The NJTPA’s 9th annual Tech Tools for Planning Expo on June 13 showcased the suite of dashboards used by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to manage and predict real-time traffic needs at its airports, and NJ TRANSIT’s NJ Land Use +
Transit Friendly Data Application.
The tools feature innovative uses of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), data visualizations, and web development that can be used for more efficient planning.
Susan Lai, principal traffic engineer at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ), said the online dashboards compile various data about the region’s airports as they undergo major redevelopments.
The Port Authority recently completed a major overhaul at LaGuardia Airport, with new Terminals B and C, and opened a new Terminal A at Newark Airport this year. Construction got under way earlier this year on major terminals and roads at JFK Airport. “We’re trying to rebuild these airports at the same time that we’re operating,” Lai said.
The Airport Operations Center (AOC) can help to make decisions before congestion happens, Lai said, using real-time data from traffic cameras, weather monitoring and other sources to pre-emptively place staff and resources where they are needed.
A predictive calendar takes a longer view, taking into account how many seats have been sold in the next two months, culling FlightAware data, and overlay that with construction over the next two months and any other nearby events. “This helps us plan ahead and develop these mitigations for some of these congested days, before they happen,” Lai said.
Another planning dashboard, the Mobility Trend Analysis, shows what passenger volumes are like, whether they’re trending up or down and compares the same months from previous years.
The Transit Friendly Data Application is
a free, online tool that allows users to map, report, and download a range of land use, travel, public transit, demographic, and real estate development data. The idea was to create a free online tool that users, no matter their expertise with GIS, can map a range of data that’s related to transit friendly planning, Jon Carnegie, executive director of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, said.
The second version of the NJ Transit Friendly Data Application includes four new tools: Corridor Planning, Transit-Oriented Development Opportunity, Total Water Levels, and Social Justice.
The Corridor Planning Tool was used in light rail planning along Route 440 on Jersey City’s West side. The tool allows users to run an analysis, which can produce an entire report or just reports for individual stations.
The TOD Opportunity Tool is focused a little more on particular locations and can identify redevelopment and rehabilitation areas.
The Total Water Levels (TWL) Tool helps develop flood exposure analysis using the best available science to create maps that illustrate three flooding types: permanent inundation, high tide flooding, and extreme coastal flooding from storms.
The Equity Analysis Tool is in Beta phase as it makes some “fairly significant changes” this year but is still functioning, Carnegie said. The tool would allow planners to see how different populations could be affected by land use decisions, drawing on demographic data, including race, household income, age and disabilities.
“There will be some evolution of this tool as part of our enhancements and continual improvement plan that we implement with NJ TRANSIT support,” he said.