Welcome
and Opening Remarks
The
meeting was called to order by Chairman Jim Sinclair
at 9:32 a.m.
New
members or delegates to the Task Force introduced themselves.
Based
upon recent census numbers, NJ has the highest median
income in the U.S., and we also have the third longest
commute. The "threshold of pain" notion comes
into play; it seems that once a commute goes over 30
minutes, the level of pain goes up.
New
Jersey has the third lowest gasoline tax in the nation.
High
speed EZ Pass generated a lively e-mail discussion among
members during the past month.
Chairman
Sinclair and his assistant, Sara Bluhm visited the Greater
Mercer TMA to learn how Transportation Management Associations
work. TMAs are great and can offer commuters much in
the way of rideshare options etc., but do not have marketing
mechanisms to reach smaller businesses.
The
report to NJ Alliance for Action titled Mobility and
the Costs of Congestion in New Jersey as handed out
at the July meeting shows that congestion relief is
a complex issue. Transportation investment may be part
of the solution, but other ideas need to be integrated
as well.
The
Chairman reviewed the recommendation report prepared
by the I-80 Mobility Task Force as handed out at the
July meeting. The recommendations broken down generically,
to be used as a possible model for CBTF, can be summarized
as follows:
Reducing
headways between buses. This may help alter the perception
that transit is "not easy or convenient to use."
Vanpools
are an effective way to transport people not near mass
transit lines.
Create
priority parking at rail stations for vanpools or carpools.
Develop
public education and marketing campaigns to raise awareness
of commuter options.
Implement
strategies to meet employer commute needs through TMAs.
Creative
marketing of public transportation service and fares.
Old
Business
Pippa
Woods stated that the Department's "Garden State
Parkway Congestion Relief Plan" to phase out Parkway
tolls within the next ten years had been submitted to
the governor's office as per Executive Order 128. As
of meeting time, there has been no direction from the
governor's office as to the plan. Future developments
will be reported to the Task Force when they occur.
Commuter
tax legislation (A-190/S-1051) was signed into law July
17, 2001. This NJDOT legislative initiative permits
a state employee's salary reduction program for qualified
transportation benefits and matches the Federal allowable
tax break.
The
latest Congestion Hot Spots list with Task Force members'
input was distributed.
An
ongoing Commuter Incentives Inventory was distributed
to the CBTF members.
New
Business
Thomas
Thatcher, manager of NJDOT's Bureau of Administrative
Practice & Public Law Implementation, made a presentation
on the proposed CBTF web page on the NJDOT website.
Menu items on the page will include remarks by Chairman
Sinclair, CBTF press release, CBTF statutory mandate,
membership roster (name and organization only), subcommittee
membership (future), meeting minutes, "Hot Spots,"
and NJDOT Single Occupant Vehicle Reduction Report.
Transportation
related Internet links will be a valuable piece of the
web page. The Chairman requested that all member organizations
of the CBTF be included as a link. It was suggested
that member organizations link their web page to the
NJDOT site if possible.
Discussion
ensued about monitoring traffic on the web page, contact
person(s) and the possibility of developing a "message
board." It was decided that the CBTF Secretary,
Debra Firman, would be the contact person.
It
is anticipated that the page will be reviewed and updated
twice monthly.
The
web page should be up on the NJDOT site by the September
meeting; a follow up on a message board feature will
be provided then.
Bob
Miller, manager of NJDOT's Bureau of Technical Analysis
made a presentation on establishing a "peak hour
vehicle trip" performance measure and the 1999
cap as per the statutory mandate.
Factors
such as capacity, travel demand and user satisfaction
were defined.
Ways
of measurement such as vehicles per hour, number of
trips, vehicle miles traveled, volume/capacity ratio,
travel time and level of service were presented.
Integration
of the three MPO travel demand models was necessary
for statewide analysis.
Peak
hour vehicle trips (not solely commuters) are expected
to increase in both the AM and PM periods by nearly
140,000 within ten years. This is a growth of approximately
7 %.
Surveys
indicate that home-based other and non-home based vehicle
trips are increasing during the peak hour as a result
of trips to daycare and other stops made on the way
to work.
Vehicle
miles traveled, another way to measure traffic, is expected
to grow by 10% within the next ten years. One factor
causing this increase is that people will drive further
miles or out of their way if it avoids congestion and
shortens their trip time.
Members
asked if the baseline methodology could be placed on
the CBTF web page in a reader friendly format.
Discussion
ensued about the intent of the legislation. Should the
Task Force focus strictly on vehicle trip reduction
or can the CBTF recommendations include congestion relief
as well?
Chairman Sinclair suggested both approaches could be
included in the Task Force's final report. In addition
to reducing vehicle trips and taking cars off the road,
the Task Force should seek ways to reduce delay and
congestion to make the group's work meaningful to the
residents of New Jersey. Members were reminded that
transit capacity is also constrained.
The
Chairman stated the vehicle trip baseline is something
the group can work with. NJDOT staff will follow up
with the MPOs to give definition to other travel measures.
This information could be incorporated with the NJDOT
long-range plan presentation at the September meeting.
The
Chairman brought to the group's attention the NJDOT
Report to the Legislature on Recommended Incentives
to Encourage a Reduction in Single Occupant Vehicle
Trips. Each Task Force member was asked to review the
report and develop their own list of five items that
could be pursued as potential ways to reduce vehicle
trips and congestion. Members should e-mail their response
to Debra Firman, CBTF Secretary. The goal of this assignment
is to develop a Task Force list of 10 - 15 action items.
Organizational
Items
Anita
Perez, Michael Egenton and Marty Robins were selected
to serve as the agenda committee for the next meeting.
Tentative items include the Statewide Plan with an emphasis
on land use and transportation, NJDOT Long-Range Plan
and goods movement.
Barry
Lem, Bill Layton and Jennifer Jaroski will serve on
the Public Outreach committee.
Joanne
Jaeger, J.P. Miele, Anita Perez and Mike Reeves were
asked to look at subcommittee needs and formation. They
will report their recommendations to the CBTF at the
September meeting.
Future
meeting dates were selected:
September
13th at 9:30 a.m. at New Jersey Turnpike offices, East
Brunswick
October
11th at 9:30 a.m. at New Jersey Transit, Newark
November
(date and time to be determined) at Delaware River Port
Authority, Camden
The
meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Attendees:
Task
Force Members (or Delegates):
Chairman
Jim Sinclair, NJBIA
Asst. Commissioner Pippa Woods
Sandra Brillhart, Greater Mercer TMA
Lew Dekker, NJ Motor Truck Assoc.
Mike Egenton, NJ Chamber of Commerce
Joanne Jaeger, LFR Levine
Jennifer Jaroski, TSTC
Jerry Keenan, NJAFA
Wm. Layton, Concrete & Aggregate Assoc.
Stephanie Kudrowitz, Edwards & Kelcey
Chris McMullen, CCC TMA
Hamou Megdir, NJTPA
Joseph P. Miele, CSNJ, NJTA
SFC Dan Morocco, NJSP
Anita Perez, RideWise
Mike Reeves, SJTPO
Martin Robins, Rutgers - TPI
Judy Schleicher
Donald Shanis, DVRPC
Invited
Guests:
Kenneth
Afferton, Edwards & Kelcey
Sara Bluhm, NJBIA
Jon Carnegie, Rutgers - TPI
Dotty Drinkwater, CSNJ
DOT
Staff:
William
Beetle
Pat Snyder
Debra Firman
Maureen Sweet
Jim Lewis
Adnew Tessema
Bob Miller
Thomas Thatcher
