New Jersey officials announced $1 million in FY 2021 Transit Village grants to help four municipalities advance projects that will improve quality of life in Atlantic, Hudson, Essex and Middlesex Counties.
“The Department of Transportation’s dedication to the people of New Jersey extends far beyond our roadways,” NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said in a statement. “Initiatives like the Transit Village program spur community and economic growth and improve the quality of life for all New Jersey’s residents and visitors.”
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.
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.
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SOURCE: New Jersey DOT
