June 2025
Posted: 6/19/2025 10:20:48 AM
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection today announced the award of nearly $1 million in transportation planning grants as part of a newly launched effort to identify and develop local transportation solutions that will reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles that impact communities.
The eMobility planning grant program builds upon the Murphy Administration’s commitment to reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. Totaling $983,950, the grants will help four Transportation Management Associations work with partner communities to develop solutions to help alleviate traffic congestion and connect residents to jobs, educational opportunities, medical services, and other resources. If the solutions include electric shared-use transportation such as car shares, ride shares, or fixed route shuttle services, the Associations will then be encouraged to apply for additional funding from DEP’s eMobility program to implement those solutions.
“Providing clean public transportation options such as zero-emission vehicles or ride-sharing services that are reliable and affordable is key to the well-being of our communities, especially those long overburdened by environmental and health stressors,” Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette said. “These grants will help communities provide accessible and clean transportation options that reduce air pollution, protect public health and strengthen the economy.”
“We know that not every town is the same, so we’re offering these planning grants in order for towns to develop specialized solutions that meet the unique transportation needs of their residents,” added Peg Hanna, DEP’s Director of Climate Change Mitigation and Monitoring. “Clean, safe, reliable and affordable transportation will provide residents with broader access to jobs, food, education, and medical services.”
The Transportation Management Associations receiving eMobility planning grants are:
- Avenues in Motion: $145,450 for projects in Morristown and Phillipsburg;
- Cross County Connection TMA: $400,000 for projects spanning Salem, Cumberland, Atlantic, and Cape May counties;
- EZ Ride: $200,000 for projects in Plainfield and Orange; and
- Greater Mercer TMA: $238,500 for projects in East Windsor/Hightstown, Toms River, and Lakewood.
“I want to thank NJDEP for awarding this funding to help these Transportation Management Associations advance their sustainable transportation and mobility work,” said David W. Behrend, Executive Director of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, which oversees the state’s Transportation Management Associations. “The associations are key partners in helping us achieve regional goals and these grants will explore strategies to improve air quality, alleviate congestion and increase connectivity for residents.”
Coordinated Transportation Planning
Transportation Management Associations are non-profit, public-private partnerships established to partner with businesses and local government to provide commuter information and services. Awardees are encouraged to use the recently launched Transportation Needs Index to identify areas that could benefit most from transportation investments.
The tool, a collaborative effort between DEP and the New Jersey State Office of Innovation, provides a baseline analysis of areas throughout the state where transportation gaps may disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
In coming months, the Transportation Management Associations will begin their projects by gathering demographic data, evaluating current transportation options, and conducting surveys and community engagement to better understand resident perspectives.
After this initial research and engagement, the associations will consider several transportation solutions and do additional community engagement to see which options would best meet the needs of residents. The projects will follow DEP’s eMobility Planning Toolkit, a step-by-step guide released last year that helps local leaders plan transportation solutions that may be eligible for eMobility grants.
Once projects are complete, the Transportation Management Associations will submit a comprehensive report highlighting key findings and recommendations. Transportation planners, local governments, and community groups may also use insights from the reports to deepen their understanding of community needs and advocate for transportation investments that equitably serve residents.
For more information and updates about eMobility Planning Grants, visit https://dep.nj.gov/drivegreen/emobility-planning-grants/
Posted: 6/11/2025 12:35:05 PM
Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett, who serves on the NJTPA Board of Trustees, was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) at the organization’s national conference in Seattle this week. As the Region II District Representative, Commissioner Bartlett will represent Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania on the national board.
Commissioner Bartlett brings more than a decade of leadership in regional planning to the national level. Since joining the NJTPA Board of Trustees in 2013, he has helped guide over $30 billion in infrastructure investments across northern and central New Jersey. He served as Chairman of the NJTPA Board in 2022–2023 and has chaired both NJTPA’s Project Prioritization Committee and its Planning & Economic Development Committee.
During his tenure, more than $600 million in federal funding has flowed into Passaic County for infrastructure projects large and small. These include major road and bridge reconstructions, safety improvements for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists, rails-to-trails projects, and the completion of Passaic County’s portion of a 103-mile regional Morris Canal Greenway. Commissioner Bartlett has also championed transit-oriented development and been a leading advocate for the Gateway Program, including the $12 billion Hudson Tunnel Project.
