Geographic
Evaluation of Gloucester
County
Commuter
Rail
Corridor
Options
John Hasse, Ph.D.
Geospatial Research Laboratory
Summer 2006
Executive Summary
Full Technical Report (2.5meg)
Abstract
This analysis examines and
compares the geographic characteristics for the commuter transit alternatives
currently proposed for Southern New Jersey. The DRPA has proposed three alternative
routes for a future commuter rail system, NJ-1
utilizing the Route 42 median to Williamstown, NJ-2 utilizing the Route 55 median to Glassboro, and NJ-3 utilizing the existing Conrail
rail line to Glassboro. In addition to these high-speed heavy rail options under consideration, this analysis also
examines a fourth option (NJ-3b) a light-rail mode on the same Conrail
corridor that would consist of an extension of the Trenton to Camden River Line. This fourth option was added to the study to
provide a cost/benefit comparison to the heavy-rail PATCO type system proposed
by DRPA. Utilizing Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), the study measured the road network distance of each
proposed rail line station to individual residences countywide as well as to
selected destinations including: schools, restaurants, libraries among
others. The results demonstrate that the
various routes have substantially different geographic accessibility
characteristics and thus different transportation service potentials. All four options provide regional
accessibility to Philadelphia. The best performing configuration for
residential accessibility was NJ-3b
(extension of the RiverLINE on Conrail) with 10% of Gloucester County’s
population within ½ mile of the proposed
stations. The 2nd, 3rd,
and 4th configurations were NJ-3,
NJ-1 and NJ-2 respectively with 7%, 2% and 1% of Gloucester County’s
population within ½ mile. Accessibility
to destinations also favored NJ-3b
with 369 destinations within ½ mile followed by NJ-3, NJ-2, and NJ-1 with 145, 16 and 9 destinations
respectively within the half mile distance.
The study found that accessibility to places of employment favored the
Conrail option with Gloucester County's two largest employers (Rowan
University and Underwood Hospital),
Woodbury (the county seat), and numerous town centers benefiting from location
directly on the line. While the RT 55
and RT 42 option would serve some of the newer developing subdivisions
within the county with park-n-ride service, a rail line location within the
highway median would provide little walk-on ridership substantially diminishing
the alternate transportation benefits and thus reducing potential system
usage. Furthermore, a Conrail corridor
system (NJ-3 & NJ-3b) would better serve the
established town-centers of the county fostering economic revitalization while
providing a substantial and viable option for non-auto travel to within-county
destinations. The study concludes that the Conrail corridor options (NJ-3 & NJ-3b) will most efficiently and cost effectively accomplish widest
number of transportation, revitalization and land management goals for
Gloucester County in comparison to a system based along the RT 55 or RT 42
highway corridors. Finally, the report
discusses the geographic advantages of a light-rail
system extension of the RiverLINE and recommends that this option be added to
the public discourse regarding a Gloucester County Commuter Rail system.
DRPA
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DRPA
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DRPA
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NJ-1 (RT 42)
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NJ-2 (RT 55)
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NJ-3 (Conrail –
PATCO)
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NJ-3b (Conrail
RiverLINE)
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Figure 1: Four evaluated corridor
options
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