Christie Moves Into Governor's House, Finds Transportation Cupboard Bare

The buying power of New Jersey's 10.5 cents/gallon gas tax has eroded over the years. Note: In 2009, the tax was equivalent to 5.8 cents/gal in 1988 dollars.

On Friday, NJ Governor Christie’s transition team released a sweeping review of state operations. Not surprisingly, nearly all of the key transportation issues facing the state have [...]

Experienced Picks For NJ Transportation Agencies

From left: NJDOT Commissioner nominee Jim Simpson, NJ Transit Executive Director nominee Jim Weinstein.

Moments ago, incoming Governor Chris Christie announced that Jim Simpson is his nominee to head the NJ Department of Transportation and Jim Weinstein will lead NJ Transit. Both come to their positions with plenty of transportation experience.

New NJDOT nominee Jim Simpson [...]

Speedway Elementary: Where Kids Learn to Dodge Cars

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 to move [...]

2009 NJ Year in Review: Investment -- But in the Right Places?

Stories from 2009: (clockwise from right) NJ broke ground on the Access to the Region's Core tunnel; Chris Christie was elected governor; NJDOT will increase the percentage of its road budget going towards expansion in coming years; NJDOT increased funds for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure in the 2010 capital budget; the state broke ground [...]

NJ Complete Streets: Victory or Empty Rhetoric?

Heeding the call from Tri-State and other groups, the New Jersey Department of Transportation has adopted a complete streets policy, signed by Commissioner Stephen Dilts on December 10th.  Complete streets is a policy that requires new or rehabilitated roads to be built for all users, including walkers, cyclist, transit riders, and drivers.

Following Connecticut’s passage of [...]

What’s Up With Route 1? NJDOT Can’t Say

According to an article in the New Brunswick-based Sentinel paper earlier this month, an NJDOT project to relieve traffic in the Route 1 corridor has moved to the top of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan, a list of planned transportation projects. But the story focused solely on a possible widening of the roadway, omitting any [...]

Will NJDOT Pave Over My Kitchen?

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 time one of [...]

NJDOT Saves $10M, a 230-Year-Old Tree, and Perhaps its Public Image

The Route 49/55 interchange in Millville.

In a shining example of good government, NJDOT listened and responded to Millville and Cumberland County residents and elected officials opposed to a project which would have widened Route 49 by lengthening the Route 55 exit ramps.

The $28 million project was announced in April by Gov. Corzine, but fears [...]

TSTC Report: New Jersey Residents Flocking to Transit

New Jerseyans are driving less and taking transit more, according to a just-released update of the Campaign’s The State of Transportation: Benchmarks for Sustainable Transportation in New Jersey.  The number of miles New Jersey residents traveled by bus and rail grew by 45 percent from 1997 to 2007, while driving grew by less than half [...]

NJ Gradually Clearing Away Obstacles to Bus Rapid Transit

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 [...]