Outstanding Project or Program Award

Each year a project or program employing or advancing ITS technologies is awarded. The winner could be a project or program related to an infrastructure investment, plans, research, management, or other significant innovation in the field of ITS. 

New subcategories within the Outstanding Project or Program category have been added; separate awards will be provided to Statewide/Regional Agencies and Local Public Agencies in both Design and Construction/Implementation of Project/Program subcategories. Up to four awards may be given in the Outstanding Project or Program category.

Nominate a Project or Program Now

2022 Outstanding Project/Program - Statewide/Regional Agencies Design

Port Authority of NY & NJ's EWR Terminal A Redevelopment Program

EWR Terminal A Redevelopment was initially designed to accommodate traditional For Hire Vehicles (FHVs). Due to ongoing mobility disruption, there’s a need to redesign the frontage for resiliency and adaptability to cope with fluctuating demand and enhance customer experience. To provide world-class end-to-end service, research was conducted on the world’s best airports to aid in the development of planning/design criteria. The research concluded there are five major metrics directly impacting the customer experience. These are Information Availability, Quality of Pedestrian Experience, Seamless Connection, Organized Frontage, and Vehicle Demand Management. The frontage design reduces the roadway footprint, allowing for more flexible operations, and incorporates additional dynamic wayfinding signs and kiosks. The design also shortens the customer’s walk by adding a central island for pick-up from either side, increasing the effective curb frontage. For accommodating PIN and traditional pick-up operations, dedicated pick-up areas were allotted for Taxis and FHVs, enhancing frontage organization. Vehicular and Pedestrian detection sensors were added for a planned Mobility on Demand (MOD) platform for seamless connectivity. Adaptable/flexible infrastructure design allows us to vary the number of spaces dynamically to cope with demand fluctuations and effectively assign spaces.

 

2022 Outstanding Project/Program - Statewide/Regional Agencies Construction/Implementation:

NJ TRANSIT's Innovation Train Project Improvements

NJ TRANSIT’s Innovation Train “proof-of-concept (POC)” project demonstrates how technology, when scaled across the system, can transform NJ TRANSIT from an operator of transportation vehicles and systems into an owner of ‘data centers on wheels.’ NJ TRANSIT integrated new technologies to produce a single, unified system that brings together Wi-Fi, Micro-Positioning & Wayfinding, Expanded 10G/s Backbone, Automated Passenger counting, seamless door-to-door trip planning, cybersecurity, physical safety/monitoring, and Status Monitoring IoT to delight customers, improve overall trip experience and prevent costly breakdowns. The team further structured this technology to easily adapt to future technology advances. In summary, our project is future facing, focusing on stellar service, safety, functionality, and the ultimate customer experience.

2022 Outstanding Project/Program - Local Public Agencies Design

City of Trenton's Trenton MOVES

[Innovation] The community-oriented service focus, technology platform, and scale of service scope are all unprecedented. Trenton MOVES will make history as the first and largest autonomous vehicle-based urban transit system in America. [Need] In Trenton, 70% of households own 1 or less vehicles. Students are not entitled to use the school bus if they live longer than 2 miles. Many residents express their frustration with existing mobility options (walking, bus, and taxis) and share their tremendous interest to use Trenton MOVES to go to work, school, groceries, and doctors ASAP. [Social & Sustainability] MOVES is designed with equity, sustainability, and inclusivity at its core. It aims to provide mobility for all in an environmental and financially sustainable approach that once deployed at scale, will not rely on any subsidy. All AVs will be electric. It prioritizes the service to marginalized communities such as families with school-age children, public housing residents, and senior and disabled communities. [Future Value] The project fundamentally creates a paradigm shift in the industry, which to date only served segments of society that would enjoy marginal benefits from AVs. It encourages the profession & public to reconsider the purpose of transportation technology and what the real applicable market of intelligent transportation systems is – to provide mobility to those in need and create societal benefits.

2022 Outstanding Project/Program - Local Public Agencies Construction/Implementation:

City of Jersey City's Via Jersey City

[Innovation] Via Jersey City is the state’s first dynamically routed on-demand public transit service available to all residents. The City designed an innovative service model to ensure that the services support, rather than supplants, existing transit infrastructure: riders may book trips to or from central wards (that have efficient fixed route services), but not within them. [Need] Lower-income neighborhoods in the northern and southern regions of Jersey City have historically been underserved by fixed route and light rail services. With Via Jersey City, residents can access opportunities and economic mobility, including approximately 130,000 jobs within the city center and many more within the metropolitan area. [Sustainability] The majority of residents who use the transit service make less than $50,000 per year and live in neighborhoods with less fixed-route transit access. By introducing an accessible and affordable mode of transit for low-income residents, Via Jersey City has unlocked connections to jobs, education, healthcare, and other community resources that were previously out of reach. [Future Value] Public perception of this program is positive, with an average rider rating of 4.7/5 and over 2,000 trips served daily. The service also serves as a future blueprint for similar communities nationwide—we use the resources at our disposal to cost-efficiently transform transportation access for communities that have historically been underserved by public transit.

Submitting a Nomination
  • Nominations are currently closed.
  • Submissions must include Executive Summary, Project Description, Display Panel, and appropriate Credits listing Project Owner/Lead Agency, Prime Consultant, and other significant contributors
  • Submissions are limited to three projects per agency. Each public agency should vet all projects being submitted on their behalf and select a maximum of three
  • Appropriate Public Agency MUST sign-off on all submissions

All submissions may be printed, by ITSNJ, mounted and displayed at the Annual Meeting. Description of all submissions may be shared on the ITSNJ website, through social media, and via email distribution to ITSNJ members.