Over the past year, Hoboken has jumped to the head of the pack when it comes to transportation reform in New Jersey cities. Motivated by practical concerns like parking, congestion, and fiscal sanity, Mayor Dawn Zimmer and the City Council have refocused the city’s policies and programs toward transit, walking and biking, and auto trip reduction. In doing so, they’ve ushered in a new paradigm for urban transportation in New Jersey — and other cities would do well to follow suit.

Like most cities, Hoboken suffered from a shortage of parking and an abundance of traffic; and as in most cities, officials tried for decades to remedy the problem by adding spaces and lots wherever they could. But “that approach has been costly and hasn’t worked,” Zimmer recently wrote in NJ Municipalities. “Instead of trying to build our way out of the problem by increasing supply, we are pursuing an innovative, comprehensive approach to attacking the demand side of the problem. After all, we can’t expect residents to consider driving less if they don’t have better alternatives.”

A conversation with Ian Sacs, the city’s Transportation Director, made it clear that Hoboken’s new trajectory is all about facilitating the ease and convenience — the accessibility and connectivity — of alternatives to the privately owned car. So far, it’s working.

Five months ago, MTR reported on the launch of Hoboken’s citywide car share, Corner Cars. Since then, about 1,000 people have signed up for the service. Corner Cars can cost $3,000 to $5,000 less per year than owning a car, and with 90% of residents within a 5-minute walk of a location, the program takes the uncertainty out of giving up a personal vehicle.

To further promote Corner Car use and encourage residents to fully relinquish their cars, the city created the “Surrender Your Permit” initiative, in which residents who turn over their parking permit at the Hoboken Parking Utility receive an incentive package valued at $500. Sacs described the incentive as a leap of faith – residents must trust that a car will be available when they need it. Forty-six people so far have taken that leap and turned in their permits in the 4 weeks since the program’s unveiling.

In addition to the early success of the car-share, under Mayor Zimmer’s leadership, the city resurrected a dead crosstown bus service, renaming it The Hop and doubling its ridership. While some NJ Transit bus routes go through the city, Sacs said, they are largely designed for commuting and not local travel.  The key to success for The Hop, as with Corner Cars, is accessibility and connectivity.  All residents live within a 5-minute walk of a stop and The Hop offers residents local stops for short trips, making car-free life convenient and manageable.

In addition to facilitating sustainable motorized travel, the city has advanced bike and pedestrian safety infrastructure and initiatives to encourage healthy transportation choices, and to reduce traffic caused by short errands. At the urging of the City Council, Hoboken is looking to implement a city-wide 20 mph speed limit as an outgrowth of its “20 is plenty” campaign. They have also doubled the number of bike racks city-wide, have a well-developed bike plan, and will soon introduce a resolution to add bike lanes to or designate as bike routes 80-85% of city streets.  As Sacs sees it, “Once someone has made the decision to ride their bike to the PATH once a day, they’ve taken that critical first step. Then it’s very easy for people to begin to take other trips by bike.”

As Hoboken continues its efforts, it hopes to serve as a model for other communities. “I haven’t invented anything,” said Sacs. “I took existing ideas and made them work for Hoboken. Any suburban community can do the same. A family will have an SUV because they need it twice a year. Why wouldn’t it work to put a shared SUV in the cul-de-sac and have people drive more efficient vehicles day-to-day?”