Governor Murphy’s Administration recently announced $2.6 million in FY2025 Transit Village grant funding that will be awarded to eight New Jersey municipalities for quality of life and infrastructural improvements around transit facilities.
The upcoming year’s recipients include Asbury Park, Atlantic City, Dunellen, Long Branch, Metuchen, Morristown, Pleasantville, and Rutherford. The grants will be administered through the Transit Village Initiative, a multi-agency Smart Growth Partnership, including NJDOT, NJ TRANSIT, and seven other state agencies. The partnership incentivizes municipalities to redevelop or revitalize areas around transit stations.
Atlantic City, the latest municipality to gain Transit Village status, will receive $568,000 for its Atlantic City Rail Station Pedestrian Safety Improvements project. The City will use the funds to construct a pedestrian safety walkway to the Atlantic City Rail Station. In addition to the Transit Village grant, Atlantic City received a $557,000 grant through the NJ Safe Streets to Transit program that will be used for safety improvements at Michigan and Atlantic avenues.
Pedestrian safety improvement projects in Morristown, Long Branch, and Metuchen have secured Transit Village grant funding. Morristown will use $208,000 to replace and improve sidewalks around its transit station. Long Branch will allocate $289,000 for sidewalk repairs at North Bath Avenue and Third Avenue near its transit station. Metuchen will invest $430,000 in curbing and sidewalk improvements on Main Street around its transit station.
Two of the awarded municipalities will leverage the grant funding towards quality of life improvements. Rutherford will receive $220,000 for Phase 2 of its Rutherford Station Square project, and Dunellen will receive $430,000 for streetscape improvements on North Avenue.
Asbury Park and Pleasantville have secured grant funding for transit improvement projects. Pleasantville will use $170,000 for upgrades to its bus pavilion and Park-and-Ride facilities, while Asbury Park will allocate $296,000 for canopy repairs at its transportation center.
New Jersey’s Transit Village Initiative began designating Transit Villages in 1999. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the initiative comprises 35 designated Transit Villages. To be designated a Transit Village, municipalities must meet the listed criteria, which includes documentation of specific ready-to-go development, and bicycle and pedestrian improvements, all within a half-mile radius of the transit facility.
For more information, see the NJDOT News Release.