4.11 traffic and transportation - government of new jerseynew meadowlands stadium project...

81
New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement 4.11 Traffic and Transportation This section describes existing and proposed traffic and transportation characteristics, on-site circulation, parking conditions, transit service, pedestrian circulation, and air navigation within the vicinity of the Project Area of the New Meadowlands Stadium Project. Traffic, circulation, parking and pedestrian safety are major concerns for the NJSEA, the Project developers, and the surrounding communities. Although the Stadium Project is replacing the current stadium, one objective of the Project is to improve the safety and efficiency of the transportation system by improving and reorganizing the on-site roadway network and parking lots on the West Site, and facilitating the management of Sports Complex traffic operations during game events. The traffic and transportation studies of the Stadium Project have taken into account previous studies completed for redevelopment of the East Site (TRC Raymond Keyes Associates, 2004), the Railroad Project (NJSEA, 2005) and for the region in and around the Meadowlands Sports Complex area for the NJDOT and the NJSEA (Edwards & Kelcey, Inc. 2004). Several major regional transportation projects being implemented by others are already underway with funding in place. These regional transportation projects include: The Rail Spur from Secaucus, which is under construction and scheduled to open in summer 2008 that will substantially reduce automobile trips to the Sports Complex during major sports and entertainment events; NJ Turnpike Interchange 16W improvements that will eliminate current traffic weaving, thereby improving egress and access to the Sports Complex; Route 3 East bound flyover and ramp improvements that will add lanes, thereby eliminating weaving on the current flyover; Route 17 and Paterson Plank Road mainline improvements; and, Route 17 Intersections improvements that will enhance traffic flow at six intersections. It is anticipated that these regional highway improvement projects will reduce overall vehicular travel times to and from the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Furthermore the proposed doubling of the number of lanes entering and exiting the Sports Complex from regional roadways will significantly reduce queues and spillback that adversely affects the regional adway system as well as non-sports complex related traffic flows. ro 4-81

Upload: others

Post on 17-Dec-2020

3 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement 4.11 Traffic and Transportation

This section describes existing and proposed traffic and transportation characteristics, on-site

circulation, parking conditions, transit service, pedestrian circulation, and air navigation within

the vicinity of the Project Area of the New Meadowlands Stadium Project.

Traffic, circulation, parking and pedestrian safety are major concerns for the NJSEA, the Project

developers, and the surrounding communities. Although the Stadium Project is replacing the

current stadium, one objective of the Project is to improve the safety and efficiency of the

transportation system by improving and reorganizing the on-site roadway network and parking

lots on the West Site, and facilitating the management of Sports Complex traffic operations

during game events. The traffic and transportation studies of the Stadium Project have taken

into account previous studies completed for redevelopment of the East Site (TRC Raymond

Keyes Associates, 2004), the Railroad Project (NJSEA, 2005) and for the region in and around

the Meadowlands Sports Complex area for the NJDOT and the NJSEA (Edwards & Kelcey, Inc.

2004). Several major regional transportation projects being implemented by others are already

underway with funding in place. These regional transportation projects include:

The Rail Spur from Secaucus, which is under construction and scheduled to open in

summer 2008 that will substantially reduce automobile trips to the Sports Complex

during major sports and entertainment events;

NJ Turnpike Interchange 16W improvements that will eliminate current traffic weaving,

thereby improving egress and access to the Sports Complex;

Route 3 East bound flyover and ramp improvements that will add lanes, thereby

eliminating weaving on the current flyover;

Route 17 and Paterson Plank Road mainline improvements; and,

Route 17 Intersections improvements that will enhance traffic flow at six intersections.

It is anticipated that these regional highway improvement projects will reduce overall vehicular

travel times to and from the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Furthermore the proposed

doubling of the number of lanes entering and exiting the Sports Complex from regional

roadways will significantly reduce queues and spillback that adversely affects the regional

adway system as well as non-sports complex related traffic flows. ro

4-81

Page 2: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement In addition to these regional transportation projects, the Stadium Project will improve on-site

related parking areas and on-site traffic circulation. These Project-related improvements will

facilitate traffic flow in the surrounding area, ease congestion and back-ups on local roadways

and within the West Site itself, and provide ample, well-marked parking through the following

steps:

Implementation of an improved wayfinding signage systems within the West Site

and on adjacent off-site roadways to provide clear access and well defined travel

paths to and from the Sports Complex parking areas;

Creation of new internal loop roads that move traffic more efficiently within the

West Site and link more directly and effectively to the local and regional road

systems (e.g., Interchange 16W) to facilitate better traffic flow and speed patrons

through areas that have in the past been bottlenecks;

Reconfiguration of existing surface parking areas to provide adequate parking supply

and designate specific parking areas for each arrival route in order to direct patrons

to specific parking areas; and,

Reconfiguration and addition of Sport Complex toll plazas (parking fee collection) -

both physical and virtual – to reduce queuing and related congestion.

The Stadium Project’s Parking and Transportation Management Plan, submitted as part of the

NM Stadco June 2006 Master Plan, calls for the implementation of enhanced traffic and parking

management strategies to facilitate more efficient use of the parking areas by: (1) increasing

the number of pre-paid parking passes to foster faster throughput of vehicles at toll plazas, (2)

implementation of directed parking within the lots themselves, (3) increasing awareness and

communication to patrons through team website and email communications, and (4)

implementation of formalized shared parking plans with the NJSEA and related venues at the

Sports Complex to coordinate user requirements on a 365 day per year basis.

The analysis and summary of existing and proposed traffic conditions presented in this section

is based on the Traffic Study prepared by Vollmer Associates, LLP (Vollmer) for the New

Meadowlands Stadium Project (Vollmer, 2006a) (Appendix G). The Traffic Study was prepared

in accordance with current NJDOT regulations and criteria identified in the New Jersey State

Highway Access Management Code (N.J.A.C. 16:47). Proposed transportation improvements

that require significant improvements and access to State roads require a Major Access Permit

from the NJDOT. A Major Access Permit from the NJDOT will be required for the modification

4-82

Page 3: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways associated with the Stadium Project (see

Section 6.2.12). A Scope of Study was submitted to NJDOT in August 2006 for review and

approval. Additional traffic analyses are anticipated to be performed as part of the ongoing

NJDOT review process. Traffic and parking data may be updated accordingly.

The analysis and summary of parking, pedestrian circulation, and transportation management

presented in this section is based on the Parking and Transportation Management Plan also

prepared by Vollmer Associates (Vollmer 2006b) (Appendix H). This plan presents an Event

Parking Analysis, Shared Parking Analysis, Parking Management Plan, Transportation

Management Plan and Pedestrian Circulation Plan.

4.11.1 Existing Conditions

4.11.1.1 Roadway Network

The HMD contains a number of major roadway arteries that connect to nearby urban

areas, including New York City. The roadways in the vicinity of the Meadowlands Sports

Complex and Project Area are shown on Figure 2-2. These roadways include:

NJ Turnpike Western Spur – The Western Spur of the NJ Turnpike is a major

north/south interstate highway consisting of two to three lanes per direction. In

the vicinity of the Project Area, Interchanges 16W and 18W provide connections

to NJ Route 3 and the Meadowlands Sports Complex roadway network.

NJ Route 3 – NJ Route 3 is a major east/west, limited access State highway,

consisting of three to four lanes per direction. In the vicinity of the Project Area,

NJ Route 3 has major interchanges with NJ Route 17, NJ Route 120 and the NJ

Turnpike Western Spur.

NJ Route 120 – NJ Route 120 is a north/south State highway consisting of three

lanes per direction between NJ Route 3 to the south and Washington Avenue to

the north. Grade-separated interchanges are provided at its crossings with NJ

Route 3, the Meadowlands Sports Complex and Washington Avenue/Paterson

Plank Road, where it continues to the west as Paterson Plank Road.

4-83

Page 4: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Paterson Plank Road (NJ Route 120) – Paterson Plank Road is a divided

east/west arterial roadway connecting NJ Route 17 to the west. The section of

Paterson Plank Road adjacent to the Project Area is designated as NJ Route 120,

and provides direct access to the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

NJ Route 17 – NJ Route 17 is a north/south urban principal arterial in the vicinity

of the Sports Complex. The roadway consists of primarily three travel lanes in

each direction, and turns are accommodated by a combination of jughandles at

signalized intersections and grade separated interchanges. The roadway serves

to connect NJ Route 3 near its southern terminus to major area roadways such

as Route 46 and Interstate 80 to the north.

These roadways, which serve the Project Area and the Meadowlands Sports Complex,

provide a direct link to other major highways in the region including the Garden State

Parkway, NJ Route 495, and Interstate Highways 95, 78 and 80.

4.11.1.2 Traffic

Existing traffic volumes and operations in the vicinity of the Project Area have been

extensively evaluated recently by several traffic studies including the Traffic Impact

Study for the Meadowlands Xanadu Redevelopment Project completed by TRC

Raymond Keyes Associates in 2004, and the Meadowlands Regional Transportation

Analysis prepared by Edwards & Kelcey, Inc. in 2004 for the NJSEA and NJDOT

(Edwards & Kelcey, Inc. 2004; TRC Raymond Keyes Associates, 2004). Based on the

recent existing traffic volume counts from these two completed studies, it was

determined that no additional traffic volume counts were needed for the Stadium

Project Traffic Study. Instead, the Stadium Project Traffic Study relied on these two

previously completed studies to establish baseline conditions for selected intersections

and ramps under “no build” and “build” conditions for the years 2010 and 2013

(Vollmer, 2006a). Vollmer developed 2010 and 2013 baseline conditions for the Stadium

Project Traffic Study using the volumes that will be generated by the Meadowlands

Xanadu Redevelopment Project, other regional projects, plus adding 2% per year for

Route 120 (Principal Arterial) and 1% per year for Route 3 as background growth to

obtain the 2010 and 2013 volume projections. The “no build” baseline conditions are

presented in Section 4.11.2.2.3 below and indicate current traffic volumes and levels of

service without any redevelopment or new development from the Stadium Project.

4-84

Page 5: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4.11.1.3 Parking

Currently, the NJSEA has numerous parking lots for the venues that currently exist on

the Meadowlands Sports Complex property, including Giants Stadium, the

Meadowlands Racetrack and Continental Airlines Arena (Figure 2-3). In general, events

are currently scheduled at the Sports Complex so that there is ample parking for the

events. For major events at the existing stadium when all lots are at or near capacity no

other events are scheduled. Stadium events with more than 50,000 people in

attendance generally require parking on the East Site, which will be reserved for

Stadium use through agreement with the operators of the Meadowlands Xanadu

development. These events include NFL games (20-25 times per year) and four to

seven non-NFL events per year (college football games, concerts, international soccer

games, etc.). Parking for regular and post-season football games generally utilizes every

striped space, as well as non-striped spaces and unpaved areas.

The Event Parking and Transportation Management Plan prepared by Vollmer for the

Stadium Project identifies that before construction of the Meadowlands Xanadu

Redevelopment Project, the Sports Complex had a total of 27,736 striped spaces:

22,207 striped spaces west of Route 120 (West Site) and 5,529 striped spaces east of

Route 120 (East Site) (Vollmer, 2006b). The total supply of striped spaces for NFL

games up to and including the 2004 season was 27,736 (22,207 on the West Site and

5,529 on the East Site). Based on analysis of 2004 and 2005 NJSEA event parking

records, a peak parking demand of 29,700 occurred on a Saturday NFL game day in late

December. When demand exceeds supply (typical shortfall of approximately 2,000 –

3,000 spaces), all vehicles are accommodated by directing them to unstriped spaces

within parking lots, unpaved areas, and along internal NJSEA roadways against curbs.

4.11.1.4 Public Transportation

Northern New Jersey is served by a comprehensive system of buses and commuter rail

lines primarily operated by NJ Transit, the third largest provider of bus, rail and light rail

transit in the nation. Its system links major points in New Jersey, New York and

Philadelphia. NJ Transit operates over 2000 buses, 711 trains and 45 light rail vehicles.

The NJ Transit system includes 236 bus routes and 11 rail lines providing 223 million

passenger trips each year (NJ Transit, 2006).

4-85

Page 6: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Currently, the only direct mass transit service to the Meadowlands Sports Complex is

by bus. Three NJ Transit bus routes service various points throughout the Sports

Complex including the following:

NJT Route #164

This route runs from Midland Park, New Jersey to the Port Authority Bus

Terminal (PABT) in New York City. This route runs hourly between New York

and Midland Park stopping at the Meadowlands Sports Complex between

the hours of 8:00 am and 6:00 pm on the weekdays, and 7:00 am and 10:00

pm on the weekends. Within the Sports Complex, stops are made at the

following locations: opposite the Racetrack, Giants Stadium between Gates

A and B, and the west end of the pedestrian bridge to Continental Arena (see

Figure 2-3). The #164 does not enter the Sports Complex during football

games, soccer games and other special events during which the #351 (see

below) is in service.

NJT Route #351 (Special Event Service)

This route runs from the PABT directly to the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

This route exclusively serves major events at the Sports Complex including

Giants and Jets Football, Devils Hockey, Nets Basketball, Red Bulls Soccer,

major concerts, and some horse racing events. The #351 does not serve all

bus stops within the Sports Complex for each event. For events at Giants

Stadium and Continental Airlines Arena, service from New York begins two

hours in advance of the event, and return service begins immediately after

the event ends, and continues for up to 30 minutes. Stops are located at

Gate D (Giants Stadium) and Parking Lot 20 outside of Gate C (Continental

Airlines Arena) (Figure 2-3). For night racing events service to and from the

Racetrack runs two or three times an evening, depending on the day of the

week. Sunday and daytime service runs twice daily, to and from the

Meadowlands. The Racetrack stop is located in Parking Lot 5 (Figure 2-3).

NJT Route #703

This route runs from Haledon, New Jersey to the Meadowlands Complex on

30 to 60-minute intervals between the hours of 10:00 am and 12:00 am on

4-86

Page 7: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

weekdays, 7:00 am and 12:00 am on Saturdays, and 11:00 am to 7:00 pm on

Sundays. The #703 stop is located in Parking Lot 5.

In addition to NJ Transit, two private bus companies provide limited service to the

Meadowlands Sports Complex which includes the following:

Academy

Service to and from the Meadowlands Sports Complex and adjacent areas to

the PABT are provided every half hour during the AM and PM peak Monday

through Friday. This service does not run on weekends, nor does it provide

convenient times for attending evening events at the Complex. Stops are

located at Meadowlands Plaza, the Meadowlands Sheraton Hotel, the

Meadowlands Park and Ride, and the Sports Complex (Lots 9C and 11C)

(Figure 2-3).

DeCamp

Limited service operates from West Caldwell and West Orange to and from

the Meadowlands Racetrack seven days a week. On weekday evenings, one

run is provided to the Racetrack from each location, along with one return

trip. On Saturday, two runs to the Racetrack are provided from West

Caldwell and one from West Orange – one return trip is provided to each

town at 11:30 pm. Sunday service is limited to one trip to and from the

Racetrack for both West Caldwell and West Orange.

In addition to bus service to the Sports Complex, the NJSEA provides on-site shuttle

bus service during certain events. Prior to and after certain events at Giants Stadium

and the Arena, the on-site shuttle buses transport patrons from distant parking areas to

the event building.

4.11.1.5 Pedestrian Circulation

Pedestrian circulation within the Meadowlands Sports Complex is provided through the

parking lots with pedestrian walkways and the pedestrian bridge that crosses over NJ

Route 120 and connects the East Site (Continental Airlines Arena) with the West Site

(Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack). Fencing and pavement markings

within the Meadowlands Sports Complex define pedestrian paths and direct pedestrians

4-87

Page 8: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

to the most secure path. Under current conditions, there are a number of

pedestrian/vehicle conflict points where large numbers of pedestrians need to cross the

roadways. This results in congestion and safety concerns for both pedestrians and

motorists. These concerns will be alleviated by the reorganization of the internal

circulation roadways and enhanced definition of appropriate pedestrian travelways.

