By Senator Chris Brown
The Atlantic City Rail Line is a tremendous asset for our working families and local businesses, but we have yet to fully tap its potential. My goals are to increase service to Atlantic City during special events, improve the commuter schedule, and now use the train stations along the rail line as catalysts for redevelopment.
I recently hosted a meeting between NJ TRANSIT President and CEO Kevin Corbett and local stakeholders about improving the rail line.
Our local families and businesses are not making a pie in the sky wish by asking for better rail service. NJ TRANSIT’s own study showed an investment in the rail line will increase ridership, so it just makes sense for NJ TRANSIT to move forward with improving service.
The point I stressed to NJ TRANSIT is investing in the Atlantic City City Rail Line makes sense because the success and growth of Atlantic City is an important issue for the State. Atlantic City casinos, for example, generate:
$261 million for senior and disabled programs
$4.9 million for the State Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax
$13.2 million in New Jersey Sales Tax
$501 million in business for New Jersey vendors
Further, according to the NJ Division of Travel and Tourism, the hospitality industry in Atlantic County as a whole generates $817 million in State and local taxes and directly employs 30% of Atlantic County’s working families.
During our meeting, we urged NJ TRANSIT to add more service for special events in Atlantic City, such as the air show, beach concerts, and conventions; to develop a more commuter friendly schedule, and improve overall service on the ACRL. As a follow up to the meeting, I asked the stakeholders representing working families and local businesses to develop short, mid, and long term goals and priorities for the rail line.
Two of the goals we discussed were creating transit villages and making sure projects for ACRL were included in the five year capital plan that NJ TRANSIT is currently working on, which is why I am sponsoring the bi-partisan “New Jersey Transit Villages Act” to help us reach those goals by encouraging development around and ridership along the Atlantic City Rail Line.
The bill, S-2483, would improve the existing NJ Transit Village program operated through the NJ Department of Transportation by ensuring priority consideration for municipalities applying for capital and grant funding from multiple State programs, providing expedited permit review, and making available up to $10 million in funding for transit villages. Under the existing program, only a few hundred thousand dollars are awarded each year.
Currently, Pleasantville is the only Atlantic County municipality with a Transit Village designation. I was proud to help the city secure Transit Village grant funding from the state, because Pleasantville has been successful using this program to revitalize its downtown, providing an example of the benefits of having a Transit Village designation. My hope is our bill further encourages other towns to create Transit Villages.
Absecon and Atlantic City have begun the process to apply for Transit Village designation. Absecon, for example, sees developing the area around its train station as a means of boosting commercial activity along the White Horse Pike. In our meeting with Mr. Corbett, Egg Harbor City and Hammonton were mentioned as potential candidates that may benefit from having a Transit Village designation.
The Murphy Administration wants to steer the State economic development funding toward transit villages, so there is an opportunity for Atlantic County towns to capture State investment dollars to help local families and businesses. Transit villages make accessing rail service convenient and efficient, so I can see a time when a family from Philadelphia can make a day of going to the beach in Atlantic City with a stop in Hammonton for breakfast and a stop in Egg Harbor City for dinner.
Six million people living in the Philadelphia metro area have direct access to our beaches, boardwalk, and casinos through the Atlantic City Rail Line, but NJ TRANSIT needs to do a better job in making it easier and more efficient for them to get here. I believe by working together with NJ TRANSIT and area stakeholders, we can help the rail line reach its fullest potential in attracting more visitors while operating a convenient schedule for our working families who rely on the train to get to work and home every day.
Chris Brown is a decorated combat veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Storm, while serving with the 82nd Airborne Division. 1Lt. Brown was awarded the Bronze Star and Combat Infantryman Badge for his service while spearheading the ground offensive into Iraq. In 2008, Chris was activated to war a second time to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served in the NJ General Assembly since 2012 and was elected State Senator in 2018.