“Regional planning is where federal priorities and local needs meet,” said Commissioner Bartlett. “It’s an honor to represent the mid-Atlantic region and continue working across geographic and political boundaries to support the smart, sustainable and collaborative investments that strengthen our communities. Especially as new funding under the five-year Bipartisan Infrastructure Law diminishes next year, the Association’s national advocacy will be vital for Passaic County and the NJTPA region to continue to invest in infrastructure and economic development.”
“I’m thrilled that Commissioner Bartlett has joined the National Association of Regional Councils’ Board,” said NJTPA Executive Director David Behrend, a member of the association’s Executive Directors Council, which reports to and advises the board. “I’m certain he will bring the same energy, enthusiasm, and commitment that he’s demonstrated for more than a decade with the NJTPA. This new role will help us continue and expand our ongoing work to improve the lives of North Jersey residents through smart regional planning and investment.”
NARC serves as the national voice for regional planning organizations, promoting cross-jurisdictional collaboration on transportation, housing, environmental sustainability, and economic development.
Posted: 6/11/2025 9:16:16 AM
The FIFA World Cup will be played next summer in 16 cities across North America, culminating with the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. But opportunities for bringing people together for the 100-plus soccer matches aren’t limited to the 80,000-seat stadium.
The five-week tournament can provide placemaking opportunities across the region as communities gather to follow the tournament.
Gernot Riether, Coordinator of graduate programs at the New Jersey School of Architecture, and Associate Professor, presented “Game On! Activating Public Spaces During the World Cup” to the NJTPA’s Regional Transportation Advisory Committee at its June 9 virtual meeting.
Riether, the incoming chair of NJIT’s Hillier School of Architecture and Design, with funding from the NJTPA worked with a group of students in his Independent Study Studio to examine how a typical street or square could be transformed into an experience. “We started by asking how municipalities…can benefit from the World Cup,” he said, adding that there are huge opportunities for public spaces across New Jersey to offer unique experiences.
“It’s a great way to stimulate economic development and create community,” Blythe Eaman, Director, Environmental & Sustainability Planning, said, and tap into energy around the games. “We wanted to support communities to tap that spending potential and bring people together.”
Students devised a “kit of parts” with affordable, easy-to-install ways that could transform public spaces into environments where communities can gather. “It’s not just about viewing games," Riether said, but engaging communities through placemaking opportunities.
The group created a catalog of simple items, ranging from collapsable tents and street furniture consisting of medicine balls that look like soccer balls to more sophisticated interactive soccer games and ball pits. The elements can be combined in different ways in a typical street or a parking lot.
Ideas from the studio class will be packaged into an accessible guide for municipalities and business improvement districts. Staff will conduct outreach about how the NJTPA can offer technical assistance on potential locations, design services, and brainstorming, similar to what’s done with the NJTPA’s Complete Streets Demonstration Library, with a targeted focus on the World Cup. “We imagine some of the ideas can be coupled with materials already in our demonstration library,” Eaman said.
Materials and ideas can be tailored to a municipality, Eaman said. “We tried to make it kind of generic to capture different street types but could work with you on how that could look in your community,” Eaman said.
The “Game On! Activating Public Spaces During the World Cup” presentation can be found here.
Posted: 6/4/2025 11:31:48 AM
A new book about the Morris Canal with previous unpublished archival photos, new signage at several points along the Morris Canal Greenway, and land acquisition in Warren County to be part of the Greenway were among significant updates presented at the Morris Canal Working Group’s biannual virtual meeting on May 28.
An interpretative sign with seven panels was dedicated at Inclined Plane 2 East in Ledgewood in May. Roxbury Township also completed a landscaping plan, stabilizing stonework, and excavation of sleeper stones. Canal Park is among the best Greenway locations for its inclined planes, Canal Society of NJ (CSNJ) President Joe Macasek said. “For the general public to understand the complexities of one of these sites, it needed a sign project,” he said.