4.11.1.6 Air Navigation

The Stadium Project is located approximately 1¼ miles southwest of Teterboro Airport

and is located within a zone around the airport where height restrictions apply. Air

traffic to Teterboro Airport consists primarily of corporate and private jets accessing

northern New Jersey locations as well as commercial and air freight operations. There

are approximately 200,000 plane movements at Teterboro Airport annually (PANYNJ,

2006).

In accordance with Part 77 of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, height

limitations for buildings and construction equipment have been promulgated for objects

which might affect navigable airspace for areas in proximity to airports. The Project Area,

due to its proximity to Teterboro Airport, has building height restrictions.

4.11.2 Impacts and Mitigation

4.11.2.1 Traffic Study Methodologies

Various traffic studies were conducted in relation to the development of the Stadium

Project. The Stadium Project Traffic Study includes study locations in accordance with

the Major Access Permitting process conducted for NJDOT, which focuses on non-

game day impacts to roads under NJDOT jurisdiction. Above and beyond the

requirements of the New Jersey Highway Access Management Code (N.J.A.C. 16:47),

Vollmer also conducted a study of operations inside and around the Meadowlands

Sports Complex, coordinated studies with the traffic and parking studies of the

developer for Meadowlands Xanadu, and prepared various analysis of specific

conditions as requested by the NJTA and NJSEA. These specific condition studies

included analysis of game day for NFL games and analysis of peak non-game days

(concert at Stadium or other peak multi-use days). These studies also included internal

circulation and intersection analyses, internal signal warrants, pedestrian circulation,

plaza and revenue control operations, and Interchange 16W and Route 3 ramp

operations.

4-88

Page 9: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Game day analyses focused on pre-game arrivals and post-game departure patterns and

duration. Pre-game analyses included elimination of internal conflict points, clear

parking assignments and improvements to Stadium toll plaza operations. Post-game

analysis included estimating the time for vehicles to leave the Sports Complex parking

areas. Non-game analyses included internal impacts caused by the multiple users of the

Sports Complex and the proposed internal traffic patterns changes.

4.11.2.1.1 Traffic Modeling Methodology

The methodology for completing the Traffic Study for the Stadium Project relies on two

previous traffic studies for the baseline conditions to evaluate traffic impacts and levels

of service that would result from additional primary trips generated by the Stadium

Project. The two previous studies include the Traffic Impact Study for Meadowland

Xanadu Redevelopment Project completed by TRC Raymond Keyes Associates in 2004,

with supplemental information provided in June 2006, and the Meadowlands Regional

Transportation Analysis prepared by Edwards & Kelcey Inc in 2004 for the NJSEA and

NJDOT.

These two previous traffic studies noted above are complementary. The Meadowlands

Xanadu Redevelopment Project Traffic Impact Study focuses on the internal roadway

system and direct access to the East Site of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, while

the Meadowlands Regional Transportation Analysis study is a regional study that takes

into consideration a wide range of proposed development and transportation

improvements in the surrounding Meadowlands area. Both of these studies analyzed

conditions in 2009 and included the site-generated traffic from a number of planned

developments in the region including:

Meadowlands Xanadu Redevelopment Project;

• EnCap/Meadowlands Golf Redevelopment Project (Phase I)

Highland Cross;

• Millennium Homes Equinox 360 (Route 3 Redevelopment);

• Paterson Plank Redevelopment District;

• Avalon Bay Communities Apartment Complex (Demasse Cadillac Site);

• Riverside Court (Baker Housing);

• Lowes Development;

• Allied Junction; and

• Chubb Avenue Site.

4-89

Page 10: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Vollmer selected the years 2010 and 2013 to assess traffic conditions since 2010 is the

estimated construction completion date for the new Stadium and Giants Training

Facility, and 2013 is identified as a target construction completion date (or later based

on market demand) for the Ancillary Development that is expected to generate

additional trips onto the area roadway network. The Giants Training Facility component,

which is expected to be completed in 2008, is predominantly a replacement of existing

facilities and is therefore not anticipated to generate a significant amount of new traffic

onto the roadway network. Therefore, traffic conditions for the year 2008 when the

facility is anticipated to be operational were not analyzed.

The 2010 and 2013 baseline (“no build”) conditions for the Stadium Project Traffic Study

were developed by Vollmer using the Meadowlands Xanadu 2009 build volumes and

adding 2% per year for Route 120 (Principal Arterial) and 1% per year for Route 3 as

background growth to obtain the 2010 and 2013 volume projections. The “no build”

conditions for these two study years assume that the Stadium Project is not

constructed. The 2010 “build” condition includes the completion of the Giants Training

Facility and new Stadium. The 2013 “build” condition represents full build-out of the

Stadium Project including the Stadium, Giants Training Facility and Ancillary

Development.

4.11.2.1.2 Study Locations

The study locations to evaluate the “no build” baseline and projected traffic (“build”)

conditions for the Stadium Project were selected based on the TRC Raymond Keyes

Associates and Edwards & Kelcey Inc traffic studies noted above, as well as three

additional Vollmer-selected locations. The study locations are listed in Table 4-11 and

shown on Figure 4-22.

4-90

Page 11: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Table 4-11

Study Locations for the New Meadowlands Stadium Project Traffic Study

Location Description TRC / Xanadu Study Locations

1 NJ Rt. 120 SB b/w N. Connector Rd On-Ramp from W. Peripheral Rd Off-Ramp 2 NJ Rt. 120 SB b/w W. Peripheral Rd On and Off-Ramps 3 NJ Rt. 120 SB and Southern On-Ramp from W. Peripheral Rd 4 NJ Rt. 120 NB b/w E. Peripheral Rd On-Ramp and Paterson Plank Rd Off-Ramp 6 NJ Rt. 120 NB and Off-Ramp East Peripheral Road 7 Washington Ave and Paterson Plank Rd 8 Washington Ave SB and On-Ramp from NJ Rt. 120 EB (Paterson Plank Rd) 9 Washington Ave NB and On-Ramp from NJ Rt. 120 EB (Paterson Plank Rd) 10 NJ Rt. 120 NB Off-Ramp to NJ Rt. 120 WB and N. Connector Rd 11 Paterson Plank Rd and Ramp to NJ Rt. 120 WB (Paterson Plank Rd) 12 NJ Rt. 120 NB and Ramp from NJ Route 3 EB Service Road 13a NJ Rt. 120 SB Ramp to NJ Rt. 3 EB 13b NJ Rt. 120 SB Ramp to NJ Rt. 3 EB (proposed merge w/ Rt. 3 mainline) 14 NJ Rt. 3 EB Service Road Off-Ramp to NJ Rt. 120 NB 15 NJ Turnpike Interchange 16W and S. Connector Road 16 NJ Route 120 SB Ramp to NJ Rt. 3 WB 17 S. Connector Rd & W. Peripheral Rd 18 E. Peripheral Rd b/w S. Arena Rd and S. Connector Rd 19 S. Connector Road and Ramp from NJ Rt. 3 EB Service Rd 20 E. Peripheral Rd and N. Connector Rd / N. Arena Rd 22 N. Connector Rd and HOC Blvd 24 S. Connector Rd Ramp to NJ Turnpike 18W

Edwards & Kelcey, Inc. Study Locations (External Study Locations) EK1 NJ Rt. 120 and NB NJ Rt. 17 Ramps EK2 NJ Rt. 120 and Murray Rd EK3 NJ Rt. 120 and Gotham Pkwy

Vollmer Study Locations (External Study Locations) V1 Paterson Plank Rd and Berry’s Creek Rd V2 NJ Rt 120 and SB NJ Rt. 17 Ramps V3 NJ Rt 3 WB and Ramp G Entry / Ramp X Exit

Source: Vollmer, 2006a

4-91

Page 12: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 13: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4.11.2.1.3 Peak Period Determination

Game day peak hours were not assessed for the external roadway network since the

future game day condition will generate fewer vehicle trips than the existing stadium.

This is because the reduction in trips due to the new rail service will more than

compensate for trips generated by a slightly larger stadium and proposed Ancillary

Development. During game events, the Ancillary Development is expected to generate

a greatly reduced number of primary vehicular trips, since those uses will primarily

provide amenities for game attendees. A combined 2,300 additional trips are estimated

during the peak period on game days to account for the new Stadium and Ancillary

Development. However, the rail link is expected to reduce peak period automobile trips

by approximately 3,650 trips (NJ Transit figure; subject to change). This results in a net

reduction of approximately 1,350 trips. In addition, the weekday morning peak hour

was not evaluated because the Stadium Project generates considerably less traffic

during the morning peak hour than the evening and Saturday peak hours.

The majority of visitors to the Stadium Project are anticipated to arrive/depart the site

during the evenings and on weekends. The analysis periods for the Stadium Traffic

Study include the following periods which are similar to those that were assessed for

the two previous traffic impact studies completed by TRC Raymond Keyes Associates

and Edwards & Kelcey Inc.:

PM Highway Peak Hour (weekday evening - 4:30 to 5:30 PM);

PM Continental Airlines Arena Event Peak Hour (weekday evening -7:15 to

8:15 PM); and

Saturday Continental Airlines Arena Event Peak Hour (weekend afternoon -

3:15 to 4:15 PM).

These time periods represent the worst case scenarios for traffic conditions within the

study area since they include Continental Airlines Arena events that do not occur every

weekday or every Saturday throughout the year.

4.11.2.1.4 Capacity Analysis Methodology

To determine the effect of additional trips on the roadway network within and in the

vicinity of the Project Area that will result from the construction of the Stadium Project,

a level of service analysis was completed utilizing the methodology presented in the

2000 Highway Capacity Manual published by the Transportation Research Board and the

4-93

Page 14: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

associated Highway Capacity Software, version 5.2 (Vollmer, 2006a). Additional

simulation and queuing modeling was performed when needed to further review

operations at specific locations both on and off site.

The 2010 and 2013 “build” condition volumes and levels of service used in the Stadium

Project Traffic Study assume that all the mitigation measures (i.e. roadway

improvements) proposed by the Meadowlands Xanadu Redevelopment Project are fully

implemented as well as various transportation improvements that have been committed

to by NJDOT and the NJTA. Specifically, these projects include:

NJTA Interchange 16W / Route 3 Improvements;

Additional Route 120 Southbound to Route 3 Eastbound Flyover (NJDOT);

Meadowlands Xanadu Redevelopment Project Access / Circulation

Improvements;

Paterson Plank Road Widening (NJDOT); and,

NJ Transit Rail Station and associated Railroad Project Roadway

Improvements.

The “build” conditions also assume that the roadway improvements proposed as part of

the Railroad Project will be in place. However, in order to develop a conservative

estimate of traffic impacts the “build” conditions in the Stadium Project Traffic Study

did not take any credit (i.e., reduction in trips) for any decrease in automobile trips due

to the operation of the rail project for non-game day conditions.

4.11.2.2 Traffic Impacts

Traffic analysis was performed for peak traffic hours identified in Section 4.11.2.1.3 for

the various Project components. Peak hour traffic volumes were identified and the level

of service was calculated for the study locations presented in Table 4-11 as described

below.

4.11.2.2.1 Trip Generation

To determine the amount of additional trips to the roadway network and Project Area,

Vollmer consulted the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Trip Generation

Manual, 7th addition. Because the ITE Trip Generation Manual does not include

estimates for some of the uses planned on the Project Area, estimates were made

4-94

Page 15: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

based on operational characteristics. The following provides a description of how the

trip generation estimates for the various uses for the Stadium Project were calculated.

Trip types are broken into four categories called primary, internal, linked, and pass-by

trips. These categories are defined below as well as the methodology applied to the

Traffic Study.

Primary Trips: Primary Trips are newly generated between external sources and

the project development. For instance, someone driving from their home to

their job is a primary trip, the driver is getting into his/her car for the specific

purpose of traveling to work.

Internal Trips: In performing a traffic analysis not all trips come from external

sources. Trips from nearby locations also occur and are considered internal trips.

These internal trips are usually deducted from external trips in the modeling

process. A portion of the trips associated with the Hall of Fame Museum,

sponsorship/clinic space, and Health and Fitness space in the Stadium Project

buildings are anticipated to come from existing traffic already at the Sports

Complex for other purposes (i.e. employees and athletes). A 25% internal trip

credit was assumed for the Hall of Fame and 10% for the sponsorship/clinic

areas. These trips were removed from the total trip generation in the modeling

process.

Pass-by/Link-diverted Trips: A pass-by trip is where a driver diverts from his

original travel path and makes a stop at a particular use on his way to a final

destination. A link-diverted trip is similar to a pass-by trip except the driver

modifies his original path to make the stop. A portion of the trips associated with

the proposed development, particularly the retail components of the Stadium

and Ancillary Development, will be pass-by or link-diverted trips. Studies have

shown that over 40% of retail trips can be pass-by and link-diverted trips. The

Meadowlands Xanadu Redevelopment Project Traffic Impact Study utilized a

25% pass-by percentage for the evening peak hour. Vollmer utilized the same

25% pass-by percentage for the evening peak hour, as well as the PM

Continental Airlines Arena Peak Hour Event and Saturday Continental Airlines

Arena Peak Hour Event for the Stadium Project Traffic Study.

4-95

Page 16: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

For traffic modeling purposes certain land use categories with related trip generation

codes were assigned to specific components of the Stadium Project as follows:

Ancillary Development: The Ancillary Development is planned to include a mix

of uses as described in Section 2.0 and the exact composition of the program is

not yet defined. Thus, the ITE Land Use Code 820-Shopping Center was

therefore used to determine the number of trips for this land use. The standard

ITE shopping center rate using the fitted logarithmic curve is used to estimate

trips. In order to be conservative, no trip reductions were taken for expected

links between the East Site and the development of the Stadium Area, although

some is likely to occur. However, a 25% pass-by factor was used to account for

trips already on the adjacent highway system.

Meeting/Banquet Facilities in the New Stadium: It is assumed that there will

be up to 300 events per year accommodating up to 120,000 attendees per year

for the meeting and banquet facilities proposed as part of the Stadium Project.

The average size of each event would be approximately 400 people with the

assumption the maximum size would be up to 700 people. Most of the banquet

events would be scheduled during the evening periods and would have minimal

effect on weekday PM peak hour traffic. It is anticipated that large banquets

would be coordinated with other events at the Sports Complex.

Meetings would typically be scheduled during the workday, and therefore most

attendees would be expected to depart during the PM peak period. A worst case

scenario is assumed with overlapping events – a large daytime meeting with 100

guests and a large evening banquet with 700 people.

Health and Fitness Area in the Ancillary Development: ITE Land Use Code

720 (Medical/Dental Office) was used to estimate trip generation for this

component, which is envisioned as a mix of health and fitness services including

physical therapy, sports medicine, and sports rehabilitation. While an ITE code is

not available to directly reflect this use, Code 720 was selected since it provides

a conservative estimate and a relatively comparable use. A total of 124 external

trips are estimated to be generated by this facility during the peak weekday PM

hour of which 42 vehicles would be entering and 82 vehicles would be leaving.

No credit has been taken for linked or pass-by trips; however, a 25% credit was

applied for internal site trips (users of the facility who are already at the Stadium,

4-96

Page 17: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

i.e. athletes and employees). This facility is envisioned to be located in Pod “B”

of the Ancillary Development.

Stadium Offices: The Stadium Offices will replace current office facilities in the

existing stadium and are not anticipated to add new trips to the roadway

network.

Giants Training Facility: The Training Facility would accommodate players,

coaches, and support staff. Because the Project Area already has this use, no

new trips are anticipated to be generated.

Giants Training Facility Expansion: It is assumed this facility will be used as

medical office/clinic (ITE Code 630). While the exact operation is not known at

this time, to maintain a conservative analysis for trip generation purposes, it was

assumed that this facility could be open to the general public on non-game days

for patrons to visit specialist doctors and participate in rehabilitation services for

sports related injuries.

Indoor Practice Facility at the Giants Training Facility: The indoor practice

facility would accommodate players, coaches, and support staff. Because the

Project Area already has this use, no new trips are anticipated to be generated.

