Innovative structuring of the decision-making process has allowed a large metropolitan planning organization, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), to face the challenge of cooperatively developing a long-range transportation investment agenda in a complex and diverse region. The wide range of applicable geographic scales is a problem when exploring alternative strategies in such a region, so a single, multiscaled, technically based planning analysis was designed and conducted to unify decision makers around a comprehensive set of performance goals and the estimated potential effects of all reasonable actions. The analysis, built within an accelerated 10-month time frame under federal scrutiny, relied on participation by elected officials, planners, engineers, and regional stakeholders. It produced a full regionwide identification of long-term performance needs and an exhaustive assessment and prioritization of location-specific strategies. NJTPA applied this prioritization to select strategies to update its long-range transportation plan and to develop specific immediate guidance for implementation agencies.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) updates its long-range transportation plan every 5 years. The plan sets forth strategies, provides a framework for directing investment, and identifies financial resources needed to sustain the plan’s vision. Setting the direction of a long-range transportation program revolves around forecasting future transportation conditions and managing investments to address future needs. An analysis tool was needed to help assess the impact of growth on the statewide transportation system and predict system performance based on multimodal strategic investments. The development and use of an analysis tool based on a travel demand model to assess congestion and mobility issues in 2025 are described. The analysis tool linked the state’s three metropolitan planning organization (MPO) regional travel demand models to perform a statewide assessment. Although the models were run independently, methods were developed to provide a common basis for forecasting future travel conditions. The models used MPO-generated trend-based growth in population and employment through 2025. Multimodal transportation supply and demand strategies, including transit improvements, capacity improvements, transportation demand management strategies, and intelligent transportation systems-transportation system management strategies, were simulated and tested to assess what types and combinations of improvements would be needed to relieve congestion and improve mobility. The tool proved very helpful in defining transportation needs and providing input to a financial assessment. The testing indicated that no single strategy is likely to improve future travel conditions, but a combination of multimodal strategies offers significant improvements over congestion levels predicted for 2025 if no improvements are made.