Since we last reported on the NJ transit village program in March 2003, six villages have been added to the program: Belmar, Bloomfield, Bound Brook, Collingswood, Cranford, and Matawan. The other transit villages are Pleasantville, Rutherford, South Orange, Morristown, and South Amboy. So far, none have been added in 2004.

Despite the additions, funding has remained stagnant since 1999 at $1 million annually. DOT officials say that Trust Fund and DOT discretionary funds have contributed over $12 million for over forty projects in these villages, including streetscaping and bike/ped facilities. However, there seems to be little tracking of where and how the money is being spent.

Last year, a DOT sponsored Rutgers Voorhees Transportation Center report came to a similar conclusion. It found that it is difficult to get a complete picture of the program’s successes because of a poor reporting system and detailed needed improvements in state and municipal annual reporting. It’s unclear whether NJ DOT has made these changes, but the Pleasantville transit village coordinator told MTR that new standardized evaluation forms municipalities requested nearly a year ago have not been created. However, most villages told us the program has been a success.

The program certainly has potential to promote smart growth in NJ, but it requires better funding and improved reporting to be more effective. Perhaps the newly appointed Smart Growth Ombudsman, Susan Bass-Levin, can take on this charge.

All transit villages are based around a train station, except Pleasantville, which is based around a bus station.

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