January 2025
Posted: 1/17/2025 11:55:41 AM
The first revision of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan in almost a quarter century could be adopted by year’s end after public hearings throughout the state in the coming months.
Walter Lane, deputy executive director of the New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy, presented an update on the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan to the Board of Trustees at its meeting on Monday. The state plan is currently being updated for the first time since 2001. A preliminary draft was released last month.
Donna Rendeiro, executive director of the Office of Planning Advocacy, appeared before the Board a year ago with a presentation on the state plan.
The state plan was created by legislation in the mid-80s as a complement to the Mt. Laurel doctrine, Lane said, to protect resources and promote development and redevelopment while identifying areas in the state appropriate for growth and preservation.
The state plan is not designed to dictate to local jurisdictions but to provide guidance, Lane said. The office works with “all levels of government to promote good planning projects.”
After gathering input from other agencies and stakeholder groups last year, a draft preliminary plan was released last month for public comment. A “cross acceptance process” is now under way, according to Lane, which will include 21 meetings across each of the state’s 21 counties. Six public hearings around the state between February 12 and April 16 will follow before the state planning commission adopts the plan.
The original state plan included eight goals, which Lane said have been advanced in some shape or form. The latest version adds two goals for a total of 10:
- Economic development: Promote economic growth that benefits all residents.
- Housing: Provide adequate supply of housing for residents of all ages and incomes in communities of their choosing that meet their needs and offer ready access to the full range of supportive goods and services.
- Infrastructure: Economic opportunity thorough nation leading infrastructure.
- Revitalization and recentering: Revitalize and recenter the state’s underutilized developed areas.
- Climate change: Effectively address adverse impacts of global climate change.
- Natural and water resources; Protect, maintain, and restore natural and water resources and ecosystems.
- Pollution and Environmental Clean-Up: Protect the environment, prevent and clean up pollution.
- Historic and Scenic Resources: Protect, enhance, and improve access to areas with exceptional archaeological, historic, cultural, scenic, open space, and recreational value.
- Equity: Implement equitable planning practices to promote thriving communities for all New Jerseyans.
- Comprehensive Planning: Foster sound and integrated planning and implementation at all levels statewide.
“Over the years, the NJTPA has done a lot of things to advance these goals,” Lane said, through its various subregional, transportation, and regional planning studies. He encouraged the agency to be engaged in the process in the coming months.
The plan includes a State Policy Map, unchanged from the previous plan, which recommends where development and preservation should occur in the state. The Smart Growth Explorer will help identify areas suitable for development and areas suitable for conservation.
Lane said the final state plan hopefully will be adopted by the end of this year.
A copy of his presentation is available here.
Posted: 1/13/2025 3:36:34 PM
Governor Phil Murphy today signed legislation creating the Target Zero Commission with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in New Jersey by 2040. NJTPA Executive Director David W. Behrend will serve on the 13-member commission alongside state officials, regional transportation officials, and others.
“We’ve been working with our region’s counties and municipalities to integrate the safe system approach into our planning work and to identify ways to make travel safer for everyone,” Behrend said. “I look forward to working with the Commission to further these efforts and ultimately reach our shared goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries.”
Governor Murphy was joined at the bill’s signing by Arland Macasieb, a cyclist and former professional triathlete who survived a life-altering crash with a car while riding his bike on a New Jersey road in 2021. Despite ongoing medical challenges due to his injuries from the crash, Macasieb continues to advocate for legislation that increases safety for cyclists and non-motorists.
“The actions we take today will ensure that New Jersey families no longer have to endure the pain of losing a loved one to traffic fatalities. The Commission will collaborate to prioritize safety and mobility, forging a clear path to making sure everyone, whether walking, biking, driving, or using public transit, can travel safely in New Jersey,” Governor Murphy said.
Traffic deaths and injuries have sharply increased in New Jersey. From 2023 to 2024, fatalities increased 14 percent and pedestrian fatalities increased 32 percent.
