Murphy Administration announces $1 million in Transit Village grants to revitalize areas around transit facilities
Four municipalities receive grants for quality of life improvements
(Trenton) -The Murphy Administration today announced Local Aid grants totaling $1 million to help four municipalities advance Transit Village projects that will improve quality of life without burdening local property tax payers.
“In a state as densely populated as New Jersey, it is important that we encourage the use of public transportation,” NJDOT Acting Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “The Transit Village program provides funding to communities that are committed to revitalizing neighborhoods near existing transit facilities to improve our communities and the quality of life of our residents.”
The Transit Village program is a multi-agency smart growth initiative, in which municipalities that have transit facilities within their borders can seek to be designated as a Transit Village by developing plans for dense, mixed-use redevelopment that includes housing near their transit facility. The facility can service commuter rail, bus, ferry, or light rail. The initiative creates incentives to revitalize areas around transit stations to create attractive, vibrant, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods where people can live, shop, work and play without relying on automobiles.
Today, there are 33 municipalities in the transit village program. Among the benefits of the transit village designation are coordination among the state agencies that make up the Transit Village Task Force, priority funding and technical assistance from some state agencies, and enhanced eligibility for grants.
Each municipality with a Transit Village designation may submit one application for funding. Applications must be for projects located within one-half mile of the transit facility and the projects are awarded on a competitive basis taking into consideration proximity to a transit facility, walkability, bicycling, project need and applicant’s past performance using other Local Aid funds. This year, NJDOT received 14 applications requesting $5.8 million. The following four municipalities received grants totaling $1 million available in the FY 2018 Transit Village grant program:
- Pleasantville, Atlantic County: $400,000
- Orange, Essex County: $195,000
- Asbury Park, Monmouth County: $325,000
- Somerville, Somerset County: $80,000
The Transit Village Program, as well as other Local Aid grant programs are funded through the State Transportation Trust Fund (TTF). The recent gas tax increase as part of the TTF renewal in 2016 more than doubled the overall amount of funds for NJDOT’s Local Aid programs to $400 million, most of which goes to County and Municipal Aid and benefit residents by enabling local governments to significantly reduce or eliminate reliance on local property tax dollars to support their projects. For NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info and on our Facebook page.
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