NJ Smart Choices

Building the movement for smart land use
and transportation planning in New Jersey.

NJ Funding Programs

Please send feedback, suggestions for improvements and corrections of information to Juliette Michaelson (jmichaelson@pps.org).

Search results for Safety

Local Finance Tools
V planning
V implementation
Municipal Governments
  • Special (Business) Improvement Districts: SIDs assess residents within set boundaries for additional services, such as park maintenance and public safety. They establish a partnership between property owners and businesses in downtown or commercial areas for the purpose of improving the business climate in a defined area. Impetus for the SID generally comes from business and property owners hoping to attract new customers by cleaning up sidewalks, improving parks, increasing lighting, etc. These business owners want better city services and are willing to pay for it -- within their neighborhood. In some places, they are willing to take on nongovernmental tasks, such as marketing, to supplement city services. There are currently an estimated 70 SIDs in the state of New Jersey. Refer to DCA's "SIDs: Loans & Grants" program for technical and financial assistance.
  • Tax Increment Financing: Tax increment financing can be used for a variety of purposes, including acquiring property to be resold at reduced prices and on-site improvements such as utilities, lights, repaving streets, and restoring neighborhood parks. TIF works like this: When a TIF plan is adopted, the assessed valuation of real property within a designated redevelopment area is frozen. Taxes are paid on the property at this base level while improvements to the area are made, new businesses are attracted, and property values rise. Typically, any increase in the assessed value of the property or additional sales tax revenues makes up the tax increment, which is then used to pay project costs or repay the bonds or other obligations that helped finance the project. By investing in a designated area, the TIF technique has aptly been described as a means of borrowing against the speculative gain that a project should bring.
  • Impact Fees: An impact fee is a one-time charge that private entrepreneurs, often developers, must pay to the local government in order to undertake their projects. In turn, the revenue from the impact fee finances public goods and services associated with the project, but which the developer would not provide voluntarily. Water and sewer lines, streets and bridges, and parks and recreational facilities are typical impact fee-funded projects.
  • User Fee Financing: Parking fees, dog tags, community college tuition, water bills, and park and recreation fees are just a few of the many different kinds of user fees collected by local governments. These funds can then be used to pay for transportation improvements, park maintenance and other municipal services.
  • Property Tax Financing: Perhaps because it is paid in a large lump sum check as opposed to small additions to each purchase, the property tax is the least popular of all state and local taxes. Yet they are an important source of revenue for local governments because they provide a steady source of revenue, less affected by downturns in the economy than either the sales or the income tax. In addition, property taxes are relatively easily administered at the local level, revenues can be accurately predicted, and the tax burden is fairly equitably distributed.

For more information:

Locally Initiated Bicycle Projects
X planning
V implementation
NJ Department of Transportation

This program provides funds for municipalities and counties for the construction of bicycle projects. These could include roadway improvements, which enable a roadway or street to safely accommodate bicycle traffic, or designated bikeways (signed bike routes, bike lanes or multi-use trails). The solicitation for project applications occurs at the same time as the solicitation for municipal aid projects. Applications are solicited, evaluated, and rated by NJDOT staff. Based on this evaluation, a list of recommended projects is proposed to the Commissioner of Transportation, who makes the final selection. This program is administered by the NJDOT Division of Local Aid and Economic Development.

For more information:

Locally Initiated Pedestrian Projects
X planning
V implementation
NJ Department of Transportation

This program provides funds for municipalities and counties for the construction of pedestrian access and safety improvements. It includes the Safe Streets to School program. The solicitation for project applications occurs at the same time as the solicitation for municipal aid projects. Applications are solicited, evaluated, and rated by NJDOT staff. Based on this evaluation, a list of recommended projects is proposed to the Commissioner of Transportation, who makes the final selection. The program is administered by NJDOT's Division of Local Government Services.

For more information:

Local Scoping and Local Lead Projects
X planning
V implementation
Note: New Jersey has three Metropolitan Planning Organizations. Click here to determine the appropriate one for your location.
Metropolitan Planning Organizations

The Local Scoping Program provides the MPOs' subregions (counties) the opportunity to use federal funding to advance local, surface transportation projects through preliminary engineering and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), thereby developing a solution to a defined transportation problem. The subregion identifies a transportation problem (i.e., congested roadway, structurally deficient bridge, missing link in a bike or pedestrian system) and solves this problem during the "scoping" phase of the project development process. After the scoping process, the project would be ready for final design. The Local Lead Program allows the MPOs' subregions to apply directly for federal funding for the advancement of local, surface transportation projects through the final design, right-of-way acquisition and construction phases of the project development process.

Projects must be surface transportation projects (i.e., roadways, bridges, bike paths, pedestrian facilities) on roads with the functional classification of rural major collector, rural minor arterial, rural principal arterial, urban collector, urban minor arterial, or urban principal arterial.

For more information - NJTPA Counties:

For more information - DVRPC Counties:

For more information - SJTPO Counties:

Scenic Byways
V planning
V implementation
NJ Department of Transportation

This program provides funds to designated Scenic Byways. So far, two scenic byways have been designated in New Jersey: Delaware River Scenic Byway and the Millstone River Valley Scenic Byway. Funds are available for: an activity related to the planning, design, or development of a State or Indian tribe scenic byway program; development and implementation of a byway corridor management plan; safety improvements to accommodate increased traffic; improvements that enhance access; protection of resources adjacent to the byway; development and implementation of a marketing program; development and provision of tourist implementation; and construction of bicycle and pedestrian facilities, interpretive facilities, overlooks and other enhancements for byway travelers.