The Target Zero Commission will focus on data-driven strategies that prioritize roadway design, speed management, and safety for all road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. The Commission will advise the Governor, Legislature, and the DOT regarding policies, programs, research, and priorities that will aid in attaining the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities.
Under the law, the Commission is directed to propose an action plan within one year of the bill’s signing, with a chance for the public to provide feedback on the proposed plan. The Commission will also collect traffic safety data for the public, including data on dangerous intersections and crash demographics. Additionally, the Commission will provide data and resources to local municipalities to assist them in developing their own Target Zero plans.
“I share Governor Murphy’s vision that a stronger New Jersey includes making sure that everyone, whether walking, biking, driving or using public transit, can travel safely,” said DOT Commissioner Fran O’Connor, who serves on the NJTPA Board of Trustees. “The New Jersey Department of Transportation takes the responsibility of improving roadway safety very seriously and is committed to eliminating roadway fatalities. This commission will explore new ideas and technologies to create actionable strategies to address critical roadways safety issues in New Jersey.”
Click here to read the full press release from the Governor's Office.
Posted: 1/13/2025 9:35:59 AM
How do you see yourself getting around in the future? Would you consider driving an electric vehicle or riding in a self-driving car or shuttle? Are there regional transportation projects that you want prioritized for funding?
These are some of the questions we will be asking the public as it drafts its next long range transportation plan, Connecting Communities. The plan will detail new programs and recommend policies and transportation investments for the next 25 years.
The NJTPA region includes 13 counties in northern and central New Jersey and is home to 7 million people, with the population expected to hit 7.8 million in 2050. The NJTPA works with local partners and state agencies to approve more than $3 billion in transportation investments annually. In order for the region to be eligible to receive federal transportation funds for programs and projects, the NJTPA must adopt a long-range transportation plan every four years.
“Connecting Communities will help us set a vision for the future of our region’s transportation network and prioritize regionally significant projects,” said NJTPA Chair John P. Kelly, an Ocean County Commissioner. “It’s important that our region’s residents share their thoughts and ideas with us so that this plan meets the needs of the communities and people we serve.”
Public input plays a critical role in the plan. The feedback we gather through an online survey and events will be considered and incorporated into the plan, which the NJTPA Board of Trustees is expected to adopt in September. Everyone who lives in the region is encouraged to participate.
The survey launched today and is available in six languages – English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Chinese and Korean. There is also an interactive activity for kids and teens to share their ideas about the future of transportation. Virtual public outreach will begin later this month with a Let’s Talk Transportation event on January 28 at 11:30 a.m. focused on creating a safe biking and walking transportation network.
We will also be conducting pop-up outreach at events throughout the region this spring. To share your ideas, interests, and concerns about the future of transportation in northern and central New Jersey, please take the NJTPA’s brief survey and sign up for virtual events at the Connecting Communities website: njtpa.org/connecting.
Posted: 1/8/2025 2:20:29 PM
New Jersey communities can apply for free professional planning assistance to prepare plans for redeveloping or improving areas anchored by transit bus, rail, light rail, or ferry terminals, stations and stops. Applications are due on February 3, 2025.
The assistance is provided through the Transit Hub Planning Program, a partnership between the Center for Community Planning, the American Planning Association New Jersey Chapter (APA-NJ) and the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA).
The program recruits volunteer planners in the state to provide technical planning services for up to two community groups or municipalities. Applicants are selected on a competitive basis.
Project teams help communities identify practical and implementable strategies that can improve access to the transit service, increase economic activity in the hub area, create improved public spaces and promote a more vibrant and connected community. The team will also prepare recommendations for advancing the elements of the plan after the study is complete, which may include guidance for completing an application to New Jersey’s Transit Village Program administered by NJ TRANSIT and the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT).
Participating municipalities or organizations must make staff available to support the work and be available for discussions with agencies at the municipal, county, regional, and state levels.
For information on applying download the Call for Project Proposals. Further information on the program and on past projects is available at https://www.njtpa.org/TransitHubProgram.aspx (NJTPA) or njplanning.org/about/community-planning-assistance-program (APA-NJ).