New signage funded by the Warren County Morris Canal Committee was installed in Phillipsburg at Plane 10 West at Lock Street and behind the former Morris Canal House, a tavern that served Morris Canal boatmen, according to CSNJ Vice President Tim Roth.
At Lock 2 East in Wharton, the Locktender’s Shanty has been completed and the Locktender’s house has been decorated with historically appropriate furnishings. “It’s still a work in process, lots of things want to do,” Macasek said.
A new book about Morris Canal, featuring pictures from the CSNJ archives never before published, is now available, Macasek said. Disappearing Act: The Abandonment of New Jersey’s Morris Canal, by Robert R. Goller, can be purchased through CSNJ and online.
In Warren County, the acquisition of Rockport Land was surveyed in November, according to Roth. The Warren County Parks Foundation and New Jersey Youth Corps worked to clear brush and trees for a towpath trail over the winter, making way for a trailhead, canal towpath, and bridge over a canal prism.
Warren County currently is under contract to purchase a 174-acre farm site on Route 57 that has various historic structures, including a former gristmill. It includes one-third of a mile of canal prism that can be potentially developed into a Greenway trail. Roth hopes to be able to announce the acquisition has closed at the next working group meeting in the fall and eventually come up with a plan to develop another piece of the Greenway trail.
CSNJ is organizing a trail crew for Morris County to maintain sections of the Morris Canal Greenway through Morris County. For those interested in volunteering, contact CSNJ Board member Lew Wefferling by email at [email protected].
The New Heritage Museum at Meadow Breeze Park opened on June 1, relocating from Bread Lock Park where the former museum will become an environmental center. Last year, Washington Township Historic Commission, with assistance from the Warren County Parks Foundation, set out to develop the museum at Meadow Breeze Park, Roth said, making the move in December.
The new museum includes an original Morris Canal canoe from 1916 and the Morris Canal room contains a model of a working lock and inclined plane. The effort was partially funded by a grant from the CSNJ.
The NJTPA and the CSNJ are among the partners working collaboratively to complete the Morris Canal Greenway. Nearly 60 people joined the May 28 Working Group meeting; a recording is available on the Morris Canal Greenway website.
Posted: 6/2/2025 11:07:06 AM
Morris County marked a major milestone with the official opening of the Pompton Valley Rail Trail, a 5.1-mile multi-use path constructed atop a former railroad and stretching from Pequannock Township to Wayne.
The new recreational path, funded by the NJTPA, runs from River Drive in Pequannock to Mountain View Boulevard in Wayne, near NJ TRANSIT’s Mountain View Station. The Morris County Department of Public Works managed design and construction of the trail.
About 100 local officials, residents and partners responsible for constructing the trail gathered Thursday behind the Pequannock First Aid Squad to cut the ribbon on the scenic, accessible route that was three decades in the making.
“This project is just one example of the many ways that we work together on everything from trails to safety and infrastructure investments,” said Morris County Commissioner Deputy Director Stephen Shaw, who represents the county on the NJTPA Board. “Another example is our shared vision for the Morris Canal Greenway, which we hope will one day stretch from the Delaware River in Phillipsburg, through Morris County, to the Hudson River in Jersey City.”
The NJTPA has helped fund greenway projects in the County, including the restoration of Lock 2 East and the Lock Tenders House, which serves as a visitor center, in Wharton.
“This project is a great example of how we work together across county lines and across party lines to advance regionally significant projects. This project not only connects folks to the Mountain View train station in Wayne but also brings us one step closer to our vision for a much larger regional trail network,” said Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett, who represents the county on the NJTPA Board.
Passaic County, with funding from the NJTPA, is working on the fourth phase of the Morris Canal Greenway project, which includes Wayne, near where this trail terminates. The County also is working on the Highlands Rail Trail along the former New York & Greenwood Lake Railway, which broke ground on the first phase of work last year in Wanaque, also with funding from the NJTPA.
“Our ultimate goal is to develop the trail into Pompton Lakes, which would connect it to the Morris Canal Greenway and the Pompton Valley Rail Trail,” Bartlett said. “Imagine how amazing it will be to bike, roll, walk or jog from right here in Pequannock all the way to Ringwood Manor. I look forward to working with our many partners to make this vision a reality.”