Hall of Fame Museum in the New Stadium: ITE does not have trip generation

rate for a museum-type use. Estimates identify that approximately 135,000

people would visit the museum annually. Approximately 40,000 visitors are

expected to visit the museum during home games. Approximately 60% of the

95,000 non-game day visitors are expected to visit the museum either on a

Saturday or Sunday under the assumption that is when most families have the

most “leisure” time to visit the museum. The remaining 40% of the non-game

day visitors would be spread out over the remaining days of the year.

Subsequently, an average of 146 visitors is expected to visit the museum each

weekday. Because most of the museum trips are likely to be combined with

other event-related trips or other activities at the Sports Complex, this facility is

expected to have a minimal impact on the total trips generated by the Stadium

Project. However, as a conservative measure, approximately 10% of the visitors

were assumed to arrive during the peak PM hour while 20% were assumed to

leave during the same period.

4-97

Page 18: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Table 4-12 identifies the total trips generated by each of the Stadium Project

Components.

Table 4-12

Trip Generation Estimates – Total Trips

PM HIGHWAY PEAK

4:30-5:30 PM PM CONTINENTAL

AIRLINES ARENA EVENT PEAK

7:15-8:15 PM

SATURDAY CONTINENTAL

AIRLINES ARENA EVENT PEAK 3:15-4:15 PM

IN OUT TOTAL IN OUT TOTAL IN OUT TOTAL Training Facility Expansion

117 116 233 0 0 0 0 0 0

New Stadium Mixed Use Space

147 159 306 141 118 259 207 225 432

New Stadium Hall of Fame Museum

11 22 33 0 0 0 49 99 148

New Stadium Meeting / Banquet Facilities

70 111 181 298 15 313 12 35 47

Ancillary Development Pod A Mixed Use Space

490 531 1021 469 391 860 878 561 1439

Ancillary Development Pod B Mixed Use Space

278 301 579 266 222 488 439 281 720

Ancillary Development Pod B Health & Fitness Area

42 82 124 0 0 0 78 58 136

TOTAL 1155 1322 2477 1174 746 1920 1663 1259 2922 Source: Vollmer, 2006a

The trip generation estimates for net new trips attributable to the proposed

development are based on a combination of the ITE trip generation estimates, internal

trips, pass-by and link-diverted trips, and are presented in Table 4-13.

The Total Site Generated Trips for the “build” condition for 2010 and 2013 for the peak

hours studied were calculated by adding the New Trips and Pass-By Trips. The detailed

distribution of these trips is presented in the Traffic Study in Appendix G. Note that the

NJDOT Access Permit Process is underway and minor changes to the trip generation

and assignments may result based on NJDOT comments.

4-98

Page 19: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Table 4-13

Trip Generation Estimates – New Trips

PM HIGHWAY PEAK

4:30-5:30 PM PM CONTINENTAL

AIRLINES ARENA EVENT PEAK

7:15-8:15 PM

SATURDAY CONTINENTAL AIRLINES

ARENA EVENT PEAK 3:15-4:15 PM

IN OUT TOTAL IN OUT TOTAL IN OUT TOTAL Training Facility Expansion

117 116 233 0 0 0 0 0 0

New Stadium Mixed Use Space New Trips

109 121 230 109 86 195 153 171 324

New Stadium Mixed Use Space Pass-by Trips

38 38 76 32 32 64 54 54 108

New Stadium Hall of Fame Museum

11 22 33 0 0 0 49 99 148

New Stadium Meeting / Banquet Facilities

70 111 181 298 15 313 12 35 47

Ancillary Development Pod A Mixed Use Space New Trips

362 403 765 362 284 646 698 381 1079

Ancillary Development Pod A Mixed Use Space Pass-by Trips

128 128 256 107 107 214 180 180 360

Ancillary Development Pod B Mixed Use Space New Trips

190 213 403 205 161 366 332 174 506

Ancillary Development Pod B Mixed Use Space Pass-by Trips

128 128 256 61 61 122 107 107 214

Ancillary Development Pod B Health & Fitness Area

42 82 124 0 0 0 78 58 136

TOTAL 1155 1322 2477 1174 746 1920 1663 1259 2922 Source: Vollmer, 2006a

4-99

Page 20: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4.11.2.2.2 Trip Distribution

The trip distributions for the Stadium Project were based on the trip distribution patterns

identified by TRC for the Meadowlands Xanadu Family Entertainment/Retail component

since the Xanadu Project and Ancillary Development of the Stadium Project will draw

patrons from a similar “catchment area”. The Xanadu Project anticipates drawing

patrons from a 40-mile radius of the Project Area, while the proposed Ancillary

Development of the New Meadowlands Stadium Project anticipates drawing patrons

from a 20-mile radius. The 2000 census data was reviewed and indicates that

approximately 75% of the total population within a 40-mile radius of the Project Area is

located within 20 miles of the site. Consequently, the trip distribution patterns for the

proposed Ancillary Development are expected to be similar to the Xanadu distribution.

Table 4-14 identifies the trip generation patterns that were used for new trips entering

and leaving the Project Area.

Table 4-14

Overall Trip Distribution

Approach Percent Route 3 To/From the East

21%

Route 3 To/From the West

18%

NJTPK – 16W 16% NJTPK – 18W 28% Paterson Plank Road (Route 120) 16% Washington Ave (CR 503) 1% Total 100% Source: Vollmer, 2006a

4.11.2.2.3 Traffic Volume and Capacity

The traffic volumes for the 2010 and 2013 “build” conditions are derived by adding the

Total Site Generated New Trips to the 2010 and 2013 baseline traffic volumes for each

of the peak hour study periods. These volumes represent the anticipated traffic volumes

at any given point in the Project Area for the respective time period and build years. The

volumes are detailed in the Traffic Study provided in Appendix G.

4-100

Page 21: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

A Level of Service (LOS) analysis was completed for the Stadium Project to provide a

measure of operation of the study area locations presented in Table 4-11. The analysis

provides a means to measure the operation of an intersection, weaving area, merge

area, etc. by assigning a letter grade (A through F) to the operation based on an

appropriate measure of effectiveness for that analysis point. The following are

measures of effectiveness for various infrastructure components:

Unsignalized Intersections – LOS are based on average delay, with a delay of

less than 10 seconds for a designated LOS ‘A’ and a delay of greater than 50

seconds for a LOS ‘F’.

Signalized Intersections – LOS are based on average delay, with a delay of

less than 10 seconds for a designated LOS ‘A’ and a delay of greater than 80

seconds for a LOS ‘F’.

Weaving Areas – LOS are based on vehicle density within the weave area,

expressed in passenger cars per mile per lane (pc/mi/ln). A weaving density

of less than 10 pc/mi/ln is considered a LOS ‘A’ and a density of over 43

pc/mi/ln is a LOS ‘F.”

Merge/diverge Areas – LOS for merge/diverge areas are similar to weaving

areas and are based on vehicle density in passenger cars per mile per lane.

A density of less than 10 pc/mi/ln is considered LOS ‘A’ and a density of over

35 pc/mi/ln is considered LOS ‘E.’ LOS ‘F’ occurs in a merge / diverge area

when demand exceeds the lane capacity.

The LOS for the “no build” baseline and “build” 2010 and 2013 conditions for the

Stadium Project for the selected peak hour periods and studied locations based on the

type of roadway study location are presented in Tables 4-15, 4-16 and 4-17. The

resulting increases in delay and densities, in general, are minor with the construction

and operation of the Stadium Project.

4-101

Page 22: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 23: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 24: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 25: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 26: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 27: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 28: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

PM Highway Peak Hour

Table 4-15 provides a comparison of the 2010 and 2013 “no build” to “build” traffic

conditions for the PM Highway Peak Hour. A review of each of the locations reveals

that the LOS does not change for each of the study locations when comparing “no-

build” to “build” conditions. At the two intersections (Locations 20 and 22) which

operate at a LOS ‘F’ in the “no build” Condition, the overall intersection delay decreases

with the implementation of the proposed Project. These intersections are internal

intersections created as part of the Xanadu redevelopment and further refinements by

the Xanadu Project may further reduce the delay at these intersections.

PM Continental Airlines Arena Event Peak Hour

Table 4-16 provides a comparison of the traffic conditions for the PM Continental

Airlines Arena Event Peak Hour. No changes in LOS between “no build” and “build”

conditions were found, except for the following locations:

At Location 13 (NJ Route 120 SB Ramp to NJ Route 3 EB) the 2013 LOS

decreases from a ‘B’ at 19.7 pc/mi/ln to a ‘C’ at 20.0 pc/mi/ln, which is a less

than 2% increase in operational density.

The intersection at Location 17 (South Connector Road and West Peripheral

Road) is projected to operate at a LOS ‘F’ during this period. This is primarily

due to the influx of Arena patrons that are directed to park on the West Site

of the Sports Complex once the East Site is filled. This condition would only

occur during major Arena events and traffic control at this location will be

supplemented with parking and traffic management staff to minimize delays.

At Location 20 (East Peripheral Road and North Connector Road / North

Arena Road) the intersection operates at a LOS ‘F’ under both the “no build”

and “build” conditions. There is an increase in overall intersection delay

under the “build” condition. This location is an internal intersection on the

Arena site which could operate under these conditions during peak Arena

events. Its operation will likely be supplemented by parking and traffic

management staff to minimize delays. Also, further refinements by the

Xanadu Project may further reduce delay at these intersections.

4-108

Page 29: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Saturday Continental Airlines Arena Event Peak Hour

Table 4-17 provides a comparison of the traffic conditions for the Saturday Continental

Airlines Arena Event Peak Hour. There is no change in LOS between “no build” and

“build” conditions, except for the following locations:

At Location V3 (NJ Route 3 WB and Ramp G Entry / Ramp X Exit) the LOS

reduces one grade from a LOS ‘C’ to a LOS ‘D.’ While some additional

congestion will be present at the LOS ‘D’ condition, the weaving section will

still operate acceptably. It is also worthy to note that this analysis assumes a

peak Saturday Arena event that does not occur every week.

At Location 17 (South Connector Road and West Peripheral Road) a similar

condition occurs in the PM Continental Airlines Arena Event as described

above. The overall intersection operates at a LOS ‘E’ during the Saturday

Continental Airlines Arena Event peak hour, primarily due to patrons from the

Arena site parking on the West Site of the Sports Complex.

At Location 20 (East Peripheral Road and North Connector Road / North

Arena Road) the intersection operates at a LOS ‘F’. As stated above, this

intersection is an internal location within the Arena complex and will likely be

supplemented by parking and traffic management staff to minimize delays

during peak events. Also, further refinements by the Xanadu Project may

further reduce delay at these intersections.

4.11.2.3 Parking and Transportation Management

To further improve traffic conditions in and around the Project Area, NM Stadco will be

implementing a series of on-site infrastructure improvements. As identified in the Event

Parking and Transportation Management Plan completed by Vollmer for the Stadium

Project, these improvements will facilitate traffic flow in the surrounding area, ease

congestion and back-ups on local roadways within the Project Area and Sports Complex,

and provide ample well-marked parking (Vollmer, 2006b) (Appendix H). The

reconfiguration of the Project Area results in changes to access, internal circulation, and

parking location/allocation and control. The intent of the Parking and Transportation

Management Plan is to maximize site circulation during non-game days, and maximize

arrival and departure conditions for game days. This is accomplished by making major

roads two-way during non-game days, and implementing traffic management plans for

4-109

Page 30: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

game days and peak usage days. An effort was also made to minimize the amount of

traffic traveling through the East Site on game days.

New Roadways and Infrastructure Improvements

To facilitate traffic flow and provide easy ingress and egress to parking and toll plaza

areas, the Stadium Project includes the following internal site road improvements (NM

Stadco, 2006):

Realignment of the North Access Road and reduction of Plaza B toll booths

to reflect reduced traffic flows (existing six lanes reduced to five lanes);

Construction of a new Inner Loop Road connecting the north Access Road

with the 16W Interchange;

Construction of a new Middle Loop Road separating permit from general

admission parking flows;

Construction of a new West Peripheral Road from the North Access Road to

the Stadium Club Road providing two-way traffic flows; and,

Demolition and redevelopment of existing road structures not in service post

development.

Berry’s Creek Road and Valet Road will generally remain in their current configurations.

Valet Road will connect to a new Middle Loop Road and Inner Loop Road as well as a

realigned North Connector Road.

The Turnpike’s 16W interchange will connect to a new stadium gateway. The gateway

includes a new four-way intersection and Inner Loop Road. The intersection will be

signalized during non-game days, with Inner Loop Road approaches receiving the

majority of the green time through the intersection to minimize potential impacts to the

16W traffic ramp. The Stadium Club Road will be modified to a 4 lane two-way road.

During game days, approaches will be modified through traffic management into one-

way operation in the peak direction. The result will allow most 16W traffic to access

16W directing instead of the circuitous route currently traveled around Routes 120 and 3

back to 16W.

4-110

Page 31: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

A way-finding sign plan and internet web page will also be implemented for game and

non-game day scenarios. Approach and on-site color-coded signs are proposed to help

navigate the site efficiently. For non-game day, way-finding signs will direct traffic to

the various destinations within the Sports Complex. For game day, the way-finding

signs will direct patrons to various color-coded parking zones on the Sports Complex.

The plan allows patrons to access any parking zone from any arrival route. It will also

indicate the best parking zone for each route based on ingress and egress patterns.

These proposed roadway improvements and way-finding signage will provide improved

circulation and organization that is sensitive to the Meadowlands Racetrack, Continental

Airlines Arena, NJ Rail Facility, Meadowlands Xanadu Redevelopment (East Site

development) and the new Stadium. These new roadways will organize the vehicular

flow into and out of the parking lots on Stadium event days, as well as allow for efficient

and conspicuous thru-traffic, connecting the regional roadways on the north and south

as well as the east and west. These improvements, along with several regional

infrastructure improvements being implemented, will help improve game day access,

ingress/egress, and mitigate non-game day impacts due to regional development and

traffic growth. Further, the roadway and parking lot configuration will afford flexibility to

allow NJSEA staff to adjust strategies to increase parking activity as special event needs

dictate.

Parking Lot Reconfiguration

In order to respond to the shift from the proposed configuration of the Project Area (i.e.

reconstruction and relocation of stadium and training facilities), parking lots have been

redesigned to radiate around the Stadium and Ancillary Development. Event parking will

be managed in the future so that lot fill patterns and space utilization are maximized.

The overall goals of the parking and operation plan are to: provide fans with more direct

and easier access to the Stadium parking lots than is currently available; to ensure that

parking is both planned and coordinated so as to maximize parking efficiencies; reduce

traffic congestion in both ingress and egress scenarios; and reduce spillback of vehicle

queuing that adversely affects the surrounding roadways and non-sports complex

related traffic flows.

The development of the New Stadium includes a reorganization of the existing parking

lots within the existing perimeter road system of the West Site to coordinate with the

new vehicular circulation network proposed. By implementing a number of internal road

circulation improvements including the introduction of both an inner and middle loop

4-111

Page 32: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

road system west of the Stadium, the NJSEA will be provided with coordinated parking

facilities to allow for enhanced traffic flow management including control and separation

of both permit and non-permit parking areas, thereby speeding up entry and egress

times for events. Permit parkers will be allocated parking spaces within the inner loop

road and middle loop road to the west and south of the Stadium, while general

admission parking patrons will be directed to the area between the middle loop road and

western loop road and outlying parking areas beyond, including Lot Y, the Paddock Lot,

the new DOT lot, the Ramp Lot, Stable Gate lot, and the Xanadu site parking. Shared

parking obligations will be fully satisfied within designated areas.

Game Day Parking Management

The Parking and Transportation Management Plan examined the availability of parking

spaces during the construction and operation of the Stadium Project. During the

construction phase of the Stadium Project various parking areas will be lost and gained.

The greatest shortfall of spaces is expected to occur during August 2008 through

January 2009 (Vollmer, 2006b). This construction period coincides with the NFL season

resulting in an estimated demand of 29,700 parking spaces. A temporary shortfall of

over 7,000 spaces during this period will require off-site solutions. Employees and

permit parkers may be accommodated off-site. This would reduce on-site demand by

some 2,100 vehicles. The resultant shortfall of spaces is anticipated to be

accommodated by use of on-site unstriped spaces and additional off-site parking.

