Regional Plan Association - Transit-Friendly Communities


	Rutherford Perspective		The Transit-Friendly Communities Initiative links town planning and design to the region's transportation infrastructure, demonstrating the ways in which rational land-use and transportation support each other. In addition to several collaborations with Metro North Railroad, RPA continues to work closely with New Jersey Transit. Through the Transit Friendly Communities for New Jersey program, RPA has completed station-area planning and design studies for more than a dozen New Jersey municipalities of different sizes.


RPA has been assisting NJ TRANSIT's transit friendly design program by examining the potential for development and for access improvements at or near eleven rail stations throughout the state. The station areas were selected to represent a variety of settings -- stations on existing and new rail lines, stations with great development pressures, stations with heavy demand for added parking, stations with complex governance issues, etc. The great variety of circumstances offers a range of issues and opportunities that would be applicable elsewhere in the nation. The resources for this work were provided by a federal grant authorized by TEA-21 legislation. RPA continues to work with New Jersey Transit on creating walkable, mixed-use environments around its train stations

Galloway Township Located on the Atlantic City Branch Line. Galloway Township is a low-density and, in many ways, rural environment. The question is, how can the Township exploit this resource in a way that accomplishes the Township's goals for creating a new "gateway" and supports investment in a new station. RPA is leading a community design effort that is bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders. RPA has helped the community articulate its first "vision statement" for the future station area and in partnership with the stakeholders, RPA is developing a series of schematic design and land use pans. The project will be complete in the summer of '03.		Netcong, New Jersey Netcong is a quaint, traditional town on the Morris and Essex Line in Morris County, N.J. The existing station is at the heart of this small downtown, but is surrounded by vacant and underutilized properties. NJ Transit has asked RPA to lead a community-based planning and design effort that will result in a land use and urban design strategy for the station area and its connections to the rest of the town. Netcong Final Report Netcong Project Summary Building Transit-Friendly Communities (1997 RPA Report) part 1 and part 2 Building a Transit-Friendly Community [PDF, 72.1 MB]