|
|||||
|
Student interns at the Greater Newark Conservancy take a break from surveying the city for this photograph. “We know what Newark looks like standing still, and we know that change is needed. With all the diversity in the city, it’s important that we try to work together. Let’s get it together—let’s move Newark.” [...] Transit and freight rail can be powerful tools for development. Seeking to maximize those tools, NJ in 2008 established the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit, which provides tax credits for businesses that use freight rail and those that develop housing, plan large expansions, or relocate within a half-mile of transit hubs in nine cities. [...] Reworked Newark plans Taking to the streets with cameras and imagination, 45 Newark high school interns participated in a two-day exercise with TSTC to re-envision downtown Newark as a “great place” for residents and visitors. The exercise is a result of an on-going partnership with the Greater Newark Conservancy’s Newark Youth Leadership Project. [...] The new Speedway Elementary School was built near two busy roads and the Garden State Parkway. As previously reported in MTR, the new Speedway Elementary School was built along two very busy roadways and near ramps for the Garden State Parkway, without a playground or safe access to a large park across the [...] Speedway Elementary School in Newark (seen under construction in this photo) is at the intersection of two major roads that feed into and off of the Garden State Parkway. We learn some of our most important lessons in elementary school: how to share, how to read, how to study. For the students slated [...] This time, it's personal: Widening Route 21 would impact properties on the west side of the road (on the left in the photo) — including my house. The following is a first-person account by TSTC general counsel Kyle Wiswall. Tri-State often works with victims of unnecessary road projects. But this is the first [...] In parts of Newark, walking to and from school can mean dealing with unsafe traffic, violent crime, and a general lack of infrastructure. Many communities that receive federal Safe Routes to School grants are looking to encourage more students to walk and bike to school through programs like the “walking school bus.” However, [...] Mayor Cory Booker and Newark residents meet for the Brick City Bike Collective's first ride. (Zoe Baldwin contributed to this story.) Founded in June, the Brick City Bike Collective (BCBC) recently hit Newark’s streets, with Mayor Cory Booker joining the group for its first ride on August 7th. Since the middle of the [...] High school students in the Newark Youth Leadership Project were asked if they knew someone who had been hit by a vehicle. This was their response. “Who in this room personally knows someone who has been hit by a car?” Tri-State’s Zoe Baldwin asked a classroom of the 45 high school students interning [...]  The approximate locations of NJ Transit's major bus projects. (Springfield Ave. GoBus is already running; the others are being implemented or studied.) An expansion of Newark’s GoBus service is only the first of many bus projects NJ Transit has in the works, TSTC learned after a recent meeting with agency staff. Statewide bus plans include projects on Route 9 in Monmouth County, Bergen and Passaic Counties, and Route 1 in Central NJ. But the agency faces several obstacles to bus rapid transit expansion in some of New Jersey’s most congested corridors. In many cases, the quality of existing infrastructure is the largest hindrance to progress. In some places, old traffic signals prevent NJ Transit from implementing full signal prioritization. Other bus corridors center around highways where there are almost no sidewalks or other pedestrian amenities. Most bus shelters in the state are maintained by private companies or local governments, giving NJ Transit limited control over their design and upkeep. This makes it difficult to implement one of the quintessential components of a “true” BRT system, updated shelter design. Features like pre-boarding fare collection and “next bus in X minutes” information greatly enhance the overall efficiency and customer experience. In parts of the state, BRT planners have gotten pushback from local businesses who fear that loss of parking for bus lanes will alienate customers. In others, business owners want better bus access and feel that existing studies will not give it to them. NJ Transit overcame one obstacle to better bus service in January of this year, when the State Legislature passed a bill that adjusted state regulations on bus axle weights. This clears the way for NJ Transit to buy low-floor buses, which provide easier and quicker access for passengers as they get on and off the bus. Below is a brief outline of NJ Transit’s major bus projects: Newark: Bloomfield Ave. – Newark Airport GoBusClosest to completion is a project to enhance bus service along the busy Bloomfield Ave. corridor in the Township of Bloomfield and the City of Newark, connecting to the Newark light rail and the Springfield Ave. GoBus. As part of the Liberty Corridor initiative, the route also establishes a one-seat ride to the airport and connects to existing bus service to the port areas of Elizabeth and Newark. Signal prioritization will be implemented along the whole corridor, but not at every intersection. NJ Transit planners told MTR that they are looking at Staten Island’s Victory Blvd., where NYCDOT has installed signal prioritization to speed up multiple bus routes, as a model. However, the planned route runs on both City of Newark and Essex County streets, which use two different signal systems. Newark’s signals are too old to allow signal priority and would need to be replaced entirely. Some local merchants have balked at extension of dedicated bus lane hours, due to the loss of parking. Replacement of some traffic signals and construction of new shelters with improved passenger information (funded through the federal economic stimulus) began in the spring. Exact location of stops has jet to be determined, but service is expected to begin by the end of 2009. |
 
 |
||||
|
Copyright © 2012 Tri-State Transportation Campaign |
|||||
