The Hackensack Meadowlands District (District) is home to a wealth of natural resources as well as a vibrant and integral transportation network responsible for moving people and goods throughout one of the East Coast’s fastest-growing economic centers efficiently and safely. The District is located minutes from New York City and international transportation hubs such as Newark Liberty International Airport and the Port Newark/Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal. Local transportation infrastructure include the Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station at Secaucus Junction, Teterboro Airport, Routes 3, 17, 46, and 120, the New Jersey Turnpike, and several park-and-ride facilities.
The NJSEA Transportation Group’s responsibilities are twofold: 1) Ensure that site plan review applications comply with the Meadowlands District Regulations regarding traffic and transportation; 2) Develop, update, and implement the District Transportation Plan as mandated by the Hackensack Meadowlands Transportation Planning Act. The group also has been diligently striving to secure grant funding to improve safety and mobility for all throughout the Meadowlands region.
The federally funded project awards listed below are a testament to these efforts.
- Meadowlands Supplemental Plans and Demonstration Safety (MSPDSP) Projects
- Optimizing an Adaptive System Performance to Improve Travel Time Using NJDOT’s ATSPM Module
- Meadowlands Action Plan for Safety (MAP4S)
- Meadowlands Adaptive Signal System for Traffic Reduction (MASSTR) .
With a focus on advocating for multimodal mobility and safety, the NJSEA supports many initiatives, such as shuttle programs, which are now a part of EZ Ride, and a protected bike path along Meadowland Parkway, which was partially funded by NJSEA through its Transportation Planning District Fund.
MEADOWLANDS DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION PLAN (MDTP) OVERVIEW
The NJSEA Transportation Group and its consultants, under Meadowlands Transportation Planning Board (MTPB) oversight, updated the District-wide transportation plan through a collaborative process involving public and private sector stakeholders. The updated Meadowlands District Transportation Plan (MDTP) was adopted in 2024 and reflects recent District growth and extends the transportation planning horizon to the year 2045 (MDTP 2045).
If you have any comments or feedback, please contact us at MDTP2045@njsea.com.
MEADOWLANDS ACTION PLAN FOR SAFETY (MAP4S)
The Meadowlands Action Plan for Safety (MAP4S) is the first comprehensive safety action plan for the District, aimed at creating safer streets for all users. Through a federally funded project, the NJSEA developed a Safety Action Plan for the Hackensack Meadowlands District using a systematic approach to reduce fatalities and severe injuries. The plan identifies current and future transportation safety needs in the District, particularly those related to the impacts of heavy truck traffic on vulnerable users of the system. MAP4S was adopted by the NJSEA Board of commissioners in December 2025.
MSPDSP – MEADOWLANDS SUPPLEMENTAL PLANS AND DEMONSTRATION SAFETY PROJECTS
Under USDOT’s SS4A FY2025, the NJSEA was awarded a $429,864 grant for the “Meadowlands Supplemental Plans & Demonstration Safety Projects” (MSPDSP). The project advances the ultimate goal of the Meadowlands Action Plan for Safety (MAP4S) — to eliminate fatal and serious injury traffic crashes within the District roadway system by year 2040 — by developing two supplemental plans and implementing four quick-build temporary projects. The supplemental plans include an assessment of operating speed to identify roadway segments prone to motorist speeding, and the development of a Safe Routes to School Plan in partnership with EZ Ride. The quick-build demonstration projects include the deployment of Rectangular Rapid‑Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) at four mid-block crossings and the implementation of a traffic circle at one non-signalized intersection located in a light industrial setting. The findings will be incorporated into MAP4S as an update and will support future municipal safety investments.
OPTIMIZING ADAPTIVE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE TO IMPROVE TRAVEL TIME USING NJDOT’S ATSPM MODULE
Under the FHWA STIC incentive program administered through NJDOT, this awarded project will leverage a module recently developed by NJDOT (hereinafter referred to as the “ATSPM Module”) to automatically retrieve outputs from the NJSEA’s MASSTR adaptive signal system and analyze traffic signal performance along a designated corridor. The project will enhance MASSTR capabilities by monitoring and optimizing adaptive system parameters, including split timing to increase arrivals on green.
Furthermore, the project will evaluate the impacts of the ATSPM Module and the fine-tuning of adaptive system variables on corridor travel time. This relatively low-cost, performance-based traffic management approach is expected to yield significant benefits through optimization by reducing delays and mitigating traffic congestion for District drivers.
MEADOWLANDS ADAPTIVE SIGNAL SYSTEM FOR TRAFFIC REDUCTION (MASSTR)
The NJSEA MASSTR Project reduces roadway congestion, delays, travel time, fuel consumption, and airborne emissions in the Meadowlands region through advanced, proven, and cost-effective technologies without sprawl-inducing roadway widening, significant infrastructure spending, or adding additional right-of-way.
The project incorporates 126 traffic signals into a self-adaptive network.
EZ RIDE
The Meadowlands Transportation Brokerage Corporation, the first Transportation Management Association (TMA) in the state of New Jersey, which operates under the brand name “EZ Ride” (formerly “Meadowlink”), is a non-profit organization established in 1983 as a public-private partnership, and has been sponsored by the NJSEA since its initiation. The main objective of EZ Ride is to reduce traffic congestion in northern New Jersey through the implementation of vehicle trip reduction measures, such as carpooling, vanpooling, shuttle programs, transportation for older adults and people with disabilities, bike and pedestrian programs, EZ Ryde4Life, and direct-link services to major employers in the service area.
EZ Ride Website
PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS
With a focus on enhancing facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, the NJSEA, utilizing the Transportation Planning District Fund, reimbursed the Town of Secaucus for the construction of a designated protected bike path, which runs along Meadowland Parkway between Hudson Regional Hospital and the former home of WWOR TV 9. As part of the Secaucus Greenway, this bike path continues as a walking path to the south along Meadowland Parkway and connects to the Harmon Cove residential community.