Essex County

In determining how to set up the transit stations and interchanges around Essex, the focus

was largely in the south and eastern regions of the county, primarily Newark, East Orange, and

Irvington. These are the more heavily trafficked, and dense areas due to the adjacent Hudson

county which is also very dense, and the close proximity to New York City. As a result, a dense

grid of stations and interchanges were placed in such a way that small loops of stations were

connected to interchanges which allowed the passenger to easily move about the area without too

much unnecessary traveling time or distance.

The majority of businesses in this area resulted in a large demand for transportation to the

area, in particular from the center area of the county. Central Essex held a large majority of the

housing. The Northern and Western areas of Essex were much more rural and spread out, and

thus had fewer stations and interchanges.

With 518 stations and 129 interchanges covering 89.75% of the productions and 85.01%

of the attractions of the county within a quarter mile, the total guideway length is 504.15 km. The

average walk to a station for productions and attractions are 0.2338 km and 0.2295 km

respectively, with a total average distance from a station being 0.2315 km.

The PRT network would be reaching 712,317 of the total population of 793,633 having

an average of about 2,849,258 trips per day. With each car having a capacity of 2.5 passengers

and servicing 15% of the total trips at a time, allowing each car to be able to make 10 trips, a

total of 42,740 cars would be needed.

COSTS Number Cost per Total cost

Cars 42,740 100,000 4.274 billion

Stations 518 2,000,000 1.036 billion

Guideway 311.204 miles 5,000,000 1.556 billion

= 6.866 billion

The total cost of the network cost sums up to roughly a 6.866 billion dollars, give or take

extra expenses funding needed for maintenance and other unforeseen costs or private funding to

reduce costs. At this total cost, by charging an average of 75 cents per ride it would take 8.173

years to pay off the costs. However, by implementing an algorithm that would vary the costs per

ride i.e. making it cheaper the more you use the PRT, or by charging $1 per ride during the first

year of implementation it would be possible to pay off the costs in even less time.

In dense areas I tried to make small loops that also had interchanges built in that would

connect the loops, as well as allow transportation to and from very dense and often trafficked

areas. Providing transportation to and from the majority of housing and businesses was my first

priority. Allowing someone to easily and efficiently maneuver in these areas with almost

complete mobility was somewhat difficult and in certain cases there was overlapping. This could

have been avoided, but it would have resulted in much more roundabout trips to get to many of

the popular areas. I decided to allow some overlapping in the dense areas because it made

traveling much more efficient, albeit at a slightly higher cost. However, I believe that the extra

cost is well worth it, and that it would pay off in the long run due to the increased utility of the

passengers.

Further work:

In order to further this project even more it would be beneficial to know the external costs

such as maintenance, or adding stations. Determining what people would pay to access the PRT

system would also be beneficial to know since it would help further determine where stations

should be placed based on how much revenue they would generate, as well as how long it would

take to pay off the costs. This could also help determine if private funding would be useful.

Perhaps knowing the initial public interest, and how the usage of the system would grow over

time would allow one to determine an optimal cost per ride in the initial years of the PRT

system, as well as in the future years. Determining where commuters, in particular the 200,000

or so who drive to work alone, come from, and where they go, as well as knowing where the

largest growing neighborhoods are would help establish where the major transit pipelines should

be placed. There are a multitude of enhancements that can be done to this system as it is now in

order to make it not only more efficient, but also increase its utility, and decrease its disutility to

the passengers.

The following pages of this report provide plenty of additional information on Essex

county, and could be very helpful in helping one determine certain areas of focus for bettering

the PRT system through optimizing the network in order to meet the demands of certain regions

via education, employment, or other attractions.

Cities in Essex

AmpereAvondaleBeaufortBellevilleBloomfieldBrantwoodBrookdaleCaldwellCedar GroveClintonEast OrangeEssex Fells

FairfieldFranklinGlen RidgeHutton ParkIrvingtonLivingstonLlewellyn ParkMaplewoodMeadow VillageMillburnMontclairMontclair Heights

MorehousetownNewarkNewark HeightsNewsteadNewstead NorthNorth CaldwellNorthfieldNutleyOak Island JunctionOrangePleasantdaleRoseland

RosevilleSaint CloudShort HillsSouth OrangeTwo BridgesUpper MontclairVeronaWest CaldwellWest OrangeWestvilleWhite Oak RidgeWyoming

Essex County population as of July 2007 was 776,087, a decrease of over 20,000 from

the previous five years, still has Essex as one of the densest counties in the state at roughly 6160

persons per square mile due to the small land area (126 sq mi), Newark alone has a population of

281,402 (in 2006).

Along with being one of the densest counties, Essex is also one of the most heavily

trafficked counties in New Jersey. The implementation of a PRT system would not only reduce

man hours wasted in traffic, but it would also lessen accidents and reduce pollution. If presented

properly it would also allow for much more efficient and quick travel to the areas with higher

levels of productions and attractions.

Of the inhabitants 46% (or 129,489 people) own their own home compared to 54%

(154,247 people) who rent with an average number of persons per household being 2.7. Due to

the major commercial and industrial attractions and land use, many of the citizens reside in dense

living areas. The people in these areas would benefit greatly from a PRT system to provide

transportation to and from work, as well as quick and easy mobility to other parts of the county.

Housing units in structures:

One, detached: 103,183 One, attached: 11,848 Two: 43,847 3 or 4: 48,235 5 to 9: 19,146 10 to 19: 16,509 20 or more: 57,987 Mobile homes: 221 Boats, RVs, vans, etc.: 35

The number of jobs in 2004 was 366,807 with 5.9% unemployment, and while the

median income was $53,498 (lower than the New Jersey median of $67,035) it was still higher

than the country’s median of $50,233. The percentage of residents living in poverty in 2007 at

13.3% was 4.7% higher than New Jersey’s mean of 8.6%, and higher than the US mean of

12.3%. This most likely would be attributed to the cost of living being at 136.9 compared to the

national average of 100. This higher standard of living, as well as the lower median income

makes it harder to own vehicles, and the benefit of cheap and easy transport would not only help

the citizens, but the county as well.

Only 53.4% of the working age residents in Essex work in-county. The mean travel time

to work is 31.2 minutes, however, the average time it took to get to work for those using public

transportation was 51 minutes, compared to 26 minutes for other modes of transportation, which

is a staggering difference. This number can, and should be drastically reduced via the

implementation of an efficient PRT system. It would seem that the public transportation travel

time should not be as high as it is, especially with the implementation of the NJ Transit railways

that are so prevalent in this part of New Jersey, yet despite this, public transportation does not

even account for 20% of transportation to work. This public transportation time may be skewed

right due to the fact that many people could be commuting to Philadelphia, or New York, and

would have to switch railways, as well as wait for the arrival of their next trains, thus adding a

considerable amount to their travel time.

Means of transportation to work:

Drove a car alone: 201,772 (61%) Carpooled: 39,295 (12%) Bus or trolley bus: 41,473 (13%) Streetcar or trolley car: 176 (0%) Subway or elevated: 4,544 (1%) Railroad: 13,651 (4%) Ferryboat: 49 (0%) Taxi: 1,292 (0%) Motorcycle: 37 (0%) Bicycle: 498 (0%) Walked: 13,922 (4%) Other means: 2,399 (1%) Worked at home: 9,106 (3%)

The number of workers who drive a car alone may also be higher due to the fact that they

drop their children off at school, or have to pick their child up from school when buses do not

run, or visit their residential area, but having stations and interchanges placed in the right spots

could drastically reduce the number of people who drive their car alone.

It would be beneficial to implement a PRT system amongst the following major employers:

Prudential FinancialVerizonPublic Service Electric & Gas CompanyHorizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New JerseyContinental AirlinesMBNAMcCarter & EnglishSills Cummis Epstein & GrossGibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & VecchioneUniversity HospitalRutgers UniversityUniversity of Medicine & Dentistry of New JerseyNew Jersey Institute of TechnologyGateway SecurityNJ TransitRBP Member DirectorySource: NJ PRT 04 report, p. 111

The implementation of efficient PRT stations that are the major means of transportation

to these employers would result in a significant amount of funds to be used in order to form more

PRT stations that could reach further out, and connect to additional venues, and progressively

bring in additional income to expand the network, and increase the utility of the PRT system

amongst all of the inhabitants of Essex. Connection to the larger schools, as well as the schools

of higher education would also promote public transit, and increase income.

Persons 3 years and over enrolled in school 197,601

Preprimary school 14,562

Elementary or high school 128,881

Percent in private school 15.4

College 54,158

Source: 2000 US Census

Largest private schools in Essex County students grades

1.NEWARK ACADEMY91 South Orange Avenue, Livingston, NJ 07039

551 6-12

2.SACRED HEART ELEMENTARY SCHOOL24 Hazelwood Avenue, Newark, NJ 07106

620 K-8

3.SETON HALL PREPARATORY SCHOOL120 Northfield Ave, West Orange, NJ 07052

950 9-12

4.ST BENEDICT'S PREP SCHOOL520 Martin Luther King Blvd, Newark, NJ 07102

581 7-12

5.ST MICHAEL SCHOOL27 Crittenden St 29, Newark, NJ 071042601

637 K-8

6.THE MONTCLAIR KIMBERLEY ACADEM201 Valley Road, Montclair, NJ 07042

1,044 PK-12

7.TRINITY ACADEMY235 Bloomfield Avenue, Caldwell, NJ 070065115

543 PK-8

Source: http://nces.ed.gov/

Largest public high schools in Essex County

COLUMBIA SR HIGH 17 PARKER AVE

MAPLEWOOD 2017

BARRINGER 90 PARKER ST NEWARK 1960

WEST ORANGE HIGH

51 CONFORTI AVE

WEST ORANGE 1931

BLOOMFIELD HIGH 160 BROAD ST BLOOMFIELD 1861

EAST ORANGE CAMPUS HS

340 PROSPECT STREET

EAST ORANGE 1857

IRVINGTON HIGH SCHOOL

1253-1273 CLINTON AVE. IRVINGTON 1818

MONTCLAIR HIGH100 CHESTNUT ST MONTCLAIR 1797

BELLVILLE SR. HIGH

100 PASSAIC AVE BELLEVILLE 1561

LIVINGSTON SR. HIGH

ROBERT HARP DRIVE LIVINGSTON 1538

EAST SIDE238 VAN BUREN ST NEWARK 1489

WEST SIDE HIGH403 SOUTH ORANGE AVE NEWARK 1404

NUTLEY HIGH300 FRANKLIN AVE NUTLEY 1365

MALCOLM X SHABAZZ HIGH

80 JOHNSON AVE. NEWARK 1298

MILLBURN SR HIGH

462 MILLBURN AVE MILLBURN 1122

Source: http://nces.ed.gov/

Largest public middle/elementary schools in Essex County

MILLBURN MIDDLE SCHOOL

OLD SHORT HILLS RD MILLBURN 1085

ANN STREET 30 ANN ST NEWARK 1067

MT VERNON142 MOUNT VERNON PL NEWARK 959

GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER 333 CLINTON PL NEWARK 930

LUIS MUNOZ MARIN MIDDLE 663 BROADWAY NEWARK 924

UNION AVE427-455 UNION AVE. IRVINGTON 916

ABINGTON AVE209 ABINGTON AVE NEWARK 906

DR JOHN HOWARD JR U-S-E

199 4TH AVENUE

EAST ORANGE 879

DR WILLIAM H HORTON 291 N 7TH ST NEWARK 877

OLIVER ST 104 OLIVER ST NEWARK 844

FIRST AVENUE 284 FIRST AVE NEWARK 818

PESHINE AVE433 PESHINE AVE NEWARK 813

ROOSEVELT MIDDLE 36 GILBERT PL W ORANGE 810

Source: http://nces.ed.gov/

Essex County has eight institutions of higher education; all are listed below with their

websites and municipalities. It should be noted that half are in the city of Newark, nearby to

relatively high quality transit options already. However, PRT will still service each of these with

its own station so that commuters arriving from points more distant than the Newark subway/bus

network will not be left out.

Essex County

Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, NJCaldwell College, Caldwell, NJEssex County College, Newark, NJMontclair State University, Montclair, NJ

New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ

Rutgers University - Newark, Newark, NJSeton Hall University, South Orange, NJ

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ

Source: epodunk.com

One simple way of getting the base funding required to start the transit system would be

to use some of the Essex county government finances that were used on similar projects.

Essex county government finances in 2004 involved the following in (note that these do not

include all of the costs/spending):

Construction –

Regular Highways: $6,340,000

Parking Facilities: $6,000,000

Parks & Recreation: $5,523,000

General Public Buildings: $3,212,000

Current Operations –

General - Other: $170,596,000

Housing & Community Development: $9,289,000

Parks & Recreation: $9,251,000

Regular Highways: $7,002,000

General Public Buildings: $6,507,000

Additionally, the spending on corrections and corrections facilities rivaled that of other

higher education. While it seems acceptable to spend that amount on higher education, spending

over $71 million on corrections is a number that should be drastically reduced.

Other Higher Education: $76,510,000Corrections - Other: $71,815,000

Currently there is close to $60 million being spent on highways, parking facilities, parks

and recreation, public buildings, and community development. By taking a fraction of these costs

Essex County could accrue a good $20-25 million. In addition, by getting $40-50 million from

general operations, and perhaps a reduction of $15-20 million from corrections (say from savings

due to inmate construction), Essex would have between $75 and $95 million to spend on creating

and integrating the beginnings of a PRT system that would help reduce public transit travel times

significantly, and reduce man-hours lost in transit. The initial implementation would also slowly

bring in income to help pay for additional stations. While this is by no means enough to fully

finance the PRT system, it would be beneficial for private investors, or large some of the large

companies listed before to produce some funding and/or even hold shares in part of the system.

Even some recreational areas would benefit largely from an operational transit system, and may

be willing to help fund as well.

Amongst these may be some of the major malls

Cedar Mall PlazaLivingston

Livingston MallLivingston

The Mall at Short HillsShort Hills

Major country clubs and golf courses

Canoe Brook Country Club (Millburn) Cedar Hill Country Club (Livingston) Crestmont Country Club (West Orange) East Orange Golf Course (Millsburn) Essex County Country Club (West Orange) Essex Fells Country Club (Essex Fells) Forest Hill Field Club (Bloomfield) Green Brook Country Club (North Caldwell) Maplewood Golf Club (Maplewood) Montclair Golf Course (Montclair) Mountain Ridge Country Club (West Caldwell) Rock Springs Club (West Orange)

And even some of the major parks in Essex

PARK ACREAGE LOCATION Anderson 14.85 Bellevue Ave. & N. Mountain Ave.,

MontclairBecker 147 RoselandBelleville 32.70 Belleville Ave., BellevilleBranch Brook 359.72 Park Ave. & Lake St., Newark Brookdale 121.41 Watchung Ave., Bloomfield; Grove St.,

MontclairEagle Rock Reservation 408.33 Prospect Ave. & Eagle Rock Ave., West

OrangeFrancis A. Byrne Golf Course 167.71 Pleasant Valley Way & Mt. Pleasant Ave.,

West OrangeGlenfield 20.01 Bloomfield Ave. & Maple Ave., Montclair

Grover Cleveland 41.61 Brookside Ave. & Runnymede Rd., Essex Fells

Hendricks Field Golf Course 124.99 Franklin Ave. & Belleville Ave., BellevilleIndependence 12.69 Van Buren St. & Walnut St., Newarklrvington 24.38 Grove St. & Lyons Ave., Irvingtonlvy Hill 19.96 Mt. Vernon Pl. & Seton Hall University,

NewarkMills Reservation 157.19 Normal Ave. & Reservoir Dr., Cedar GroveOrange 47.63 Center St. & Harrison St., OrangeRiker Hill Art Park 204.68 Beaufort Ave., LivingstonRiverbank 10.77 Market St. & Van Buren St., NewarkSouth Mountain Reservation 2047.14 So. Orange Ave. & Cherry Lane, West

OrangeVailsburg 30.32 So. Orange Ave. & Oraton Pkwy., NewarkVerona 54.32 Bloomfield Ave. & Lakeside Ave., VeronaWalter Kidde Dinosaur 16 Livingston, RoselandWatsessing 69.67 Bloomfield Ave. & Conger St., BloomfieldWeequahic 311.33 Elizabeth Ave. & Meeker Ave., NewarkWest Essex 1361.33 Eagle Rock Ave., & Passaic RiverWest Essex Trail 23.35 Fairview Ave., near Verona High School,

VeronaWest Side 31.36 So. 13th St. & 18th Ave., NewarkYanticaw 28.75 Centre St. & Park Dr., NutleySource: http://www.co.essex.nj.us/