A new report released today details the catastrophic path the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund is on, showing the Fund will run out of money by mid-2011 at the latest, placing road repairs, transit services and vital federal funds at risk. The 12-page analysis, titled, "Spiral of Debt: The Unsustainable Structure of New Jersey's Transportation Trust Fund," was written by Regional Plan Association in conjunction with Tri-State Transportation Campaign and New Jersey Future. It details revenue sources and expenditures, and shows how the nearly $900 million in tax revenues raised for the fund every year will, by next year, be dedicated entirely to paying off interest and principal on old debt.

The City of Bridgeport and Bridgeport Regional Business Council today celebrate the release of BGreen 2020, a Sustainability Plan that outlines the policies and actions to be implemented in the next decade to improve the quality of life, social equity, and economic competitiveness of the city while reducing carbon emissions and increasing the community's resilience to the effects of climate change and increasing energy costs. The program management team, led by Regional Plan Association, convened the efforts of more than a hundred stakeholders in a Community Advisory Committee and working groups to develop strategies to address brownfields and land use, pedestrian and transit access, renewable energy production, and environmental protection while supporting the growth of green jobs in the region.

(New York, NY) RPA has released maps by county of the most recent round of MTA subway, bus and commuter rail service cuts. The cuts are part of a larger set of gap-closing actions, including reduction in Paratransit service, elimination of student Metrocards, worker layoffs and salary reductions, which the MTA is undertaking to close an estimated $750 m operating shortfall brought on by state cuts and loss in revenue.

The maps show cuts by State Senate and Assembly district. RPA and the Empire State Transportation Alliance are urging the state and city to address the MTA's operating budget shortfalls as well as fund an estimated $10 billion gap in the upcoming 2010 - 2014 rebuilding and repair program.

The maps are released as the MTA begins a series of public hearings around the region to gather public input on the proposed service reductions.

A Monmouth University Poll released today finds that 95 percent of New Jersey residents think it is important to pay to maintain and improve the NJ transportation system, yet almost half of NJ residents don't know the Transportation Trust Fund - the primary source of money paying for road, bridge and transit repairs - is going broke.

Read the Press Release and Poll Results

Recently released housing data compiled by HUD shows the differing housing needs challenges faced by Connecticut households. While many of the state's households face high housing costs, small non-family households pay the highest share of their income towards housing, especially in communities closest to jobs and transit.