New Jersey Statewide Rail Right-of-Way Study: Toward a Framework for Planning and Preservation

1997 ◽  
Vol 1571 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-194
Author(s):  
Matt Ledger
Keyword(s):  
New Jersey ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Right Of Way ◽  
Transit Ridership ◽  
Major Development ◽  
Surface Transportation ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
State Legislative

Right-of-way (ROW) preservation is one of the 15 factors of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, but scant attention is paid to prioritizing which corridors to preserve. In light of increasingly scarce planning, operating, and capital resources, as well as high expectations for the expansion of rail services, transit operators and other decision makers need a tool to priority rank the preservation of abandoned rail corridors. The NJ Transit rail ROW study responded to a state legislative mandate to identify, analyze, and priority rank abandoned rail corridors for preservation and possible service expansion. A methodology to screen out unusable rail ROW is developed, and the remaining ROW is ranked in terms of its initial potential to generate transit ridership. NJ Transit staff completed an inventory of all active and known abandoned rail lines within New Jersey. The ROW was passed through successive screens that eliminated ROW with “fatal flaws” (environmental sensitivity, major development encroachments, etc.) and ROW that would provide redundant transit service. The remaining ROW was ranked in terms of the number of journey-to-work (JTW) trips to likely rail destinations, JTW trips per mile, and household density in communities that the ROW serves. This preliminary investigation of ROW identified its potential suitability for various modes of transportation as well as intermodal opportunities.

Analysis of Overweight Truck Permit Policy in New Jersey

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110266
Author(s):  
Sami Demiroluk ◽  
Hani Nassif ◽  
Kaan Ozbay ◽  
Chaekuk Na
Keyword(s):  
New Jersey ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Actual Cost ◽  
Department Of Transportation ◽  
Heavy Weight ◽  
Vehicle Route ◽  
Heavy Trucks ◽  
Maintenance And Rehabilitation ◽  
The Cost

The roadway infrastructure constantly deteriorates because of environmental conditions, but other factors such as exposure to heavy trucks exacerbates the rate of deterioration. Therefore, decision-makers are constantly searching for ways to optimize allocation of the limited funds for repair, maintenance, and rehabilitation of New Jersey’s infrastructure. New Jersey legislation requires operators of overweight (OW) trucks to obtain a permit to use the infrastructure. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) issues a variety of permits based on the types of goods carried. These permits allow OW trucks to use the infrastructure either for a single trip or for multiple trips. Therefore, one major concern is whether the permit revenue of the agency can recoup the actual cost of damage to the infrastructure caused by these OW trucks. This study investigates whether NJDOT’s current permit fee program can collect enough revenue to meet the actual cost of damage to the infrastructure caused by these heavy-weight permit trucks. The infrastructure damage is estimated by using pavement and bridge deterioration models and New Jersey permit data from 2013 to 2018 containing vehicle configuration and vehicle route. The analysis indicates that although the cost of infrastructure damage can be recovered for certain permit types, there is room for improvement in the permit program. Moreover, based on permit rules in other states, the overall rank of the New Jersey permit program is evaluated and possible revisions are recommended for future permit policies.

Current needs in environmental risk management

1997 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-129
Author(s):  
S E Hrudey
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Public Expectations ◽  
Basic Understanding ◽  
Uncertainty Analyses ◽  
Risk Assessment And Management

Risk assessment and management have become central to many health and environmental issues in recent years. Despite high expectations for the applications of science to identify and manage risks, many of these issues remain controversial. Some of the foundations of risk assessment and management are explored and needs for improvement are identified. Inputs from models, data, and uncertainty analyses are reviewed and goals for risk assessment, management, and communication are considered. Ultimately a better understanding of the strengths and limitations of these processes, primarily by the specialists and decision makers, is a prerequisite to more effective involvement of affected stakeholders in risk management. Unless some better basic understanding is achieved, public expectations and demands for risk management are likely to remain unachievable.

A preliminary investigation into the knowledge of and attitudes toward the legal rights of mental patients

1973 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rona Laves ◽  
Alan Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
The State ◽  
Mental Health Workers ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Mental Patients

Three questionnaires assessing attitudes toward and knowledge of the legal rights of mental patients were distributed to mental health workers in the state of New Jersey. Attitudes of all groups toward the issues presented in the questionnaires were generally favorable. However, knowledge of the legal rights of mental patients, as assessed by the questionnaire, was considered to be deficient. Nurses and psychiatrists scored significantly higher on this questionnaire than the three other groups of mental health workers. Implications for the education of mental health workers in this area are discussed.

Using STEAM for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Transportation Alternatives

1998 ◽  
Vol 1649 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Decorla-Souza ◽  
Harry Cohen ◽  
Dan Haling ◽  
James Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Travel Demand ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Travel Demand Management ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Surface Transportation ◽  
Benefit Cost

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act emphasizes assessment of multimodal alternatives and demand management strategies. This emphasis has increased the need for planners to provide good comparative information to decision makers with regard to proposed alternative transportation solutions. Benefit-cost analysis is a useful tool to compare the economic worth of alternatives and evaluate tradeoffs between economic benefits and nonmonetizable social and environmental impacts. FHWA has developed a new tool for benefit-cost analysis called the Surface Transportation Efficiency Analysis Model (STEAM). The software is based on the principles of economic analysis and allows development of monetized impact estimates for a wide range of transportation investments and policies, including major capital projects, pricing, and travel demand management. Impact measures are monetized to the extent feasible, and quantitative estimates of natural resource usage (e.g., energy consumption) and environmental impact (e.g., pollutant emissions) are also provided. Decision makers can then use net monetary benefits (or costs) of alternatives as computed by STEAM to evaluate tradeoffs against nonmonetizable impacts. The software was applied in evaluation of corridor alternatives for the Central Freeway corridor in the hypothetical urban area of Any City, U.S.A.

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