March 31, 2025
DVRPC staff will be presenting during several sessions at the 2025 NJ TransAction Conference.
TransAction 2025, the annual New Jersey transportation conference and expo, is taking place April 15 - April 17, 2025, at Harrah’s Resort & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Look for the DVRPC table in the expo hall, and find DVRPC staff presenting at the following sessions:
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
10:00 am - 11:00 am: Adding Value through Public Involvement (Room: Wildwood 1-2)
DVRPC, Local Sponsors Gloucester County and Mercer County, and FPA’s Public Outreach Team come together for a comfortable, yet candid discussion detailing the importance of the public involvement process. The session will include strategies for building public consensus connecting the dots along the project lifecycle from Pre-TIP process, to CD, PE, FD and into construction. Public outreach doesn’t need to be an afterthought or challenge to the project team, when properly executed, it can add valuable perspectives and improve the outcome for all.
Speakers: Daniel Synder, Senior Project Implementation Engineer, and Alison Hastings, Director, Operations, Communications, and Engagement
11:10 am- 12:10 pm: Sneak Peek at the New Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP’s)! (Room: Wildwood 1-2)
Every four years, each NJ Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) updates its Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), as per federal requirements. By the end of this year, all three MPOs are scheduled to adopt their new LRTPs. This interactive panel discussion will preview the LRTPs and cover how each MPO’s approach varies to address specific regional needs. Panelists will discuss topics such as safety, coordination of land use and transportation, public engagement, and financial elements.
Speaker: Amani Bey, Planner, Long-Range Planning
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: School Zone Safety: Creating Safer Routes for Students (Room: Wildwood 12-13)
This session will explore strategies to improve safety for students traveling to and from school, focusing on infrastructure, engagement, and programming. We’ll share lessons from ongoing projects in Trenton, NJ, and Philadelphia, including quick, low-cost improvements and experiences working with school communities and administrators. Attendees will gain practical insights on effective approaches to making school zones safer and more accessible.
Speaker: Jen Farris, Transportation Planner, Office of Transit, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Planning
2:10 pm- 3:10 pm: Scenario Planning: The Tool for Guiding Transportation Decision-Making in Rapidly Evolving Times (Room: Wildwood 23)
The South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization will present a workshop to share their experience using scenario planning during the development of our Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) 2050—Forward 2050. DVRPC will share its experience utilizing scenario planning in the development of its publication Freight Futures. Scenario planning offers a framework for prioritizing strategies that are most effective across a range of plausible futures, while identifying critical interventions to navigate uncertainty and prepare for complex challenges.
Speaker: Daniel Farina Jr., AICP, Senior Freight Transportation Planner
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Transportation Task Forces: Creating Engaging Meetings and Retaining Membership (Room: Wildwood 6)
Partner engagement is foundational to the planning process, though successful engagement isn't guaranteed. This session will explore the goals, structure, and membership composition of three long standing DVRPC committees: the Delaware Valley Goods Movement Task Force, Regional Safety Task Force, and Traffic Incident Management Task Forces. The three presenters will discuss pros and cons of their respective committees' approaches to engagement of unique membership bases.
Speakers: Kevin Murphy, Manager, Office of Safe Streets, Kristen Scudder, Freight Program Manager, and Chris King, Manager, Office of Transportation Operations Management
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm: The New Realities of Commuting – How TMAs/TMOs are Helping Commuters and Employers with the Return to Office (Room: Wildwood 25)
As a result of the COVID -19 pandemic, employees’ work habits have changed dramatically with a substantial number of employees working either part time or full time from home. This has caused dramatic negative impacts on transit ridership and economic activity in our regions’ downtowns. Local governments and a growing number of employers have instituted return to office efforts to increase the number of their employees who come into work. One of the biggest obstacles to these efforts is the time and cost of commuting. Transportation Management Associations and Organizations throughout our region, in partnership with their respective MPOs, work closely with employers to overcome these obstacles to support local business activities. This session will highlight some of the most successful efforts underway.
Speaker: Stacy Bartels, Manager, Office of Strategic TDM and Marketing
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
9:15 am - 10:15 am: Digital Alerting: Integrating First Responders into the Region's Digital Infrastructure (Room: Wildwood 6)
DVRPC, in partnership with Haas Alert and Newcom Global, equipped over 450 vehicles, from over 110 first responder agencies, with digital alerting technology. This session will provide an overview of the process, through its numerous setbacks and obstacles, to its successful completion. Already in the hundreds of thousands, the program will likely send out its millionth digital alert to drivers soon after TransAction is complete.
Speaker: Justin Neff, Manager, Traffic Management Program
10:45 am -11:55 am: Catching up with the NJ MPO Executive Directors (Room: Wildwood 4)
This high-level session, moderated by the executive director of the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University, brings together New Jersey’s three MPOs: the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), and the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO). The executive directors of all three MPOs will engage attendees as they interactively address common issues, opportunities, and challenges regarding transportation planning in the state. Submit your questions to the NJTPA booth in the expo hall or bring them to the session!
Speaker: Ariella Maron, Executive Director
3:50 pm - 4:50 pm: Bridging the Gap: How to Connect Residents to Warehouse Job Opportunities in Mercer County (Room: Wildwood 6)
The growth of warehouse development in New Jersey has reshaped the employment landscape, providing many residents new economic opportunities. However, it has also created a new challenge: How do we connect residents to these jobs in often hard-to-reach areas? DVRPC and Mercer County, with the help of students from Rutgers's Bloustein School, explored ways to close this access gap and improve job connectivity, with a particular focus on the City of Trenton and Greater Mercer County.
Speaker: Christopher Mulroy, MCRP, Transportation Planner, and Amy Bernknopf, Manager, Office of Transit, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Planning
Thursday, April 17, 2025
11:40 am - 12:40 pm: Moving Forward: Creating Guidelines for Accessible and Consistent Bus Stops (Room: Wildwood 25)
Public transportation is a lifeline for many, but poorly designed bus stops can create significant barriers for people accessing transit. Developers and citizens often want to know how to create a new bus stop and what elements should be included. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) has created bus stop design guidelines with SEPTA to answer those questions. This session will explore best practices for designing accessible and consistent bus stops that promote safety, comfort, and usability for all riders.
Speaker: Baxter Barrett, Transportation Planner