In a recent announcement, NJ DOT Commissioner Jack Lettiere announced six new transit villages—Collingswood, Bound Brook, Belmar, Bloomfield, and Matawan—and a $200,000 grant for each. The program’s expansion follows awards earlier this month for major improvements in two designated transit villages. South Orange received $720,000 to expand its commuter shuttle service and Rutherford received $420,000 for completion of a safety-enhancing roundabout at Station Square.

The transit village program was initiated in 1999 to spur revitalization around transit stations and to boost transit ridership. The program’s grants and technical assistance reward municipalities committed to transit-oriented growth. Other transit villages include Morristown, Metuchen, Pleasantville, South Amboy, Riverside, and Rahway.

On the same day as Commissioner Lettiere’s announcement, the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers hosted a symposium on the program. Discussing her research, Dr. Jan Wells said designated municipalities have a favorable view of the program. Over 80 percent of residents surveyed in South Amboy feel that their downtown is improved from three years ago; over 60 percent of respondents in Metuchen and South Orange feel similarly.

Gary LaVenia, the township administrator for Riverside Township, said the program has provided helpful benefits and services. Riverside has received money for a marketing study, an environmental feasibility study, and a brownfield remediation study. He said he has regular contact with a liaison in the Governor’s office.

At the same time, Wells said the program lacks accountability. Several agencies – including the NJ Redevelopment Authority, NJ DEP and the Office of Smart Growth – provide technical assistance to transit villages. But they are not documenting this help, which makes the program’s incentive value hard to measure. Given its relatively low funding – only $1 million per year in dedicated funds – its success depends on these agency resources.

Several state officials contacted by the Campaign said their agencies did not in fact prioritize assistance to designated transit villages, but said that greater coordination among state agencies to expedite improvements in transit village areas is the program’s major benefit. But smart growth depends on more than coordination. For the program to be significant, transit villages need to receive clearer benefits from the agencies. The $10 million Governor McGreevey has discussed attaching to the program would be a step in the right direction.

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