Office of the Governor
McGreevey attends Central
Jersey Transportation Forum
Reducing sprawl through smart growth among the adenda items
(Princeton) - Governor James E. McGreevey today attended the Central Jersey Regional Transportation Forum, and offered his vision on how smart growth can make a difference in addressing sprawl and transportation needs in New Jersey.
“Smart growth is our long term weapon battle against sprawl and traffic congestion,” said McGreevey. “We need to maintain a ‘Fix it First’ approach to transportation projects. By doing this, we can maximize the benefits of the infrastructure we already have, clear up existing bottlenecks, and finally move away from subsidizing sprawl.”
In addition, the Governor discussed other steps the State is taking to grow in accordance with Smart Growth principles, such as promoting Transit Villages, reforming highway access policy and restoring statewide capital planning.
“For the past ten years, New Jersey has been spending an average of 20 percent of its transportation capital budget on new roads. This year, we have driven that number down to only 4 percent,” said McGreevey. “This is not only smart policy, it is a smart use of taxpayer dollars.”
The Governor also noted that the NJDOT is developing the first Statewide Transportation Master Plan since 1979. The Plan will help to promote smart growth principles and allow transportation to be a method for shaping and guiding smart growth.
The conference was attended by transportation and planning professionals from around the state.
McGreevey has made transportation one of his top priorities for New Jersey. He had previously convened a Smart Growth Summit in Trenton on October 22nd where he announced that New Jersey will provide additional incentives for the cleanup of contaminated sites for residential development under A-2437, which he signed into law that day.
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