Now Available … Summer 2008 Issue

The following are the top stories from the Summer 2008 issue. Not all of the content that appears in the print edition is available online. To order a free subscription to the magazine, click on the link to the right.

Special Feature: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Throw a dart at a map of the U.S. and chances are that somewhere close, a new sports stadium is on the rise or being planned, and its neighbors are facing tough decisions over how to finance it. The economic payoffs from a sports venue may be significant, but so are the transportation arrangements necessary to accommodate it. In this issue, we take a look at some of the planning, obstacles and investments needed to move huge crowds of people to these places in an orderly way.

The Devils in the Details

How NJ Transit, City Prepared to Put
“The Rock” in a Hard Place: Downtown Newark

By Karl Vilacoba

If good things come in threes, for NJ Transit, that means the Bordieri brothers.

Joseph, Brian and Vincent live in three separate parts of the state, but chose to ride their three local train lines rather than drive to Newark for a recent New Jersey Devils hockey game. The brothers met up near the main departures board in Newark Penn Station, which was swarming with fans. Read More

Also See:
Newark’s Rail-Tied and Ironbound History
New Ballpark Design Influences
Go Back, Back, Way Back
Academics Say Stadiums Don’t Pay

A Slow-Go to the Speedway

Traffic from 300,000 Indy 500 Fans
Poses a Daunting Challenge

By Jason Martin

Zach Crowe’s morning commute landed him in the middle of two blocks of standstill traffic at 6:30 a.m. one May Sunday in Indianapolis. Crowe was trying to get to his office inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway some six and a half hours before the Indianapolis 500 was scheduled to begin. Read More

A First Down for Transit in Arlington?

Cowboys Stadium Project Helps
Put Rail, Bus Talks Back in Play

By Greg Henry

Mass transit has long been relegated to the sidelines in Arlington, Texas, where voters have rejected bus transit plans three times over the past 23 years. But with the Dallas Cowboys coming to town in 2009, transit is back on the playing field. Read More

Also in this Issue

An Underground Movement Forms in L.A.

Supporters See a Window
of Opportunity for Subway Extension

By Josh Stephens

As Los Angeles has grown more populous and traded density for sprawl, banter about “Manhattanization” has picked up. To the chagrin of many residents, development in the 469-square mile city, and even in its surrounding eponymous county, has consumed nearly all buildable land, and anything further may have to grow up rather than out. How anyone will get to these new developments is another matter. Read More

A Road Runs Through It: Using
Geophysical Sensing in Transportation

By Jessica Zimmer

Arrowheads, glass bottles, human skeletons—when work starts on a road project, you never know what lies beneath. Geophysical sensing takes the mystery out of that history. Read More

Also See: About the Technologies in this Story

Research Exchange

Research Exchange gathers brief summaries of ongoing or recently completed research about critical topics in transportation. Among the topics covered in this issue’s items are strategies to combat suicides by train, employers' views of transit incentive programs, terror vulnerabilities among U.S. commuter rail systems and several more. Read More

Winter 2008 Issue

The following are the top stories from the Winter 2008 issue.

Transportation Planning
Warms Up to Climate Change

Strategies Sweeping and Small
Being Formed to Face Global Emergency

By Josh Stephens

Relatively speaking, Sisyphus had it easy: one boulder, one route, up and down, with zero emissions. But for contemporary planners worried about climate change, an even more formidable task is emerging. It involves America’s billion or so wheels, infinitely chaotic movements, and a stew of gases that threatens the biosphere. Read More

Also See:
Other Governments Not Waiting for D.C.’s Lead

FasTimes at Mile High

Ambitious Expansion of Denver Area
Commuter Rail Service on Track

By Greg Henry

The largest mass transit project in the country is scheduled to start in full this summer in Denver. Once complete, the ambitious FasTracks program is expected to add 119 miles of new commuter and light rail and 18 miles of bus rapid transit (BRT) service to the Denver metro area. Read More

Also See:
Success of Predecessors Laid Tracks for New Lines
Tax Revenues a Good Start for New Starts

Protecting the Past’s Future

Cities Employ Strategies to Handle Modern
Transportation Needs in Historic Districts

By Jessica Zimmer

Historic districts present city planners and traffic engineers with a unique challenge—balancing the need to attract visitors with state and sometimes federal requirements to protect the character of old neighborhoods.

Enter a strategy: Make the historic district the new downtown. Read More

Also See:
Birds on a Mission

Traffic Probes Provide
Real-Time Data on Road Conditions

By Eric Goldwyn

If you’ve glided through an E-ZPass booth in North Jersey or cruised a local highway with a cell phone turned on lately, your movements may have been tracked. But don’t worry—experts say the information you provided was anonymous and could have actually sped up your trip. Read More

Research Exchange

Research Exchange gathers brief summaries of ongoing or recently completed research about critical topics in transportation. Among the topics covered in this issue’s items are iPods’ effects on driving, stress levels by commuting mode, a London “smart bike” pilot, the ineffectiveness of “Children at Play” signs and several more. Read More

Also See:
Walking Distance to Transit

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Contact Us:
Questions, comments, press releases and feedback should be directed to Managing Editor Karl Vilacoba at intransitionmag@njtpa.org or by calling (973) 639-8407.