A shared parking analysis was completed by Vollmer to estimate parking demands for

the Stadium Project along with overall parking demand and supply for the future

Meadowlands Sports Complex including the East and West Sites (Vollmer, 2006b). The

shared parking analysis was completed in accordance with the Urban Land Institute’s

Shared Parking for determining the appropriate parking supply for a mixed-use

development. Shared parking is the use of a parking space by vehicles generated by

more than one land use. The shared parking methodology incorporates time of day and

seasonal factors to identify peak combined parking demand.

At full build out of the Stadium Project with an 82,500 seat stadium an estimated

demand of approximately 31,000 parking spaces are identified (Table 4-18). There are

approximately 27,400 proposed striped spaces for NFL games after the Meadowlands

Xanadu Redevelopment and proposed Stadium Projects are constructed (approximately

23,300 spaces on the West Site and 4,100 spaces on the East Site dedicated to football

events). Compared to the demand of 31,000 spaces, there will be a shortfall of 3,600

4-112

Page 33: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

spaces. Additional potential parking lots include 400 spaces in the DOT lot near Plaza J,

200 spaces in the 16 W ramp lot and an estimated 350 spaces in the Stable Gate Lot

(950 spaces total). In addition, future demand is estimated to be reduced by up to 3,650

parking spaces on NFL game days due to the proposed NJ Transit Rail Facility. If the full

anticipated utilization of the rail line is realized and parking is obtained in the additional

lots, there will be a surplus of approximately 1,000 spaces. It is estimated that up to 700

vehicles could be accommodated in unstriped spaces as necessary, resulting in a total

surplus of 1,700 spaces. Since it is assumed that patrons of the Ancillary Development

during NFL events will be football patrons as well, if patrons arrive on site solely to visit

the Ancillary Development, their parking demand would need to be accommodated

within the 1,700 space surplus.

Table 4-18

Future Supply and Demand Summary NFL Parking Spaces

Existing Spaces

New Meadowlands Stadium Full Build Without Ancillary

Development

New Meadowlands Stadium Full Build

With Ancillary Development

(December Saturday) Maximum NFL Demand 29,700 31,000 31,000 Full Rail 0 -3,650 -3,650 Updated Demand 29,700 27,350 27,350 Striped Supply 27,700 26,900 28,400 Unstriped Spaces 2,000 700 700 Total Potential Supply 29,700 27,600 29,050 Shortfall/Excess +0 +250 +1,700* *Although expected to be minimal, up to 1,600 spaces may be utilized by Ancillary Development patrons not attending the NFL event. Source: Vollmer, 2006b

In addition to the approximately 4,100 spaces designated for football and parking on the

East Site, there will also be an additional 8,500 striped spaces provide for Meadowlands

Xanadu Project parking. During peak demand days, such as Saturday games in

December, the estimated Xanadu parking demand can reach about 12,500 vehicles. To

mitigate for the shortfall in striped spaces, the Xanadu Project proposes offsite parking

for employees and aisle valet operations in the Xanadu designated lots. On non-NFL

game days, a portion of the Xanadu parking will be accommodated on the West Site.

4-113

Page 34: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Non-Game Day Parking Management

During non-game days, the peak parking demand for the Ancillary Development was

estimated to be 5,000 spaces. During non-game day shared parking days, all 5,000

vehicles generated by the Ancillary Development will be able to park on the West Site.

Vollmer prepared an independent shared parking analysis to determine peak parking

demand with the Ancillary Development during events using actual arena and Stadium

event parking data provided by the NJSEA (Vollmer, 2006b). The combination of events

includes a Nets game and a Seton Hall game at the arena and four high school football

games at the Stadium. Demand was adjusted to reflect a realistic combination of

simultaneous events. The peak Nets demand and peak Seton Hall demand, for example,

would not occur in the same hour, since most of the patrons from the afternoon event

would leave the site before the evening event patrons arrive. Estimated parking demand

on the West Site would be approximately 19,300 spaces. This assumes that there

would be a supply of 10,900 spaces on the East Site. Under the peak demand scenario,

which would occur at most once a year on a December Saturday, there would be a

surplus of over 3,500 spaces on the West Site. Proposed demand for peak and typical

overflow days is presented in Table 4-19.

Table 4-19

Peak Day Parking Demand

Typical Non-Game Day

(Weekend)

Peak Hour Non-Game Day (Dec Saturday)

Saturday Game in Late

December Xanadu Traffic 6,800 6,900 8,500 NFL Traffic 0 0 4,100 Arena Event 4,100 4,100 0

East of

Route 120 Subtotal 10,900 10,900 12,600 NFL Traffic 0 0 23,250 Xanadu Spillover 1,900 3,500 0 Arena Spillover 1,750 1,400 0 Racetrack Event 2,500 2,500 0 Flea Market 1,000 1,000 0 Ancillary Development 3,950 5,000 1,600 Xanadu Employees 2,000 2,000 0 Non-NFL Stadium Event 1,750 3,900 0

West of Route 120

Subtotal 14,850 19,300 24,850 TOTAL DEMAND 25,750 30,200 37,450 Source: Vollmer, 2006b

4-114

Page 35: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

NM Stadco, NJSEA, the Meadowlands Xanadu development team, NJ Transit and other

State and local agencies must work together to design, coordinate and implement a

Project Operating Plan (POP) that meets the needs and has the approval of all the

Meadowlands Sports Complex parties and constituents. The POP will address the

responsibilities, processes, and procedures for managing the site circulation and

parking, both with and without events.

4.11.2.4 Public Transportation

It is anticipated that the public bus service currently provided by NJ Transit to the

Meadowlands Sports Complex will continue and may be increased to accommodate

additional demand that will result from the Ancillary Development. In addition, a new rail

line connecting the Meadowlands Sports Complex with the rest of the NJ Transit rail

system is currently under construction.

The Meadowlands Railroad and Roadway Improvement Project will construct a new 2.3-

mile railroad alignment with associated rail station and roadway improvements. The rail

line will spur off of the Pascack Valley Line and terminate at a rail station centrally

located between Giants Stadium and Continental Airlines Arena. The project was

developed by the NJSEA and will be operated by NJ Transit upon completion expected

in the year 2008. This new rail line is expected to be used by 9,600 patrons on NFL

game days, according to NJ Transit estimates (subject to change).

The rail service will be operated by NJ Transit commuter rail equipment that would

consist of diesel locomotives hauling commuter coaches in a push-pull configuration.

Travel times from the Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station at Secaucus Junction to the

Meadowlands Sports Complex would be approximately eight minutes. The Secaucus

Junction Station lies approximately 2.5 miles south of the Sports Complex. This

intermodal rail station serves as the interconnecting node for all NJ Transit rail lines

serving northern New Jersey including the Main, Bergen, Port Jervis, Pascack Valley,

Northeast Corridor, Jersey Coast, and Midtown Direct Lines. Rail passengers will also

be able to interface with Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line.

4.11.2.5 Pedestrian Circulation

Safe pedestrian circulation through the parking lots within the Meadowlands Sports

Complex is achieved by providing designated pedestrian walkways. To improve

circulation between the East Site and West Site of the Sports Complex, connections to

4-115

Page 36: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

the existing pedestrian bridge will be enhanced. Well-defined pedestrian walkways will

improve operations by segregating vehicles from pedestrians where possible and

providing high visibility crossings where necessary to alert motorists and pedestrians to

potential conflicts. During the Stadium Project construction phases, high fences with

appropriate signage will be constructed to direct pedestrians around construction areas.

The Stadium Project will alter and improve pedestrian circulation with walkways

designed to further organize and direct pedestrian flow from the parking lots to the

Stadium’s east and west entrances, to the pedestrian bridge over Route 120, and to the

racetrack and paddock areas. The walkways will be designed to minimize the crossing

of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, improving the existing conditions and providing a safe

and effective path of travel.

One of the key components to improved pedestrian flow will be to arrange most parking

aisles radial to the major destinations with pedestrian corridors arranged to collect and

distribute pedestrians throughout the Project Area (Figure 4-36), minimizing the need for

major pedestrian roadway crossings since most pedestrians will be walking with or

against the flow of traffic instead of perpendicular to it. The Parking and Management

Plan proposes that during game days, some internal roads be closed to vehicular traffic

to create pedestrian and tailgate zones to further minimize pedestrian / vehicle

interaction. Also during game days, shuttle bus service is proposed for patrons parked

in remote lots.

Fans parked on the East Site will use the existing pedestrian bridge, which terminates at

the stadium rail plaza (Figures 2-9 and 4-38). Fans arriving by way of the NJ Transit

trains can either walk to the east plaza entrance at the Stadium or they can walk to the

“Football Plaza” and on to the southeast plaza (Figure 4-32). On non-game days,

pedestrians will use the same infrastructure and follow the same circulation patterns.

4.11.2.6 Air Navigation

The Stadium Project is located approximately 1¼ miles southwest of Teterboro Airport

and is located within a zone around the airport where height restrictions apply. As

discussed in Section 6.0, the FAA is required to be notified of structures greater than

approximately 150 feet above ground level for review as navigation obstructions, or

potentially lower elevations when in the path of runways. It is anticipated that the

height of the new Stadium, estimated to be approximately 200 feet above grade, will

4-116

Page 37: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

require the completion of the FAA Notification process. Additionally, during each

construction phase, a notification application will be submitted to the FAA for cranes

and any other tall temporary construction equipment exceeding the height limitation.

4-117

Page 38: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4.12 Air Quality

4.12.1 Existing Conditions

4.12.1.1 Criteria and Standards

The USEPA has identified six criteria pollutants of national concern: carbon monoxide

(CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5),

lead (Pb), and ozone (O3). These pollutants are generated by mobile sources

(automobiles, trucks, buses, etc.) and stationary sources (factories, operating

equipment, etc.).

Carbon monoxide is the most commonly occurring air pollutant consisting of a colorless,

odorless, poisonous gas formed when carbon in fuels is not burned completely. It is a

by-product of motor vehicle exhaust, which contributes over 50% of all CO emissions

nationwide (NJDEP, 2003). In cities, automobile exhaust can cause as much as 95% of

all CO emissions and high levels of CO often coincide with morning and afternoon rush

hours.

Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas and is odorless at typical ambient concentrations. Fuel

combustion sources emitting SO2 include coal-fired plants, electrical utility plants, non-

ferrous and iron ore smelters, petroleum refineries, transportation sources, and steel

mills. In addition, residential, commercial, and industrial space heating contributes to

SO2 emissions.

Nitrogen dioxide is a highly reactive gas that forms in the air through the oxidation of

nitric oxide (NO). Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) includes NO, NO2, and other oxides of

nitrogen, which aid in creating O3, PM, haze, and acid rain. Most NOx is emitted as NO

and is readily converted to NO2 in the atmosphere. The major contributors of NOx

emissions are high temperature combustion processes such as those occurring in cars

and power plants.

Particulate matter consists of both solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in the

atmosphere. PM can range in size from 70 micrometers (pinhead size) to less than 1

micrometer in diameter. PM can be emitted from the incomplete combustion of fuels

used to power vehicles, stationary equipment and various manufacturing operations, or

it can form in the atmosphere from gaseous emissions such as SO2 and oxides of

nitrogen (NOx). PM is often categorized by the size of the particulate matter. The

4-118

Page 39: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

human respiratory tract will usually trap particles above 10 micrometers before they

reach the lungs. An inhalable particulate is defined as a particle with a diameter of less

than 10 micrometers (PM10), which are more harmful to human health. Particles less

than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) are referred to as fine particulate matter.

Lead is a naturally occurring metal and is also produced by a variety of human activities.

Historically, the most significant contributors of Pb emissions are motor vehicles and

industrial facilities. Additional sources of Pb emissions include the combustion of solid

waste, windblown dust from weathered lead base paint and cigarette smoke.

Ozone occurs naturally in the upper atmosphere where it shields harmful ultraviolet

rays. However, at the ground level it is considered an air pollutant. Ground level O3 is

created when NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), also referred to as

hydrocarbons, react in the presence of sunlight and heat. This reaction typically occurs

downwind from the emission source, impacting areas well beyond the emission source

up to several hundred miles downwind.

In accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA), last amended in 1990,

the USEPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for these

six criteria pollutants (40 CFR Part 50). In addition, the NJDEP has established New

Jersey Ambient Air Quality Standards (NJAAQS) for these pollutants. Table 4-20

presents the NAAQS and the NJAAQS for the six criteria pollutants identified by

USEPA. Figure 4-23 shows the location of the New Jersey air monitoring stations in

relation to the Project Area.

The NAAQS and the NJAAQS include both primary standards and secondary standards.

The primary standards are intended to protect public health, including the health of

sensitive populations such as asthmatics, children and the elderly (USEPA, 2006a). The

secondary standards are designed to protect public welfare, including protection against

decreased visibility and damage to animals, crops, vegetation and buildings (USEPA,

2006a). These standards are based on comprehensive studies of available ambient

monitoring data, health effects data and material effects studies. The CAA requires that

the USEPA review scientific data every five years to ensure that the NAAQS effectively

protect the public health.

4-119

Page 40: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 41: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

4-121

Table 4-20

New Jersey and National Ambient Air Quality Standards and Regional Monitoring Data

Maximum 2nd High Pollutant

Averaging Period

Type of Standard

New Jersey Standard (a) NAAQS (b) 2002 2003 2004 2005 2002 2003 2004 2005

Monitoring Location(i)

3-hour Secondary 0.5 ppm 0.5 ppm (c) 0.052 0.059 0.047 0.050 0.048 0.055 0.047 0.045 Primary 0.14 ppm 0.14 ppm (c)

24-hour Secondary 0.10 ppm -

0.037 0.034 0.030 0.033 0.026 0.034 0.028 0.029

Primary 0.03 ppm 0.03 ppm

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

12-month Secondary 0.02 ppm -

0.007 0.009 0.008 0.008 - - - -

Jersey City

24-hour - 150 g/m3 110 89 68 69 72 61 54 66 Inhalable Particulate Matter (PM10)

12-month Primary and Secondary - 50 g/m3 28 32 27 30 - - - -

Jersey City

24-hour - 65 g/m3 (e) 82 46 41 43 38 (f) 40 (f) 35 (f) 40 (f) Fine Particulates (PM2.5)

12-month Primary and Secondary - 15 g/m3 (e) 13.7 14.1 13.2 14.2 - - - -

Newark

1-hour 35 ppm 35 ppm 4.5 4.6 4.6 5.8 4.4 4.0 4.1 4.8 Carbon (CO) Monoxide 8-hour

Primary and Secondary (d) 9 ppm 9 ppm 3.6 3.0 3.2 3.0 2.8 2.9 3.2 2.8

Jersey City

Primary 0.12 ppm 0.12 ppm 1-hour

Secondary 0.08 ppm 0.12 ppm 0.143 0.107 0.115 0.122 0.135 0.105 0.097 0.120

Ozone (O3) 8-hour

Primary and Secondary

- 0.08 ppm (g) 0.105 0.098 0.088 0.100 0.101

(h) 0.085

(h) 0.082

(h) 0.091

(h)

Teaneck

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)

12-month Primary and Secondary

0.05 ppm 0.053 ppm 0.028 0.028 0.024 0.026 - - - - East

Orange

Lead (Pb) 3-month Primary and Secondary

1.5 g/m3 1.5 g/m3 0.11 0.04 0.12 0.16 0.06 0.02 0.06 0.03 New

Brunswick Note:

(a) New Jersey short-term standards are not to be exceeded more than once in any 12-month period except where noted. NJ has AAQS for Total Suspended Particulates – Primary 12 month geometric mean = 75 ug/m3, 24 hour average = 260 ug/m3, Secondary 12 mouth geometric mean = 60 ug/m3, 24 hour average = 150 ug/m3.

