Targeting Transit. (2012). Tim Evans. New Jersey Future.
In Targeting Transit, Tim Evans, New Jersey Future’s director of research and NJTOD advisory board member, presents a tool that municipalities, state agencies, and developers can use to prioritize transit-oriented development investments: an inventory of New Jersey’s transit stations and important data that help visualize the station and the surrounding area. These data can also help interested parties achieve a more comprehensive and objective assessment of station conditions from which a methodical, directed TOD strategy could emerge.
Evans elaborates on the variables that describe transit stations and station areas and offers that these data can provide insight into the TOD market of surrounding area and help identify the type of development that is most appropriate. He includes explanations of each variable and how the data can be interpreted to evaluate development or ridership potential. He examines issues of accessibility, intermodality, ridership, frequency of service, and parking, as well as population density, employment, income-related variables, and vehicle ownership.
Evans also discusses the development of a typology of transit stations, defining several station categories based on the functions that a station serves. A station typology can help simplify the process of deciding the kind of development that is appropriate for a station. In New Jersey, Together North Jersey, with the help of a $5 million grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, is developing a TOD transect that identifies station types and will be one of the factors used to model future growth in northern New Jersey.