The Transportation Group is responsible for ensuring that site plan review applications comply with the Meadowlands District Regulations regarding traffic and transportation. The group also works on other transportation related projects, such as the Meadowlands Adaptive Signal System for Traffic Reduction (MASSTR), discussed below.
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. 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.
In addition, the District is rich in opportunities for intermodal access, and the area has been identified as a prime location for increasing mass transportation and developing pedestrian-friendly transit villages.
MEADOWLANDS TRANSPORTATION PLANNING DISTRICT (MTPD)
The Hackensack Meadowlands Transportation Planning Act (Act), effective June 24, 2005, established a Transportation Planning District within the Meadowlands District. The law requires the creation of a comprehensive District-wide Transportation Plan that will designate transportation projects and associated funding needed to sustain future economic growth. The Act empowers the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to assess fees on future District development based upon a technical analysis of its projected impact upon the transportation system.
The Meadowlands Transportation Plan was adopted in 2007 by both the MTPD Board and the Agency in 2007. The objective of the Plan is to identify transportation needs, recommend specific improvements and estimate costs of improvements over a time frame that reaches to the year 2030. The Plan fulfills the requirements of the Act and plays an important role in the MTPD Board’s mission to improve mobility for passengers and freight throughout the District.
Printed copies of the 2007 Meadowlands District Transportation Plan are available for purchase at $15 per copy. The Appendix volume is also available for an additional $10.
- Meadowlands District Transportation Plan
- MDTP Fact Sheet
- MDTP Plan Appendix
- Guidelines for Green Development and Redevelopment Part 3 (Transportation Efficient Development)
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 New Jersey Meadowlands through advanced, proven, and cost-effective technologies without sprawl-inducing roadway widening, significant infrastructure spending, or adding additional right-of-way.
The project incorporates 123 traffic signals into a self-adaptive network. A reduction in congestion is accomplished by adjusting the signal timings based upon the flow of traffic rather than utilizing fixed or actuated timings. Signals along multi-jurisdictional boundaries are continuously coordinated for optimal operation. Traffic conditions and signal operations are monitored and controlled in real-time at the NJSEA Traffic Management Center.
Monitoring sites through SCATS – Adaptive traffic signal control system
Video-based vehicle detection system
The MASSTR project is an ideal opportunity to update existing outdated traffic control mechanisms and integrate them into an advanced intelligent transportation system that provides for sustainable transportation improvements and significant regional benefits within a complex region. Area businesses and residents will continuously benefit from a reduction in signal delays, travel time, fuel consumption, and airborne emissions.
All project systems utilize advanced components including adaptive traffic signal control software, wireless and fiber-optic communications, and vehicle detection devices.
Installation of the system predominantly consists of adding advanced traffic signal control components to existing signal cabinets; mounting vehicle detection cameras, radios, and antennas on traffic signal poles; and installation of various wiring.
The agency was awarded a highly competitive $10 Million Tiger 2 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to install the system on 123 traffic signals in the Meadowlands region. The Meadowlands District Transportation Planning District fund is providing the remaining $2.5 million in matching funds.
The completed intelligent transportation system will serve more than 3 million vehicles each day. The project is estimated to reduce vehicle delays by more than 1.2 million hours per year, gasoline consumption by more than 1.2 million gallons per year and greenhouse gas emission by more than 11,000 tons per year.
MASSTR IN THE NEWS
- BBC Autos: How smart traffic signals may ease your commute
- The Record – November 2013
- Meadowlands USA – August 2013
- Star Ledger – September 2013
- Meadowlands USA – April 2013
COMMUTER SHUTTLE
The NJSEA co-sponsored Lyndhurst Corporate Shuttle transfers commuters, residents and students. It stops at the Kingsland Train Station in Lyndhurst, the Rutherford Train Station, several NJ Transit bus stops in each town, the Lyndhurst Corporate Center, the Lyndhurst campus of Bergen Community College, and the Meadowlands Environment Center and the Avalon Bay residential complex, also in Lyndhurst.