(b) National short-term standards are not to be exceeded more than once in a calendar year except where noted (c) National standards are block averages rather than moving averages (d) National secondary standards for carbon monoxide have been rescinded (e) The 98th percentile of 24-hour values for a year may not exceed this level (f) Value is 98th percentile of 24-hour values for the year (g) Fourth highest value in a year, rounded to the nearest 0.01, may not exceed this level (h) Value is fourth maximum. (i) See Figure 4-23 for monitoring locations.

Sources: NJDEP, 2003; 40 CFR Part 50 and N.J.A.C. 7:27-13; USEPA, 2006b

Page 42: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Pursuant to Section 107 of the CAA, the nation has been divided into air quality control

regions to provide for the attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS. If an area meets

the NAAQS, then the area is called an attainment area. The Project Area is within a

region classified by the USEPA as attainment for SO2 and Pb. Areas that do not meet

the NAAQS for one or more criteria pollutants are designated as non-attainment areas

for that pollutant. For O3, CO, and PM non-attainment areas, the CAA sets detailed

requirements for controlling emissions based on the seriousness of the attainment

problem in a specific area. For example, five categories of O3 non-attainment areas are

established ranging from "marginal" to "extreme."

4.12.1.2 Existing Air Quality

Air quality in New Jersey has significantly improved since the passage of the CAA in

1970 (NJDEP, 2003). Figure 4-24 shows air pollution trends from 1969 through 2003 for

the six criteria pollutants of concern for the State of New Jersey. These improvements

are the result of aggressive pollution control programs implemented in New Jersey as

well as regional emission reduction strategies involving other states.

Regional Sources of Emissions

Air quality within the Project Area, as well as the overall HMD, is directly affected by the

extensive transportation network and numerous industrial facilities in the region. Mobile

source air emissions within the HMD are generated primarily by automobile and truck

traffic traveling along major roadway arteries including the New Jersey Turnpike, NJ

Route 17, US Route 1 & 9, NJ Route 3, US Route 46, Interstate Route 80 and Interstate

Route 280. While the contribution of on-road mobile source emissions to air pollution

remains significant, the USEPA estimates that from 1989 to 1998 national emissions from

mobile sources decreased 24% for CO, 26% for VOCs, and 30% for PM10, because of state

and regional implementation of control measures on air pollutants (USDOT, FHA, and FTA,

2006). New Jersey is following this national trend (see Figure 4-24). The North Jersey

Transportation Planning Authority, Inc. (NJTPA) has modeled total CO emissions to be

approximately 825 tons per day for 2006 (approximately 300,000 tons per year) in the

Northern New Jersey Maintenance Area that consists of Bergen, Essex, Hudson,

Passaic and Union Counties (NJTPA, 2005).

4-122

Page 43: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 44: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

An inventory of major industrial sites (stationary sources) within a 6-mile radius from the

center of the HMD was performed in 1995 as part of the SAMP DEIS for the HMD

(USACE and USEPA, 1995). The SAMP DEIS inventory identified 13 sites with CO

emissions greater than 50 tons per year. Individual site CO emissions ranged from 735

to 2,900 tons per year, with total emissions of 6,500 tons per year. Similarly, 31 sites

were identified with NOx emissions greater than 50 tons per year. Individual site NOx

emissions ranged from 52 to 46,000 tons per year, with total emissions at 75,000 tons

per year.

Air Monitoring Data

The background air quality for the HMD can be characterized based on existing ambient

air quality monitoring data collected by the NJDEP. Criteria pollutant concentration data

are collected at several NJDEP monitoring locations throughout the state and are

summarized annually (NJDEP, 2003). Table 4-20 provides a summary of the ambient air

quality data collected by the NJDEP at designated air monitoring stations in northern

New Jersey from 2002 through 2005 compared to the NJAAQS and the NAAQS, and

can be considered as being representative of the Project Area and surrounds.

The NJMC is currently conducting an air quality monitoring and modeling program to

evaluate the potential exposures to air toxic pollutants emitted from sources in and near

the HMD (NJMC, 2006b). The program is intended to measure the background levels

for residential areas within and immediately adjacent to the HMD, for workers, and for

visitors to the HMD who utilize the recreational facilities and areas. Both measurement

and modeling activities are being conducted to examine these potential exposures.

The preliminary findings of the NJMC air monitoring and modeling program are

presented in Studying Baseline Quality of Ambient and Personal Air within the New

Jersey Meadowlands District: 2006 Annual Report (NJMC, 2006b). The report provides

a description of the results from a summer 2005 intensive personal sampling and the

long-term stationary sampling program that was conducted during the second year of

the three-year project. The results of the summer intensive personal sampling, which

focused on VOCs, indicate that aromatic sources (with the exception of benzene) are

primarily mobile emissions while the halogenated compounds are the result of

evaporative emissions. The NJMC report notes that the VOC concentrations measured

in the HMD are similar to the concentrations measured in urban centers in New Jersey.

Samples are continuing to be collected and analyzed for PM2.5 mass, elemental carbon,

organic carbon, trace metals, and VOCs as part of the NJMC long-term sampling

4-124

Page 45: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

program. The NJMC report concludes that the sampling performed to date indicates

that the concentrations of these pollutants in the HMD are at the same magnitude as

measured in other urban areas of New Jersey.

A NJDEP approved Air Quality Monitoring Plan for the Meadowlands Xanadu

Redevelopment Project, which includes the establishment and operation of two

permanent air quality monitoring stations, is in the process of being established at the

East Site of the Meadowlands Sports Complex (Langan, 2006g). The two proposed

permanent monitoring stations will monitor PM2.5, NOx, and VOCs. Currently, a

temporary air monitoring station has been established to monitor PM2.5. This temporary

station approved by the NJDEP is not an official State monitoring station. The

temporary station has been monitoring PM2.5 since March 2005 and has recorded levels

of PM2.5 below the 24-hour NAAQS of 65 μg/m3, with some variable periods of elevated

PM2.5 concentrations (Langan, 2006g). High PM2.5 concentrations are believed to be

influenced by a combination of environmental factors and construction activities. The

temporary station has had an annual average of 31.87 μg/m3, which is above the

NAAQS of 15 μg/m3. It is expected that the annual average will be above the NAAQS

based on the 2003 USEPA’s Guidance on Non-attainment Area Designations for PM2.5,

since the monitoring station is located in a metropolitan area (USEPA, 2003). According

to the USEPA document, metropolitan areas generally have higher background

particulate concentrations that exceed 15.0 μg/m3.

Attainment Status

The Project Area is located within the New Jersey-New York-Connecticut Interstate Air

Quality Control Region, which has been designated by the USEPA as an O3 and PM2.5

non-attainment area (USEPA, 2006c; USEPA, 2006d). The New York – Northern New

Jersey – Long Island Air Quality Control Region has been designated by the USEPA as a

moderate non-attainment area with respect to the O3 ambient air quality standards and,

therefore, is required to meet the NAAQS by year 2010. To control O3 levels, New

Jersey has focused on reducing emissions of hydrocarbons (VOCs) and NOx from

various emissions sources such as petrochemical facilities, stationary combustion

sources and mobile sources. To reduce PM2.5 emissions and meet NAAQS the NJDEP

is examining several primary sources of fine particulate matter including on-road mobile

sources (such as diesel-powered trucks and buses) and non-road mobile sources (such

as construction equipment).

4-125

Page 46: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

The New York – Northern New Jersey – Long Island Air Quality Control Region was

previously designated as a non-attainment area for CO; however, New Jersey was

officially declared as having attained the CO standard and classified as a CO

maintenance area in 2002 (USEPA, 2002). CO concentrations in New Jersey have not

exceeded the NAAQS 1-hour standard since the late 1970s. Typical 1-hour maximum

concentrations in New Jersey in recent years have been less than 12 ppm, well below

the 35 ppm NAAQS standard.

4.12.2 Impacts and Mitigation

It is anticipated that the construction and operation of the Stadium Project will not

adversely impact air quality; although some minor increases in vehicular traffic may lead

to increases in mobile source emissions. There are no proposed major stationary

sources that could emit significant quantities of pollutants associated with the Stadium

Project. Air emissions from construction, stationary, and mobile sources are discussed

in the following sections. A CAA conformity determination is not required for the

Stadium Project since it does not involve any federally sponsored or approved activities,

nor are any roadway improvements proposed that might impact the regional

transportation conformity evaluations.

4.12.2.1 Construction Source Emissions

Air emissions from construction equipment used to construct the new Stadium,

buildings, practice fields, parking facilities, roadways, and other site structures will be

temporary and minor and will not result in any significant air quality impacts. Additional

temporary and minor emissions will be generated by construction workers traveling to

and from the site. To limit the amount of SO2, PM, NOx, and CO emitted into the

atmosphere during construction, all construction equipment utilizing combustible

engines will be equipped with required emission control devices. A Diesel Emissions

Management Plan will be implemented to reduce emissions from on-site construction

related equipment. The Plan will include a PM exhaust emission reduction goal of 35%

for off-road/construction vehicles and be implemented during the construction phases of

the Stadium Project. The Plan will include the use of low-sulfur diesel fuel for operation

of on-site construction equipment.

4-126

Page 47: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

The generation of airborne dust will be an air pollutant of concern during the

construction phase of the Stadium Project. Dust generation is associated with

excavation, leveling, grading, loading, unloading, and similar activities resulting in the

disruption of the existing land surface. Vehicles traveling on unpaved areas can also

cause airborne dust. The emissions of fugitive dust particles will be limited and

controlled through implementation of soil erosion and control measures that will be

designed in accordance with county and state regulations. In addition, on-site dust

control measures will include wetting of road surfaces, watering, regular sweeping of

road surfaces, covering of storage piles, and implementation of low on-site construction

vehicle speeds limits. Contractor specifications will be developed to require that

appropriate steps are taken by the contractor during construction to control dust and

manage stockpiled material.

4.12.2.2 Stationary Source Emissions

The stationary sources that will be installed at the new Stadium will replace stationary

sources at the existing stadium. It is anticipated that the replacement equipment (i.e.

boilers, HVAC systems, and emergency generators) will be similar to the existing

equipment but the new equipment is expected to be more efficient than the existing

systems. New boilers used to support the proposed facilities associated with the

Stadium Project will be constructed in compliance with applicable state and federal

requirements. All necessary NJDEP air permits for the Project’s stationary sources will

be obtained prior to installation (see Section 6.2.13).

4.12.2.3 Mobile Source Emissions

The NJDEP and USEPA identify CO as the primary pollutant of concern when assessing

potential air quality impacts from motor vehicle exhaust. Increased concentrations of

CO can be expected in places where large numbers of motor vehicles are present

including crowded intersections where traffic delays are common during peak (traffic)

hour periods.

Game Days

The new Stadium will be replacing the existing stadium and is not expected to generate

additional traffic or associated mobile source emissions during game days (see Section

4.11.2.2). The Railroad Project will reduce automobile traffic to the Meadowlands

Sports Complex during game days. It is estimated that 9,600 patrons will use the new

4-127

Page 48: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

rail facility to access the Sports Complex during football games, resulting in a reduction

of approximately 3,650 automobiles (Vollmer, 2006b). The Stadium Project includes

infrastructure improvements within the West Site of the Sports Complex to facilitate

traffic flow to the surrounding roadway network and improve movements within the

Sports Complex. New major and minor roadways will organize the vehicular flow into

and out of the parking lots during Stadium events and allow for efficient thru-traffic,

connecting the regional roadways on the north and south as well as the east and west.

A Parking and Transportation Management Plan has been developed for the Stadium

Project to optimize arrival/departure conditions during game days (Appendix H). Regional

transportation improvements are planned by other developers and state agencies,

including the Route 3 Ramp Improvements at Interchange 16W and at Route 120, will

further improve traffic conditions. It is anticipated that these regional improvements will

facilitate traffic movements and serve to improve air quality in the region. The Stadium

Project in addition to planned roadway improvements to be performed by others are

expected to reduce traffic delays and, therefore, no significant changes to mobile

source air emissions are anticipated during game days and other Stadium events

compared to existing conditions. A mobile source analysis has not been performed on

game days since an overall decrease in automobile trips is projected compared to

existing conditions.

Non-Game Days

The Traffic Study concluded that the Stadium Project will have minimal impacts on the

anticipated levels of service (LOS) of nearby roadways on non-game days, provided the

improvements planned by other developers and state agencies are implemented as

planned (see Section 4.11). However, the additional traffic generated by the Stadium

Project, mostly due to the new Ancillary Development, will contribute additional mobile

source emissions including CO and NOx compared to current conditions. The Ancillary

Development, and to a lesser degree the Meeting/Banquet Facilities and Hall of Fame

Museum in the new Stadium, is expected to generate greater vehicular traffic than

current minimal levels on non-game days as a result of these new facilities and their

anticipated year-round attraction (see Section 4.11.2.2.1). The new Giants Training

Facility will also generate additional traffic compared to the current training facilities due

to proposed size expansion. Therefore, a mobile source analysis was performed for

non-game days to assess potential air quality impacts. A summary of the mobile source

analysis of the anticipated increases in traffic on non-game days is presented below. A

mobile source analysis involves detailed air quality modeling of traffic on various

roadway segments and is also referred to as a microscale CO Hot Spot analysis.

4-128

Page 49: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Locations for Model Analysis

The appropriate locations to model representative air quality analyses were determined

according to NJDEP’s procedures (NJDEP, 2004b). Locations impacted by the Stadium

Project were generally excluded from detailed air quality modeling if it had a LOS of A,

B, or C. If a location has a LOS of D, E or F, then a microscale CO hot-spot analysis was

performed.

A total of 28 locations potentially affected by the Stadium Project were analyzed for

their LOS for the full build-out year of 2013 (Section 4.11) (Appendix G). These locations

were studied under three peak hour conditions (i.e. PM Highway Peak Hour, PM

Continental Airlines Arena Event Peak Hour, and Saturday Continental Airlines Arena

Event Peak Hour) (Tables 4-15 through 4-17), resulting in a total of 84 scenarios to be

analyzed for LOS. Of the 28 locations impacted by the Project, the LOS at nine

locations/peak hour conditions was determined to be at D or lower. Therefore,

microscale CO hot spot analyses were performed at locations 8, 13b, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20,

22 and V3 (see Tables 4-21 and 4-22, and Figure 4-25). The 2010 build condition was not

examined since the 2013 build condition represents the full-build out of the Stadium

Project, while the 2010 build condition only represents a portion of the Project.

Microscale CO Hot-Spot Analysis

A microscale CO hot-spot analysis was conducted to determine the maximum modeled

1-hour and 8-hour CO concentrations at the nine locations selected in the screening

process (see Figure 4-25). For each of these nine locations, the analysis was conducted

only for those peak period conditions with a LOS of D, E or F as determined in the traffic

study for the 2013 build condition (see Section 4.11). The microscale CO hot-sport

analysis was conducted in accordance with the guidance provided in the following:

NJDEP Air Quality Analysis for Intersections (NJDEP, 2004b);

USEPA Guidelines for Modeling Carbon Monoxide from Roadway Intersections

(USEPA, 1992); and

User’s Guide to CAL3QHC Version 2.0: A Modeling Methodology for Predicting

Pollutant Concentrations Near Roadway Intersections (USEPA,1995).

4-129

Page 50: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 51: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

Table 4-21

2013 Microscale Hot-Spot Analysis Results for 1-Hour Maximum CO Concentration

Background

Concentration (ppm)

Modeled Concentration (ppm) Total Concentrationa

(ppm) NAAQS (ppm)

NAAQS Exceeded?

Location Description

PM Highway

Peak Hour

PM Arena Event Peak Hour

Saturday Arena Event Peak Hour

PM Highway

Peak Hour

PM Arena Event Peak Hour

Saturday Arena Event Peak Hour

8 Washington Avenue SB & On-Ramp from NJ Route 120 EB (Paterson Plank Road)

5.0 2.1 - - 6.9 - - 35 NO

13b NJ Route 120 SB Ramp to NJ Route 3 EB (proposed merge w/Route 3 mainline)

5.0 3.3 - - 8.1 - - 35 NO

14 NJ Route 3 EB Service Road Off Ramp to NJ Route 120 NB

5.0 - 1.4 - - 6.2 - 35 NO

16 NJ Route 120 SB Ramp to NJ Route 3 WB 5.0 1.2 - - 6.0 - - 35 NO 17 South Connector Road & West Peripheral

Road 5.0 - 1.2 1.3 - 6.0 6.1 35 NO

18 East Peripheral Road between South Arena Road and South Connector Road

5.0 - 1.3 - - 6.1 - 35 NO

20 East Peripheral Road and North Connector Road / North Arena Road

5.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 6.9 7.0 7.1 35 NO

22 North Connector Road and HOC Boulevard 5.0 2.6 2.1 - 7.4 6.9 - 35 NO V3 NJ Route 3 WB and Ramp G Entry / Ramp

X Exit 5.0 5.3 - 4.1 10.1 - 8.9 35 NO

Note: a Maximum modeled CO concentration plus maximum background CO concentration. (-) Indicates that analysis was not required because LOS for peak condition was A, B or C.

4-131

Page 52: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

4-132

Table 4-22

2013 Microscale Hot-Spot Analysis Results For 8-Hour Maximum CO Concentration

Background

Concentration (ppm)

Modeled Concentration (ppm)

Total Concentrationa

(ppm) NAAQS (ppm)

NAAQS Exceeded?

Location Description

PM Highway

Peak Hour

PM Arena Event Peak Hour

Saturday Arena Event Peak Hour

PM Highway

Peak Hour

PM Arena Event Peak Hour

Saturday Arena Event Peak Hour

8 Washington Avenue SB & On-Ramp from NJ Route 120 EB (Paterson Plank Road)

2.8 1.5 - - 4.3 - - 9 NO

13b NJ Route 120 SB Ramp to NJ Route 3 EB (proposed merge w/Route 3 mainline)

2.8 2.3 - - 5.1 - - 9 NO

14 NJ Route 3 EB Service Road Off Ramp to NJ Route 120 NB

2.8 - 1.0 - - 3.8 - 9 NO

16 NJ Route 120 SB Ramp to NJ Route 3 WB 2.8 0.8 - - 3.6 - - 9 NO 17 South Connector Road & West Peripheral

Road 2.8 - 0.8 0.9 - 3.6 3.7 9 NO

18 East Peripheral Road between South Arena Road and South Connector Road

2.8 - 0.9 - - 3.7 - 9 NO

20 East Peripheral Road and North Connector Road / North Arena Road

2.8 1.5 1.5 1.6 4.3 4.3 4.4 9 NO

22 North Connector Road and HOC Boulevard 2.8 1.8 1.5 - 4.6 4.3 - 9 NO V3 NJ Route 3 WB and Ramp G Entry / Ramp

X Exit 2.8 3.7 - 2.9 6.5 - 5.7 9 NO

Note: a Maximum modeled CO concentration plus maximum background CO concentration. (-) Indicates that analysis was not required because LOS for peak condition was A, B or C.

Page 53: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Baseline data for the background concentration used in the analysis was taken from

NJDEP guidance. The results of the analysis are shown in Tables 4-21 and 4-22. The

results indicate that the Stadium Project will not cause the 1-hour or 8-hour CO NAAQS

to be exceeded. The maximum modeled 1-hour CO concentration for 2013 for the nine

studied locations is 5.3 ppm at location V3. Using a persistence factor of 0.7 to convert

the modeled 1-hour CO concentration to an 8-hour concentration yielded a maximum

modeled 8-hour CO concentration of 3.7 ppm at location V3. Adding the maximum

modeled CO concentrations with the appropriate background CO concentrations

resulted in a total 1-hour maximum CO concentration of 10.1 ppm and a total 8-hour

maximum CO concentration of 6.5 ppm at location V3. The total 1-hour maximum CO

concentration of 10.1 ppm at location V3 is less than the NAAQS of 35.0 ppm. The total

8-hour maximum CO concentration of 6.5 ppm at location V3 is less than the NAAQS of

9.0 ppm. All other studied locations had lower 1-hour and 8-hour CO concentrations

compared to location V3. The results of the air quality microscale analysis conclude that

the emissions from mobile sources, as well as from any related construction activity,

will be in compliance with all NAAQS and Federal Conformity Rules. Therefore, the

Stadium Project is in conformance with the latest New Jersey and National Ambient Air

Quality Standards.

4-133

Page 54: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4.13 Noise

4.13.1 Existing Conditions

4.13.1.1 Background

Noise is defined as any loud, discordant, disagreeable, or unwanted sound or sounds.

The sound generated by proposed or existing facilities may become noise due to land

use surrounding the facilities. When lands adjoining an existing or proposed facility

contain residential, commercial, institutional or recreational uses, noise can be a matter

of concern to residents or users of adjacent lands (NYSDEC, 2001).

The standard measurement unit of noise is the decibel (dB), which represents the

acoustical energy present. The A-weighted decibel scale (dBA) is commonly used to

measure noise levels because it has been shown to provide a good correlation with the

human response to sound (Harris, 1991). The faintest sound that can be heard by a

healthy ear is about 0 dBA, while an uncomfortably loud (deafening) sound is about 120

dBA.

The dBA scale describes a noise level at just one moment; however, very few noises

are constant. Therefore, other ways of describing noise over more extended periods of

time have been developed. The Leq, or equivalent sound level, is a single value of sound

which includes all of the varying sound energy in a given duration (i.e., one hour). Leq

levels are often used in the evaluation of vehicular traffic and construction related noise.

Other noise descriptors include the statistical L90 and L10 levels. The L90 is the noise

level exceeded 90 percent of the time and is often considered the background or

residual noise level. It is representative of the lower range of noise levels without the

contribution of intrusive noises, such as passing trains, cars, aircraft, etc. The L10 is the

noise exceeded 10 percent of the time and is a measurement of intrusive noises, such

as aircraft overflights.

4.13.1.2 Noise Standards, Criteria, and Guidelines

Although not applicable to the Stadium Project, the State of New Jersey Noise Control

Code (N.J.A.C. 7:29-1) limits noise generated by an industrial or commercial facility,

when measured at the property line of any residential use, to no greater than 65 dBA

during daytime hours (7 am to 10 pm) and 50 dBA during nighttime hours (10 pm to 7

am). These limits apply to continuous noise generated by a facility, but do not include

public roadway noise. The Stadium Project is defined as a commercial use under the

4-134

Page 55: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

New Jersey Noise Control Code. Residential uses are defined as private residences and

include commercial living accommodations (e.g. hotels).

The ability of the average person to perceive increases in noise has been documented

by various government agencies and research institutions, such as the USEPA, Federal

Highway Administration (FHWA), and the International Standards Organization (ISO). In

general, an increase of 3 dBA or less is considered to a barely perceptible change, while

an increase of 10 dBA is perceived as a doubling of the sound (Bolt, Beranek and

Newman, Inc, 1973).

The ISO has developed a scale for estimating community response to increases in noise

levels (Table 4-23). This scale relates changes in noise levels to the degree of

community response and permits direct estimation of the probable response of a

community to a predicted change in noise level.

Table 4-23

Community Response to Increases in Noise Levels

Change

(dBA) Category Description

0 None No observed reaction

5 Little Sporadic complaints

10 Medium Widespread complaints

15 Strong Threats of community action

20 Very strong Vigorous community action

Source: ISO, 1969

4.13.1.3 Existing Noise Levels and Sensitive Receptors

The existing noise environment in the Project Area is almost completely dominated by

vehicular traffic noise from the surrounding network of highways and roads, including

the New Jersey Turnpike, NJ Route 3, NJ Route 120, and local roadways. Other

ambient noise sources include aircraft from Teterboro and Newark Liberty International

Airports, a natural gas metering station, and some natural sounds (gulls). Noise is also

generated during events held at the various venues on the Sports Complex including

Giants Stadium, the Continental Airlines Arena, and Meadowlands Racetrack.

4-135

Page 56: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

An ambient noise monitoring program was conducted in 2004, which documented

existing noise levels at three locations near the Meadowlands Sports Complex (NJSEA,

2004). The monitoring locations, which are depicted on Figure 4-26 and listed in

Table 4-24, included:

Hotel at Sheraton Plaza Drive near N.J. Turnpike entrance ramp;

Paterson Plank Road entrance to Continental Airlines Arena; and

Golf Range at eastern end of Paterson Plank Road.

The three monitoring locations are in close proximity to the Stadium Project Area. Two

of the three locations are adjacent to the roads which will be impacted by the Stadium

Project. The third location describes an area un-impacted by the Project. Since these

locations include existing traffic conditions and the existing operations of the Giants

Stadium, Meadowlands Racetrack, and the Continental Airlines Arena, the data

collected from these locations were used to estimate the existing ambient noise levels

in the vicinity of the Project Area. Individual random sampling days were chosen and

noise levels were measured with precision integrating sound level meters. The meters

measured sound levels constantly during the sampling period, with subsets of the data

being stored over ten minute intervals (NJSEA, 2004). Table 4-25 presents a summary

of the measured noise levels at the three monitoring locations. Table 4-26 presents a

summary of the measured hourly Leq levels.

Table 4-24

Distance of Noise Monitoring Locations from Project Area

Monitoring Location Distance from Stadium Project Area

(ft)*

Sheraton Plaza Drive 2,500

Paterson Plank Rd Arena Entrance 3,500

Golf Range at Paterson Plank Rd 4,500

*Distance from center of site.

4-136

Page 57: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways
Page 58: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Table 4-25

Measured Ambient Noise Levels During Monitoring Periods

Measured Noise Levels (dBA) NJ Noise

Control Code Limit (dBA)

Peak Weekday PM Period

(4 pm-6 pm)

Peak Weekday PM Period

(6 pm-8 pm)

Saturday Event

(12 pm-4 pm)

Daytime

(7 am-10 pm)

Monitoring Location

Leq L10 L10 Leq L10 L10 Leq L10 L10 --

Sheraton Plaza Drive 63 60 65 65 62 66 60 56 62 65

Paterson Plank Road

Arena Entrance

58 48 60 54 49 57 51 44 53 65

Golf Range at

Paterson Plank Road

56 53 57 56 53 58 55 52 56 65

Source: NJSEA, 2004

Table 4-26

Measured Hourly Leq Levels

Measured Sound Levels Peak

Weekday PM Period

Peak Weekday

Event Saturday Event Monitoring

Location 4pm-5pm

5pm-6pm

6pm-7pm

7pm-8pm

12pm-1pm

1pm-2pm

2pm-3pm

3pm-4pm

Sheraton Plaza

Drive 63 63 67 63 60 59 60 60

Paterson Plank Rd

Arena Entrance 52 61 55 53 53 50 51 50

Golf Range at

Paterson Plank Rd 56 55 56 56 54 55 55 55

Source: NJSEA, 2004

The highest noise levels were measured during the weekday periods. The noise levels

during Saturday events were consistently lower than those measured on weekdays at

each location. Maximum ambient levels (Lmax) at all locations were in the range of 80 to

84 dBA due to passing aircraft and trucks. As shown in Table 4-25, the measured Leq

4-138

Page 59: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

noise levels were highest at the Sheraton Drive location, the location closest to the

Project Area.

According to the NMJC Existing Land Use Map (Figure 4-27), there are no residential

uses or other sensitive noise receptor, such as hospital or schools within 0.8 miles of

the Project Area. The closest residential area is 0.8 miles away from the site, which is

in the Town of Secaucus (Oak Lane and Acorn Road) and is separated from the Project

Area by the New Jersey Turnpike and the Hackensack River. The Secaucus High

School located on Mill Ridge Road is approximately 1.2 miles to the southeast of the

Project Area. The Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center located on Meadowlands

Parkway is approximately 1.1 miles south of the Project Area. Several commercial living

accommodations are located near the Project Area and include:

Sheraton Hotel – Route 3 East Service Road, East Rutherford;

Homestead Suites – Route 3 East Service Road, East Rutherford;

Hampton Inn – Paterson Plank Road, East Rutherford;

EconoLodge – Washington Avenue, Carlstadt;

Red Roof Inn – Meadowlands Parkway, Secaucus;

Meadowlands Plaza Hotel – Wood Avenue, Secaucus; and

Racetrack Dormitory – Paterson Plank Road, East Rutherford.

The location of these facilities is shown on Figure 4-26. In addition, a future hotel is

proposed as part of the Meadowlands Xanadu Redevelopment Project. This hotel is

proposed to be located north of the Continental Airlines Arena, approximately 500 feet

east of the Project Area.

4.13.2 Impacts and Mitigation

4.13.2.1 Construction Noise

The construction of the New Meadowlands Stadium Project will involve the following

general phases:

Site preparation;

Excavation;

Foundation laying (without pile driving);

Foundation activities (with pile driving);

Building construction; and

4-139

Page 60: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Exterior finishing and cleanup.

The equipment utilized will differ from phase to phase. In general, heavy equipment

(bulldozers, dump trucks, cement mixers, cranes) will be used during excavation,

foundation laying, and demolition activities. Construction noise is primarily generated by

the diesel engines which power construction equipment and from foundation activities.

Pile driving typically will generate the greatest noise during construction activities.

Noise levels of some typical construction equipment are presented in Table 4-27.

Table 4-27

Noise Levels of Major Construction Equipment

Equipment Type Noise Level at 50 Feet

(dBA) Pile Drivers 105

Trucks 91

Front Loaders 79

Graders 85

Bulldozers 80

Pickup Trucks 60

Backhoes 85

Concrete Mixers 85

Source (BBN, 1971; NYSDEC, 1974; NYPA, 1987)

Using the typical noise levels generated by major construction equipment, an average

noise value can be estimated for each phase of the construction of the New

Meadowlands Stadium Project (BBN, 1971). Each construction phase will involve

various pieces of construction equipment in varying proportion based on the phase of

construction. The average noise level value at an approximate distance of 50 feet from

each activity is presented in Table 4-28.

4-140

Page 61: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

Table 4-28

Typical Site Average Noise Levels At 50 Feet

from the Construction Activity (dBA)

Construction Phase Noise Level at 50 Feet (dBA)

Site clearing 84

Excavation 89

Foundations (without pile driving) 78

Foundation Activities (with pile driving) 105

Building construction 85

Exterior finishing and cleanup 89

Source adapted from: BBN, 1971

The Project Area is approximately 270 acres in size. The actual sound levels that will be

experienced offsite will be a function of distance from the noise source. As such, no

one single area will be exposed to the same sound levels over an extended period of

time during the construction phases as different parts of the site are developed.

Construction noise levels resulting from the Stadium Project were estimated for the

three noise monitoring locations, commercial living accommodations (racetrack

dormitory and nearby hotels), and the closest residential area using the average noise

level for each construction activity, the distance from the Project Area (Table 4-24), and

a noise attenuation factor of 6 dB(A) per doubling of distance (MC2 System Design

Group, 2006). To determine the future noise levels at each receptor location (noise

monitoring locations, commercial living accommodations, and residential areas) during

construction, the additive effects of the construction noise combined with the

background noise in each location was considered. According to the USEPA’s

“Protective Noise Levels” guidance, the difference between the construction noise

associated with the Stadium Project and the background noise levels determines the

additive affect of the noise. For example, if the construction noise is 1 dB or less below

than the background noise levels in a receptor location, it will result in a 3 dB increase in

background noise levels (NYSDEC, 2001). If the construction noise is more than 10 dB

less than the background noise levels, it will have no effect on the background noise

levels. Conversely, if the construction noise is 1 dB or less above than the background

noise levels the future noise levels will be 3 dB greater than the construction noise. No

existing background noise data was available for the seven commercial living

accommodations or the closest residential area; therefore, background data from nearby

4-141

Page 62: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-142

monitoring locations within similar background noise sources (i.e. roadways) were used.

The projected combined background noise and construction noise level at each receptor

location is presented in Table 4-29.

The projected construction noise levels at the studied locations are generally in the

range of, or below, existing daytime Leq noise levels, except for pile driving activities

(Table 4-29). As a result, the estimated future noise levels are generally only 1or 2 dB

greater than the existing background noise levels. The temporary pile driving during the

first part of construction of each proposed building (i.e. Stadium, Giants Training Facility,

Ancillary Development) would be the loudest activity and would result in noise levels 1

to 23 dB higher than existing background noise levels at these locations.

The closest residential area is located 0.8 miles from the Project Area and is separated

from the Project Area by the New Jersey Turnpike and the Hackensack River. The

noise from pile driving activities would be approximately 66 dBA at the residential area

located 0.8 miles from the Project Area and may cause modest temporary disturbances

to this residential area. In addition, the projected sound levels presented in Table 4-29

are estimated outdoor noise levels. A building (house) would provide significant

attenuation for those who are indoors. Sound levels can be expected to be up to 27 dBA

lower indoors with the windows closed (USEPA, 1974).

Although the racetrack employee dormitory and hotels are located within a mile of the

Project Area, these facilities do not represent typical residential uses. Peak occupancy

of hotels and the dormitory usually occurs in the nighttime hours when there would be

no construction activities occurring.

The equipment utilized during each phase of construction is not generally operated

continuously, nor is the equipment always operated simultaneously. There will,

therefore, be times when no equipment is operating and noise will be at ambient levels.

Functional mufflers will be maintained on all equipment to mitigate and reduce exhaust

noise. In addition, pile driving activities will be limited to the daytime hours of 7am to

7pm.

Page 63: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

4-143

Table 4-29

Projected Combined Background Noise and Construction Noise Levels at Receptor Locations

Projected Combined Construction Noise Levels and Background Noise Levelsf

Receptor Location

Existing Measured

Daytime Leqa

Distance to Receptor

(feet)bSite

Preparation Excavation

Foundation Activities with Pile Driving

Foundations without Pile

Driving Building

Construction

Exterior Finishing and

Cleanup Sheraton Plaza Drive 59-67 2,500 60-67 60-67 71-72 59-67 60-67 60-67

Paterson Plank Road Arena Entrance 50-61 3,500 52-61 54-62 68-69 51-61 52-61 54-62

Golf Range at Paterson Plank Road 54-56 4,500 55-56 55-57 66 54-56 55-56 55-57

58-62

56-57

61-67

60-67

55-62

55-62

60-67

59-67

Sheraton Hotel 59-67c 2,000 60-67 61-67 73-74 59-67 60-67

Homestead Suites 59-67c 2,300 60-67 61-67 72-73 59-67 60-67

Hampton Inn 50-61d 3,000 52-61 55-62 69-70 51-61 53-61

Econolodge 50-61d 3,200 52-61 55-62 69-70 51-61 53-61

Red Roof Inn 59-67c 4,600 59-67 60-67 66-70 59-67 59-67

Meadowlands Plaza Hotel 59-67c 5,100 59-67 59-67 65-69 59-67 59-67

Racetrack Dormitories 50-61d 2,000 54-62 58-62 73 51-61 55-62

Closest Residential Area 54-56e 4,200 55-56 56-57 66 54-56 55-57

a Range of measured noise levels during the monitoring programs at Sheraton Plaza Drive, Paterson Plank Road Arena Entrance, and Golf Range at Paterson Plank Road. Other locations assigned background from monitored locations (See Table 4-26)

f Projected combined existing noise levels and construction-related noise (estimated resultant noise levels)

d Ambient data from Paterson Plank Road Arena Entrance location e Ambient data from Golf Range at Paterson Plank Road

c Ambient data from Sheraton Plaza Drive location

b Distance from center of Project Area

Page 64: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

During construction, pile driving activities for the new Stadium may take place over a

period of 12 to 18 months. Additional pile driving activities will be necessary for the

other buildings, including the Giants Training Facility and Ancillary Development.

Considering the projected combined background noise and construction noise levels in

Table 4-29, the existing average and maximum ambient noise levels, and the lack of

adjacent residential development, no significant long-term noise impacts are anticipated

during construction in the Project Area.

4.13.2.2 Operational Noise

The new Stadium and Giants Training Facility will replace existing facilities and are

therefore not considered new noise sources. The operation of these replacement

facilities are expected to have noise levels similar to the existing stadium and should not

significantly affect the existing noise levels in the vicinity of the Project Area presented

above in Tables 4-25 and 4-26.

The operation of the proposed Ancillary Development, including vehicle parking, heating,

ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and emergency generators will be

additional noise sources. This additional equipment will be new, efficient, and will be

evaluated during detailed design of these facilities with regard to equipment placement

and need to incorporate noise control such as shielding, barriers, screening, etc. to

minimize noise impact from the additional equipment.

4.13.2.3 Mobile Source Noise

The predominant noise source in the vicinity of the Project Area is the traffic on the

adjacent network of highways (New Jersey Turnpike, Route 120, and Route 3) and local

streets (Paterson Plank Road). Noise levels associated with vehicular traffic are a

function mainly of traffic speed, vehicle mix (automobile, medium trucks, heavy trucks)

and volume. The Traffic Study prepared for the Stadium Project, which evaluated the

potential impacts of the Project combined with other planned development and

transportation improvement projects, concluded that the Project will not contribute to a

significant impact to the local roadway network (Appendix G). It is anticipated that

vehicular traffic from the Stadium Project will not result in significant noise impact as

well. As such, the Stadium Project is also not anticipated to have a significant impact on

existing noise levels in the surrounding area. Therefore, no mitigation is needed or

proposed.

4-144

Page 65: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-145

4.14 Socioeconomics

This section presents a summary of the projected economic and fiscal impacts resulting from

the construction and operation of the Stadium Project. A full report detailing this analysis is

available in Appendix I (CSL, 2006). Since the Stadium Project is a replacement project of the

existing Giants Stadium and on-site training facilities, the discussion includes the current

impacts from the operation of the existing Giants Stadium and the training facilities as well as

the impacts from the Stadium Project.

In addition to these redevelopment plans at the site, the Jets will be developing a new off-site

training facility in Florham Park, New Jersey. Because the new Training Facility operations

represent a draw upon Jets’ revenues generated at the Stadium, this analysis also assesses

socioeconomic impacts associated with the facility’s development and operations to present a

conservative, accurate portrait of benefits within the Stadium Project.

The future Ancillary Development component of the Stadium Project was studied separately,

and is discussed in Section 4.14.3. As a note, the Meadowlands Xanadu Redevelopment

Project is separate and distinct from the Stadium Project, and is not examined in this analysis.

Section 4.14.2 presents Convention, Sports and Leisure International’s (CSL) analysis of

socioeconomic impacts from the new Stadium and training facilities. A summary of the

projections is presented below (in 2010 dollars).

CONSTRUCTION PHASE

Construction Jobs – During construction of the new Stadium and training facilities,

construction expenditures and related direct, indirect and induced economic impacts1

will create 12,200 temporary full and part-time jobs.

Tax Revenue – During construction of the new Stadium and training facilities, tax

revenues to New Jersey from construction and associated direct, indirect and induced

economic activities are estimated to be $64.7 million.

Total Economic Activity – The construction of the new Stadium and training facilities

will generate approximately $1.2 billion in direct, indirect and induced spending in New

Jersey.

1 Definitions for direct, indirect and induced economic impacts can be found in Appendix I, pages 19 and 20. Associated economic impacts in this chapter refer to direct, indirect and induced impacts.

Page 66: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-146

OPERATION PHASE

Private Dollars Invested – The ownership families of the New York Giants and New

York Jets are expected to invest over $1.2 billion for the construction of the new

Stadium and training facilities. In addition to a $1.1 billion development cost for the

Stadium, the Giants’ ownership families or their affiliates are planning to invest over $70

million on the construction of new training facilities on the Sports Complex, and the

Jets’ owners are planning to invest over $50 million on the construction of new training

facilities to be located in Florham Park, New Jersey.

Permanent Jobs –The operation of the new Stadium and training facilities and

associated direct, indirect and induced economic impacts will support approximately

12,450 permanent full and part-time jobs. Approximately 6,910 full and part-time jobs

currently exist by reason of the operation of Giants Stadium and the training facilities

and associated economic impacts. Therefore, an increase in 5,540 new permanent full

and part-time jobs will be realized from operation of the new Stadium and training

facilities and their associated economic impacts.

Tax Revenue – The operation of the new Stadium, training facilities and associated

direct, indirect and induced economic impacts are projected to generate approximately

$66.5 million in annual State tax revenues. Current operations of Giants Stadium,

training facilities and associated economic impacts generate approximately $34.2 million

each year. Therefore, an annual increase in approximately $32.3 million in State tax

revenues is expected from operation of the new Stadium, training facilities and

associated economic impacts.

Total Economic Activity –The operation of the new Stadium, training facilities and

associated direct, indirect and induced economic impacts will generate approximately

$938.2 million annually in total direct, indirect and induced spending in New Jersey.

Current operations of Giants Stadium, training facilities and associated economic

impacts generate approximately $526.7 million annually in spending. Therefore, an

increase in approximately $411.5 million in total direct, indirect and induced spending in

New Jersey is expected from operation of the new Stadium, training facilities and

associated economic impacts.

Page 67: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-147

4.14.1 Existing Conditions

4.14.1.1 Demographic and Socioeconomic Conditions

Please refer to Appendix I for a detailed report of demographic and socioeconomic

conditions in the HMD, including data on population, household income, corporate base,

employment, housing, consumer spending, cost of living and the local economy.

4.14.1.2 Community Facilities

4.14.1.2.1 Overview

The HMD was created as an amalgam of the "meadow" portions of 14 municipalities in

Bergen and Hudson Counties. The residential communities and town centers of these

municipalities were not included in the HMD lands, and therefore community facilities

are generally found outside of the NJMC, with the exception of residential and

community facilities constructed after the establishment of the HMD.

Community facilities include public or publicly-funded faciliities, such as police and fire

protection, hospitals, emergency medical response, and schools. The following

describes the various community facilities that are located within the Borough of East

Rutherford where the Project Area is located, and specifically those associated with the

Meadowlands Sports Complex. As appropriate, facilities and services outside of East

Rutherford but within the County and/or the HMD that may serve larger portions of the

County or HMD are also discussed. Within and around the HMD community facilities

are often located at the peripheral boundaries of the HMD. This is due to the relatively

small residential populations that are located within the HMD and because of the need

to adequately service the resident populations.

4.14.1.2.2 Police Protection

The Bergen County Police Department, which is comprised of 80 officers, provides

police coverage for Bergen County residents. The Department is located at 66 Zabriskie

Street in Hackensack, approximately 5 miles north of the Project Area. The Department

patrols all of Bergen County roadways and properties and provides support services for

municipal police departments (NJSEA, 2005).

Page 68: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-148

The East Rutherford Police Department (ERPD) provides coverage within the Borough

of East Rutherford. Their headquarters is located at 312 Grove Street. With a force of

34 members, the Department serves a resident population of approximately 18,000 and

a daytime population of approximately 25,000 while patrolling 40 miles of roads and

portions of two state highways.

The primary responsibility for providing police services on the Meadowlands Sports

Complex, including the Project Area, currently belongs to the New Jersey State Police

(NJSP) Sports Complex Unit. Police from East Rutherford are summoned on occasion

for assistance. The Unit operates out of three substations within the Sports Complex.

The Unit maintains a close liaison with NJSP Troop B and Troop D in the coordination of

traffic in and around the Sports Complex. Additionally the Unit is responsible for the

investigation of criminal activity at the Sports Complex (NJSEA, 2005).

4.14.1.2.3 Fire Protection

The East Rutherford Fire Department currently has over 80 volunteer Fire and

Emergency Management Service professionals that serve the community from three

stations located at 312 Grove Street, 50 Herman Street and 107 Carlton Avenue. The

service area includes all of East Rutherford as well as several southern Bergen County

municipalities. East Rutherford is also within the service area of other southern Bergen

County municipalities. The closest East Rutherford fire station is approximately three

miles from the complex (NJSEA, 2005).

The NJSEA Fire Department provides first response fire protection at the Meadowlands

Sports Complex. The Department operates one station, which is situated just west of

the intersection of Route 120 and Paterson Plank Road. The station has two pump

trucks with 750-gallon water capacity, one truck with 500-gallon capacity and one truck

with 90-gallon capacity. The trucks also have foam capacity. The station has eight full-

time and nine part-time fire fighters and operates on a 24 hours per day, seven days per

week basis with a two-person crew per shift that is expanded during events at the

Sports Complex (NJSEA, 2005). The surrounding municipal fire departments, including

the East Rutherford Fire Department, are also available to assist the NJSEA Fire

Department, as necessary.

Page 69: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-149

4.14.1.2.4 Hospitals and Emergency Medical Services

Four hospital facilities are located in or adjacent to the HMD. Two of these are located

in Secaucus approximately eight miles southeast of the Project Area. These hospitals

include the Meadowlands Hospital and Medical Center (230-bed facility), which is

located on Meadowlands Parkway, and the Meadowview County Hospital (400-bed

facility), which is located on County Avenue. The Hackensack University Medical Center

is a 614-bed facility located on Prospect Avenue in Hackensack. The West Hudson

Hospital is a 250-bed facility and it is located on Bergen Avenue in Kearny, just outside

of the HMD.

The East Rutherford Volunteer Ambulance Corps building is located at 312 Grove Street.

Typically a three-person crew will work 12-hour shifts. The primary emergency hospital

used by the Ambulance Corps is the Hackensack University Medical Center. This

Center serves as the Acute Care Medical Center for the area and it is located

approximately four miles north of the Ambulance Corps building.

The NJSEA provides first response emergency medical service (EMS) for emergencies

on the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The EMS facility is located on the Sports

Complex and includes four ambulances, three carts and two scooters. The facility is

staffed by licensed nurses and operates from 5:30AM to 12:30AM on a daily basis and

during events. A doctor is also present at the EMS facility during events.

4.14.1.2.5 Schools

Within the Borough of East Rutherford there are two public schools in general proximity

to the Project Area: the Henry P. Becton Regional High School (grades 9-12), located off

of N.J. Route 17, which is part of the Carlstadt-East Rutherford Regional School District,

and Lincoln Elementary School (grades K-4) which is located on Washington Street.

4.14.1.3 Economic and Fiscal Impact Estimates from Current Operations of Giants Stadium and Training Facilities

Existing economic and fiscal impacts related to the current operation of Giants Stadium

and on-site training facilities were estimated by CSL based on the historical operations

of Giants Stadium and the New York Giants and New York Jets football clubs, as well as

discussions with teams and the NJSEA, industry trends and averages, and CSL’s

knowledge of the sports, entertainment and leisure industries. Since the Stadium

Project is a replacement project for the stadium and on-site training facilities, the

Page 70: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-150

impacts from current operations are needed to understand the incremental impacts

from the Stadium Project. Details on the study can be found in Appendix I.

For purposes of this analysis, the impacts reported herein have been adjusted

downward from gross potential impacts to impacts that are estimated to occur only

within the State of New Jersey. For example, certain expenditures are estimated to

occur outside the State such as NFL league assessments, NFL revenue sharing and

goods and services that are provided from out-of-state sources.

The estimated economic and fiscal impacts are presented for a single, average year of

operation and a cumulative 30 years of operations. All impacts are statewide estimates

for the State of New Jersey and are presented in millions of 2010 dollars, unless

otherwise stated. The existing ongoing operations impacts are presented in 2010

dollars as a means to compare to impacts generated by the Stadium Project, which is

assumed to be completed in 2010.

Impacts associated with the Meadowlands Xanadu Redevelopment Project have not

been accounted for in the projected impacts from current facility operations or the new

Stadium Project, as the Xanadu development is a separate and distinct development

project.

Table 4-30 presents a summary of the existing impacts that current operation of Giants

Stadium, the New York Giants, and the New York Jets are estimated to have on the

State of New Jersey. Definitions of the terms used in this analysis can be found in

Appendix I.

Annual economic impacts generated to the State of New Jersey associated with the

current operation of Giants Stadium, the New York Giants and the New York Jets

includes $276.3 million in direct spending, $526.7 million in total output (total direct,

indirect and induced spending effects), $291.8 million in personal earnings and 6,910 full

and part-time jobs associated with spending effects. Total annual fiscal impacts are

estimated to be approximately $34.2 million.