For more information:

State and Community Highway Safety Grants
V planning
V implementation
NJ Department of Law & Public Safety

State and Community Highway Safety grants are apportioned to the States through the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration to pay for the non-construction costs of highway safety programs aimed at the reduction of injuries, deaths, and property damage from motor vehicle accidents. These projects generally consist of developing or upgrading traffic record systems; collecting and analyzing data; conducting traffic engineering studies and analyses; developing technical guides and materials for States and local highway agencies; developing work zone safety programs; encouraging the use of safety belts and child safety seats; developing roadway safety public outreach campaigns; reducing impaired drivers; developing programs to combat drivers who speed or drive impaired; and developing programs to reduce aggressive driving. Pedestrian and bicycle projects are on the NHTSA priority list. In each state, the program is administered by a designated Highway Safety representative. In New Jersey, the designated representative is the Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in the Department of Law and Public Safety. Pedestrian projects have been funded, including the development and dissemination of brochures and public service announcements promoting safe pedestrian practices and a 3-E (Engineering, Enforcement, Education) program in cooperation with the City of Trenton which includes road signs and crosswalk marking. Recently, cooperative pedestrian safety programs have been implemented with Jersey City and Elizabeth. This program may be repeated in other communities with high pedestrian accident experiences, where there is local support.

For more information:

Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) Program
V planning
V implementation
Federal Highway Administration

The Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) Program is a comprehensive initiative of research and grants to investigate the relationships between transportation, community, and system preservation plans and practices and identify provide sector-based initiatives to improve such relationships. States, metropolitan planning organizations, local governments, and tribal governments are eligible for discretionary grants to carry out eligible projects to integrate transportation, community, and system preservation plans and practices that:

  • Improve the efficiency of the transportation system of the United States;
  • Reduce environmental impacts of transportation;
  • Reduce the need for costly future public infrastructure investments;
  • Ensure efficient access to jobs, services, and centers of trade;
  • Examine community development patterns and identify strategies to encourage private sector development patterns and investments that support these goals.

For more information:

Transportation Development Districts
V planning
V implementation

Transportation development districts are regional districts created voluntarily by municipal and/or county governments to fund transportation infrastructure costs, whether transit or roadway. Costs of infrastructure improvements are borne by the public sector (taxpayers) and private developers under a predetermined cost-sharing formula based upon traffic generation or other criteria associated with the development that occasions the need for additional investment in infrastructure.

The transportation development district must have a plan of development, and should be consistent with other land use and development plans. Zoning and build-out projections by each municipality (or other entity with zoning/land use authority) should govern the infrastructure required for the district; however, in practice, the development district plan often is put into place to foster more development and at a greater intensity than that zoned or desired by the municipality.

Nevertheless, as conceived, transportation development districts are a convenient and lawful method by which municipalities and counties can agree together on methods to raise revenue to fund infrastructure and other development-related costs, and to require major contributions from the private sector without fear of claims of unconstitutional ad hoc permit exactions or ultra vires government action.

Revenue to fund infrastructure costs is raised, in addition to developer contributions, from parking fees, transportation user surcharges, and similar new or increased tax or user charges. The advantage of a TDD is that local government entities usually do not have such revenue-raising power for transportation projects.

For more information:

Transportation Enhancements
V planning
V implementation
NJ Department of Transportation

The Transportation Enhancements program funds community-based projects that expand travel choices and enhance the transportation experience by improving the cultural, historic, aesthetic and environmental aspects of the transportation infrastructure. Several types of transportation-related projects are eligible, including: provisions for pedestrians and bicycles; safety and educational programs for pedestrians and bicyclists; scenic or historic highway programs; landscaping and other scenic beautification; historic preservation and site acquisition; rehabilitation of historic transportation buildings; preservation of abandoned railway corridors; control and removal of outdoor billboards; archeological planning; environmental mitigation of stormwater; establishment of transportation-related museums.

Any municipal or county government, non-profit organization or State agency may submit a Transportation Enhancement application. However, the municipal governing body in which the project is located must support it. All applications from local agencies and non-profit civic groups should receive municipal governing body endorsement. Regional projects should receive the endorsement of all affected counties and municipalities. A multi-discipline Committee reviews the projects and makes recommendations to the Commissioner of Transportation who makes final selections. Designated "Centers" receive additional consideration since acknowledged consistency with the goals of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan usually increases a project proposal's chance of success. This program is federally funded, and is administered by the NJDOT Division of Local Aid and Economic Development. In FY 2004, more than $11.5M was given to 27 New Jersey towns.

For more information:

Transportation Improvement Program
X planning
V implementation
Note: New Jersey has three Metropolitan Planning Organizations. Click here to determine the appropriate one for your location.
Metropolitan Planning Organizations

Each of New Jersey's three MPOs is responsible for preparing a Transportation Improvement Program, a list of all transportation projects and programs of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Transit Corporation, and individual counties and municipalities, to be funded in the next three fiscal years. Together, the three TIPs form the STIP (Statewide Transportation Improvement Program).

In order for a local transportation project to receive federal or state funding, it must be included in the TIP.

For more information - NJTPA Counties:

For more information - DVRPC Counties:

  • Visit DVRPC's TIP Webpage.
  • Contact Charles D. Dougherty, Associate Director for Transportation Planning, (215) 238-2863.

For more information - SJTPO Counties: