As communities increasingly embrace transit services, SYSTRA has been providing holistic services in passenger facility planning and design. Our clients’ interests include not only transit services and facilities, but also community planning focused on the seamlessness of the entire trip.
Throughout the United States, SYSTRA has provided a broad range of urban planning and design services ranging from carefully located bus stops within already built up neighborhoods to new stations in ex-urban locations on proposed rail lines. Communities have varying opportunities and concerns to be addressed with each type of project and surrounding area including the interface of at-grade crossings with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, parking demand and community disruption. Our expertise enables us to work with the communities by both educating them about transit-oriented development and by incorporating mitigation of their issues into overall development plans which benefit the community, the transit service provider and the developer.
Representative Projects:
City of East Orange Ampere Station Restoration Study
East Orange, New Jersey
The City of East Orange’s vision for the Fifth Ward included reopening Ampere Station. East Orange experienced dramatic economic growth from its commitment, leadership, and vision. Reopening Ampere Station could be a catalyst for development of the area, and would help bolster existing residential neighborhoods in East Orange and nearby sections of Newark and Bloomfield.On the state level, NJ TRANSIT and the State of New Jersey’s Office of Smart Growth, among other agencies, looked for urban redevelopment successes, such as what recently occurred in East Orange. Continuing redevelopment around Ampere Station would help the city secure funding, technical assistance, and potential private-public development opportunities to help implement reopening the station.
SYSTRA provided the technical expertise necessary to realize the city’s vision for the Ampere neighborhood – not only for the provision of transit service, but also for the benefits that the neighborhood and the city stood to gain from the transit service.
SYSTRA documented the history of the original station, which started as a freight station for adjacent industry, to its closing in 1991 in terms of the relevant issues that contrast that history with the current improved conditions. SYSTRA assessed current transportation conditions, land use, and environmental features, and future plans and conditions for land use, freight operations, and roadway improvements. The team also evaluated potential improvements for railroad operations, station, and parking sites, and station shuttle services, and ridership for peak direction commuters and “reverse” commuters. In addition, SYSTRA evaluated various funding options. The project included a final report, a PowerPoint summary, and a presentation to transportation decision makers in New Jersey.
Planning
Stations
Land Use
Transit Oriented Development