(FRANKLIN TWP., NJ) – Local residents and officials discussed their vision for transportation and land use in Warren County during an Oct. 29 workshop at Warren County Technical School.

The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority conducted the workshop to gain input on Plan 2035, the latest update of the NJTPA’s federally required, long-range Regional Transportation Plan for 13 counties in northern New Jersey, including Warren. All transportation projects in Warren County and the region that receive federal funding must be included in the plan.

“Despite being a mostly rural county, we face a host of transportation issues, including congestion on key routes and the massive movement of people and goods passing through our county on I-78 each day,” Warren County Freeholder Director John DiMaio said. “Over the long term we need to plan for improved mass transit and other investments that can ease our burdens,” added DiMaio, who is the county’s representative on the NJTPA Board and serves as the NJTPA’s Second Vice-Chairman and Chairman of its Planning and Economic Development Committee.

Participants discussed the county’s goals in terms of land use, transportation and open space preservation. They also expressed their preferences for land use patterns and transportation investment over the next 25 years through an interactive computer exercise and extensive discussion. The attendees considered the “big picture” facing Warren County and the region, and expressed their thoughts on smart growth, walkable communities, transit-oriented development, transportation funding and more.

The workshop was one of a series held throughout the region. The NJTPA will consider all the comments gathered in its outreach process in developing the plan, scheduled for finalization in mid-2009.

Interested residents can still tell the NJTPA what they think about the region’s future by visiting www.njtpa.org. Click on the Plan 2035 logo to take an online survey on transportation, join an e-mail list, leave comments on the Plan 2035 message board and more. Comments also can be left via voice mail at (800) 641-6079.