Department of Transportation


New Jersey Future In Transportation

Transportation Planning History

Traditional Development, in the early 1900's in New Jersey consisted of smaller cities, villages and centers surrounded by farms. These cities and villages were close to each other and connected by local streets. People got around by walking or by horse and carriage. Eventually, streetcars and then automobiles became more common and travelers had many options to move from place to place. Children could bike or walk to school. Houses, businesses, stores, community facilities and factories were easily accessible by foot or mass transit.

Following World War II, a modern day pattern began to evolve which included separating houses from stores and businesses. It was intended to create quiet, lightly traveled residential streets. This type of development was very popular but it inadvertently reduced the transportation choices and increased the trips made by automobile. This created congestion on the major roads and highways because everyone was forced to drive everywhere. As development spread out, we traveled further distances, spent more time in the car and experienced stop-and-go traffic as part of our daily commute. This led to unsafe driving conditions, including impatient drivers, tailgating and otherwise aggressive driving.

Transportation plays an important role in Healthy Community Design by providing a connected network of streets to support walking and bicycling. These streets serve as the social fabric of a community by encouraging interaction between both residents and visitors. Roadways that include sidewalks, shoulders and/or bike lanes can provide access to a mix of businesses and homes and encourage walking and biking therefore discouraging any unnecessary automobile trips.

Traditional Development photo
The street network common in Traditional Development provided good mobility and a variety of transportation choices.
Modern development photo
Modern development's reliance on loop roads and Cul-de-sacs require automobiles.


Last updated date:October 11, 2019 7:40 AM