There's a major transportation showdown underway in New Jersey, but that doesn't excuse the New Jersey Transit Board from holding public meetings.
"One thing that hasn’t happened in the last 109 days: a public meeting by NJ Transit’s board of directors. The board has not met in public since June 8, and agency officials refuse to say why."
Christopher Maag reports on the lack of public meetings from the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors, and the growing reaction from legislators, transit riders and advocates calling for an explanation. "Without public meetings, they say, it’s impossible to know whether the political fight over state transportation funding is hurting NJ Transit’s ability to operate trains and buses safely."
Though no official explanation has been offered, "[t]he suspension of public meetings coincides with a fight between Christie, a Republican, and Democratic legislators over the Transportation Trust Fund." Maag examines that controversy, and considers how it might be influencing the board's lack of meetings. Planetizen correspondent Irvin Dawid has also been closely chronicling the battle over the Transportation Trust Fund since April.
FULL STORY: Missing for 109 days: a public meeting by NJ Transit board of directors
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research