Implementing Smart Growth Principles in Manalapan Township, New Jersey, to Address Transportation Deficiencies

摘要

The State of New Jersey is utilizing smart growth principles to address growing congestion problems. A smart growth implementation study is being conducted for Manalapan Township, New Jersey, which has a population of approximately 30,000 residents and is part of the New York City commuter shed. The township comprises residential, commercial, industrial, preserved open space, and farmland. The township is experiencing a surge of development within its few remaining developable parcels. It is also dealing with a road network that has seen little change during the past century. Congestion is not an isolated problem, and short-term traditional transportation improvement methods, such as adding pavement, are not practical for Manalapan, given property and fiscal constraints. Instead congestion may be managed in the long term through development and redevelopment using smart growth principles to improve infrastructure and encourage multi-modal transportation. This paper highlights the methodology used in the Manalapan study and shows how smart growth principles can be utilized in three different focus areas to improve quality of life while addressing congestion and transportation deficiencies. The focus areas include an undeveloped rural corridor that is rapidly facing development, a congested commuter route lined by commercial development serving as a significant transit node, and a community center that is currently undeveloped that could link several significant community resources and facilities including a train station. Paramount to each of the focus areas is the need to provide a network system to manage the burden otherwise imposed on the state highway system.