
- What are the transportation projects slated for my county?
- How much will that new overpass cost and when can I expect it to be completed?
- Is the feasibility of building a new rail line to my hometown being studied?
What is the relationship of NJTPA to the New Jersey Department of Transportation and NJ Transit?
Representatives of both these agencies serve on the NJTPA Board of Trustees. They are the "implementing agencies" that construct the projects that emerge from NJTPA planning. They also operate the facilities and services -- bus and rail lines, traffic operations centers, etc. -- underwritten by NJTPA capital funding. The two agencies offer input into the NJTPA Regional Transportation Plan that guides investments over a 20-year period and they consult with the NJTPA on the content of the annual Transportation Improvement Program or TIP. Projects must be included in the RTP and TIP as a condition for receiving federal funding. More the capital programming process can be found here.