Transportation / Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey Central Terminal, Credit:Vilseskogen/Flickr

Jersey City easily captured a top spot among medium-size metropolitan regions in our transportation study. This densely populated city on the Hackensack River, across from lower Manhattan, has the lowest average household vehicle-miles-traveled for any metropolitan region in the country. Along with neighboring New York City, it’s one of only two metropolitan regions in the nation with an average car ownership of less than one per household; in fact, only 60 percent of residents own or have access to a car. More than 98 percent of households, a higher percentage than in anywhere else in the United States, have access to transportation, meaning that they are located within a quarter-mile of a bus stop or within a half-mile of a rail station, according to the Center for Neighborhood Technology. This is largely because of the metropolitan region’s smart-growth strategies.

“Jersey City is fast becoming a model of leadership, as Mayor Healy has set the tone and city policy that auto dependency is antigrowth,” says Jennifer Morrill, a spokeswoman for Jersey City. “The city’s growth and development would clog the streets with traffic if it were not based on low auto utilization and high mass-transit use.” 

Creative Transit Initiatives

Jersey City’s Circulation Element is the Division of City Planning’s master plan, developed in 2009 to provide strategies for the city’s transportation vision for 2050. It targets strategies and actions that work toward improving all aspects of mobility and accessibility in the coming decades. This plan involves transit throughout the metropolitan region, and not surprisingly, many initiatives—including ones to expand the Hudson-Bergen light-rail system and keep public transit affordable for low-income residents—seek to work closely with New Jersey Transit, the state’s public transportation corporation. 

On the other hand, in October, Governor Chris Christie canceled a major New Jersey Transit project (slated to be the largest public transit project in the country) for a tunnel beneath the Hudson River that would double the number of trains between New Jersey and Manhattan. In response, the Bloomberg administration has proposed using the work and funds instead to extend a New York subway line beneath the Hudson to North Bergen, which lies just north of Jersey City and is well-connected by transit, thereby restoring the hopes of commuters in this metropolitan region for increased access to Manhattan.

Planning to Be Car-Free

Transit Access in New Jersey Metropolitan Region (light green lines indicate location of metro region with darker brown regions showing higher transit access), Credit:CNT H+T Affordability Index

Morrill says that a main goal is figuring out how to encourage commuters not to drive to work, citing interim trips, such as running errands or dropping off a child at school as a possible cause of such commuting decisions. According to Morrill, “It is possible that these auto trips may be reduced through a more robust mix of land uses that offsets the need to drive.” She refers specifically to the possibility of locating childcare centers or schools closer to home or work

One reason to avoid driving in Jersey City is the daunting cost of toll roads, bridges, tunnels, and parking, as well as the inevitable traffic congestion. In fact the city puts a cap on the number of parking spaces that developers are permitted to build alongside new development, making it particularly inconvenient for single-occupancy vehicles to make a trip into the city. The city is also beginning to explore designated bicycle lanes and has already installed bike racks on all local buses. Add this to a robust mass-transit system, including commuter rail, light-rail, buses, and a ferry; with so many transportation choices it’s even easier for residents to leave the car at home.

Waterfront Access

In order to increase public access to the waterfront, the city is exploring the use of trolley buses, with the possibility of reusing historic trolleys, to and within its lush Liberty State Park. In fact it aims to create public access walkways along all waterfronts. One such initiative includes plans for the western waterfront on the Hackensack River, an area neglected until lately, which will be accessible by bus rapid transit from the transportation center and business district of Journal Square. The focus on this part of the New Jersey waterfront is intended to bring 19,000 new residential units and retail and office spaces in a series of mixed-use, transit-oriented developments over the next 40 years.