The 30-year cumulative impacts from the current operation of Giants Stadium and its

tenants on the State of New Jersey from 2010 to 2039 are estimated to include $13.1

billion in direct spending, $25.1 billion in total output, $13.9 billion in personal earnings

and 6,910 full and part-time jobs. Annual fiscal impacts are estimated to be

approximately $1.6 billion.

Page 71: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-151

Table 4-30

Summary of Economic and Fiscal Impacts to New Jersey Due to Current Operation of Giants Stadium and Training Facilities

$ Millions

30-Year

Annual (1)30-Year

Cumulative Net Present

Value (1)

Economic Impacts: Direct Spending $276.3 $13,146.4 $5,318.3 Total Output (2) $526.7 $25,060.2 $10,137.9 Personal Earnings $291.8 $13,884.7 $5,617.0 Jobs - (FT & PT) 6,910 6,910 6,910 Fiscal Impacts: Sales Tax $11.0 $521.6 $211.0 Personal Income Tax 9.2 $435.9 $176.4 Corporate Income Tax 5.3 $254.4 $102.9 Ticket Tax 7.5 $357.7 $220.2 Lease Payment 0.0 $0.0 $0.0 Special Fee 0.9 $27.5 $12.6 Hotel Tax 0.3 $16.2 $6.6 Total Revenues $34.2 $1,613.3 $729.6 (1) 2010 dollars.

(2) Please refer to Appendix I, pages 19 and 20, for definitions on total output and other economic impacts.

Note: Net present value impacts assume a 6 percent discount rate.

The present value of the 30-year impacts include $5.3 billion in direct spending, $10.1

billion in total output, $5.6 billion in personal earnings and 6,910 full and part-time jobs

associated with spending effects. Annual fiscal impacts are estimated to be

approximately $729.6 million.

These impacts serve as the basis in determining the incremental impact associated with

the New Meadowlands Stadium and training facilities.

Page 72: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-152

4.14.2 Incremental Construction and Operations Impacts: Stadium and Training Facilities

Potential economic and fiscal impacts resulting from the construction and operation of

the Stadium Project that includes the new Stadium, and Giants and Jets training

facilities have been estimated based on an analysis by CSL. Economic impacts

associated with the future Ancillary Development (520,000 gross leaseable area square

feet of ancillary retail, dining and entertainment space) are discussed in Section 4.14.3.

Since the Stadium Project is a replacement project for the stadium and on-site training

facilities, not all impacts to New Jersey will be new. The analysis contained herein

provides an estimate of the incremental impacts associated with the construction and

operations of the Stadium Project.

4.14.2.1 Overview

The Stadium Project is a means for ensuring extensions to the Giants’ and Jets’ leases

and retaining the teams’ presence at the Meadowlands. It is estimated to have the

following incremental benefits to New Jersey, in 2010 dollars:

During construction, the Stadium Project will generate $1.2 billion in direct,

indirect and induced spending in New Jersey. Construction expenditures and

associated economic impacts are estimated to support an additional 12,200 full

and part-time jobs during the construction period, and generate $64.7 million in

tax revenues to the State.

During annual operations, the Stadium Project will generate $411.5 million

annually in incremental new direct, indirect and induced spending in the State.

Facility operations and associated economic impacts are estimated to support

5,540 new full and part-time jobs and generate $32.3 million in tax revenues to

the State each year.

Over 30 years, the operations of the Stadium Project are estimated to generate

$22.1 billion in cumulative direct, indirect and induced spending in the State.

Operations and associated economic impacts are estimated to support 5,540 full

and part-time jobs and create $1.9 billion in State tax revenues.

The remainder of this section presents the detailed results of the incremental

construction and operations impact estimates associated with the Stadium Project.

Page 73: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-153

4.14.2.2 Population

The Stadium Project does not involve residential land uses and will therefore not result

in direct impacts on the local residential populations or demographic conditions.

However, it is likely that the population within the region will increase to some extent as

a result of new employment and spending opportunities to be created by the Project.

4.14.2.3 Construction Economic and Fiscal Impacts: New Stadium and Training Facilities

Construction expenditures (i.e. buildings, tangible personal property, professional/legal

fees all related to project development) and related economic impacts constitute large,

one-time impacts to the economy. In total, the Stadium Project is estimated to cost

approximately $1.2 billion2, excluding the planned Ancillary Development. It is

anticipated that the Stadium Project construction expenditures will occur over the next

several years with completion expected in 2010.

Table 4-31, on the following page, summarizes the estimated cumulative construction

impacts to New Jersey associated with the Stadium Project in 2010 dollars.3

Of the estimated $1.2 billion in construction expenditures, approximately 50 percent, or

$610.0 million is estimated to occur within New Jersey. As a result, the one-time

economic and fiscal impacts estimated to be generated in New Jersey by the

construction of the Stadium Project include $1.2 billion in total output, $583.8 million in

personal earnings and 12,200 full- and part-time construction-related jobs and jobs

generated by direct, indirect and induced spending associated with the Project.

Construction expenditures will also create tax revenues to the State of New Jersey. It

is estimated that the construction of the Stadium Project will generate approximately

$64.7 million in direct, indirect and induced sales and personal income tax revenues to

New Jersey. Additional state and local taxes may be generated but have not been

quantified in this analysis.

2 Stadium construction costs are estimated at $1.1 billion. The Giants Training Facility is estimated at an additional $70 million, and the Jets Training Facility at $50 million. 3 In estimating construction impacts, it was assumed that materials will comprise 55 percent of project costs and labor will comprise 45 percent of project costs. Further, it was estimated that 50 percent of materials and labor would be spent in New Jersey. These assumptions are based on extensive conversations with construction companies familiar with stadium construction.

Page 74: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-154

Table 4-31

Summary of Economic and Fiscal Impacts to New Jersey from

Construction of New Meadowlands Stadium and Training Complex $ Millions

Giants Jets Training Training Stadium Complex Complex Total Economic Impacts - 2010 Dollars Direct Spending $550.0 $35.0 $25.0 $610.0 Total Output (1) $1,116.7 $71.1 $50.8 $1,238.6 Personal Earnings $526.4 $33.5 $23.9 $583.8 Jobs - (FT & PT) 11,000 700 500 12,200 Fiscal Impacts - 2010 Dollars Sales Tax $26.6 $1.7 $1.2 $29.5 Personal Income Tax $31.7 $2.0 $1.4 $35.1 Total Tax Revenues $58.3 $3.7 $2.7 $64.7

(1) Please refer to Appendix I, pages 19 and 20, for definitions on total output and other economic impacts.

4.14.2.4 Operational Economic and Fiscal Impacts

The ongoing operations of the Stadium Project represent a source of recurring beneficial

impacts to the State.4 The ongoing economic impacts of the Stadium Project were

estimated based on information provided by the New York Giants and New York Jets

regarding their projected operations in a new Stadium, the NJSEA, industry trends and

averages, and CSL’s knowledge of the sports, entertainment and leisure industries.

Table 4-32 summarizes the estimated annual operating impacts associated with the

Stadium Project, including a comparison of these impacts to the impacts that are

estimated to be generated by the current Giants Stadium and current Giants training

facilities in 2010 dollars.

4 In the interests of presenting a conservative analysis, potential revenue associated with Super Bowl games has been excluded from the analysis.

Page 75: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-155

Table 4-32

Summary of Annual Economic Impacts to New Jersey

From Operations of New Meadowlands Stadium and Training Complex $ Millions (2010 Dollars)

Annual Impacts ($ Millions) Giants Jets Training Training Stadium Complex (1) Complex Total Total Stadium Project Impacts: Direct Spending $363.7 $63.5 $63.5 $490.7 Total Output (2) $692.8 $122.8 $122.8 $938.3 Personal Earnings $391.0 $74.6 $74.6 $540.2 Jobs - (FT & PT) 9,050 1,700 1,700 12,450 Less Existing Impacts from Current Operations: Direct Spending $204.8 $59.6 $12.0 $276.3 Total Output (2) $388.4 $115.2 $23.2 $526.7 Personal Earnings $207.7 $70.0 $14.1 $291.8 Jobs - (FT & PT) 5,000 1,590 320 6,910 Incremental Impacts of Stadium Project: Direct Spending $158.9 $3.9 $51.5 $214.3 Total Output (2) $304.4 $7.6 $99.6 $411.5 Personal Earnings $183.2 $4.6 $60.5 $248.3 Jobs - (FT & PT) 4,050 110 1,380 5,540 (1) Giants existing training facility is part of Giants Stadium.

(2) Please refer to Appendix I, pages 19 and 20, for definitions on total output and other economic impacts.

Page 76: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-156

Total gross annual direct spending associated with the Stadium Project is estimated to

be approximately $1 billion annually in 2010 dollars. Of this amount, $490.7 million, or

about 50 percent, of gross annual direct spending is estimated to be net new spending

occurring within the State. The remaining spending is anticipated to either occur

outside the state (NFL league assessment, NFL revenue sharing, etc.).

While the Stadium Project is anticipated to generate $490.7 million in net new annual

direct spending, the existing Giants Stadium and training facilities are estimated to

generate $276.3 million in direct spending based on historical operations, projected in

2010 dollars. As a result, the incremental direct spending associated with the Stadium

Project is estimated to be $214.3 million, representing a 78 percent increase in

spending impacts over current impacts (in 2010 dollars). At this level, the incremental

spending impacts associated with the Stadium Project generate $411.5 million in total

output (total of direct, indirect and induced spending effects), $248.3 million in personal

earnings and 5,540 full and part-time jobs associated with the operation of the facility

and its economic impacts.

Table 4-33 summarizes the estimated net new annual fiscal impacts associated with the

Stadium Project operations, including a comparison of these tax impacts to the tax

impacts that are estimated to be generated by the current Giants Stadium and current

Giants training facilities in 2010 dollars.

As depicted in Table 4-33, the Stadium Project and associated direct, indirect and

induced economic impacts are estimated to generate approximately $66.5 million in tax

revenues annually with the majority of these impacts derived from sales, personal

income and ticket taxes. Existing tax revenues generated by Giants Stadium, the Giants

Training Facility and associated economic impacts is estimated at approximately $34.2

million. As a result, the incremental tax revenue associated with the Stadium Project is

estimated to be $32.3 million, representing an estimated 94 percent increase in tax

revenues generated to the State.

Appendix I presents an analysis of 30-year cumulative economic and fiscal impacts of

the Stadium Project, training facilities and associated economic impacts.

Page 77: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-157

Table 4-33

Summary of Annual Fiscal and Other Revenue Impacts to New Jersey From Operations of New Meadowlands Stadium and Training Complex

$ Millions

Annual Impacts ($ Millions) Giants Jets Training Training Stadium Complex (1) Complex Total Total Stadium Project Impacts:(2) Sales Tax $14.9 $1.1 $1.1 $17.0 Personal Income Tax 6.0 9.5 9.5 $24.9 Corporate Income Tax 3.7 0.0 0.0 $3.7 Ticket Tax 14.4 0.0 0.0 $14.4 Lease Payment 5.0 0.0 0.0 $5.0 Special Fee 1.0 0.0 0.0 $1.0 Hotel Tax 0.4 0.0 0.0 $0.4 Total Revenues $45.5 $10.5 $10.5 $66.5 Less Existing Impacts from Current Operations: (2) Sales Tax $9.8 $1.0 $0.2 $11.0 Personal Income Tax 4.3 4.8 0.0 $9.2 Corporate Income Tax 5.3 0.0 0.0 $5.3 Ticket Tax 7.5 0.0 0.0 $7.5 Lease Payment 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0.0 Special Fee 0.9 0.0 0.0 $0.9 Hotel Tax 0.3 0.0 0.0 $0.3 Total Revenues $28.3 $5.8 $0.2 $34.2 Incremental Impacts of Stadium Project: (2) Sales Tax $5.1 $0.1 $0.9 $6.1 Personal Income Tax $1.7 $4.6 $9.5 $15.7 Corporate Income Tax -$1.6 $0.0 $0.0 -$1.6 Ticket Tax $6.9 $0.0 $0.0 $6.9 Lease Payment $5.0 $0.0 $0.0 $5.0 Special Fee $0.1 $0.0 $0.0 $0.1 Hotel Tax $0.1 $0.0 $0.0 $0.1 Total Revenues $17.2 $4.7 $10.3 $32.3 (1) Giants existing training facility is part of Giants Stadium.

(2) Figures reflect taxes generated through operations, direct, indirect and induced spending. Please refer to Appendix I, for an explanation of how direct, indirect and induced economic impacts are calculated.

It is important to note that the impacts presented in this report do not specifically

account for any potential displacement. With the operations of any public assembly

facility, the phenomena of “displacement” will take place to some extent. Specifically,

this refers to the fact that some portion of the spending generated by the facilities or

tenants may have otherwise taken place on some other entertainment activity in the

Page 78: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-158

State of New Jersey if the Stadium and training facilities were not built or the Jets and

Giants were to relocate to another market. While this displacement of spending may

take place to some extent, it is important to note that:

Entertainment spending that may take place without the existence of the

facilities or tenants may occur outside the State of New Jersey such as at

facilities in New York or Pennsylvania.

Spending taking place on other items, instead of facility- or tenant-related

spending may be on goods and services taxed at a lower rate.

A significant portion of professional major event and sports franchise revenues

are generated from national sources, such as television broadcast rights, visiting

team ticket revenue, league merchandise agreements, league sponsorships and

other league revenues, all of which are directly related to the presence of the

teams and would not occur without their presence.

4.14.3 Incremental Construction and Operations Impacts: Ancillary Development

The future Ancillary Development component of the Stadium Project was studied

separately by CSL (see Appendix I). The ground lease and related Project documents

will set forth the terms for construction and operation of the Stadium Project, including

that the Meadowlands Xanadu Developer's occurrence shall be a condition to the

proposed Ancillary Development described above in Section 2.2 (including, without

limitation, retail stores and restaurants), to the extent such concurrence is required by

the terms of existing agreements between the NJSEA and the Meadowlands Xanadu

Developer.

At full build-out, comprising 520,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment

establishments, the Ancillary Development is estimated to have the following

incremental benefits to New Jersey, in 2010 dollars:

During construction, the Ancillary Development (at full-build out) will generate

$507.6 million in direct, indirect and induced spending in New Jersey.

Construction expenditure and associated economic impacts are estimated to

support 5,000 full and part-time jobs during the construction period and generate

$26.5 million in tax revenues to the State.5

5 In estimating construction impacts, it was assumed that materials will comprise 55 percent of project costs and labor will comprise 45 percent of project costs. Further, it was estimated that 50 percent of materials and labor would be spent in New Jersey.

Page 79: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-159

During annual operations, the Ancillary Development will generate $372.9 million

annually in incremental direct, indirect and induced spending in the State.

Facility operations and associated economic impacts are estimated to support

4,840 new full and part-time jobs and generate $28.9 million in tax revenues to

the State each year.

Over 30 years, the operation of the Ancillary Development is estimated to

generate $17.7 billion in cumulative direct, indirect and induced spending in the

State. Facility operations and associated economic impacts are estimated to

support 4,840 full and part-time jobs and create $1.4 billion in tax revenues.

Again, the impacts presented in this section do not specifically account for any potential

displacement of spending that may have otherwise taken place on some other

entertainment activity in the State of New Jersey if the Ancillary Development was not

built.

Please refer to Appendix I for a detailed analysis of the economic and fiscal impacts

associated with the construction and operations of the Ancillary Development.

4.14.4 Impacts on Community Facilities

4.14.4.1 Public Services

A Public Safety Standard Operations Plan has been developed for the New

Meadowlands Stadium and the Ancillary Development (NM Stadco, 2006). This plan

was completed by a committee of representatives from local stakeholders including

representatives of NM Stadco, the NJSEA, the NFL, the Meadowlands Xanadu project,

the NJSP, New Jersey Office of Counter Terrorism, the New Jersey State Turnpike

Authority, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security,

the United States Secret Service, and various county and municipal representatives.

The Public Safety Standard Operations Plan outlines the agreement reached for public

services that would be provided for the Project Area. Detailed below are the various

terms for police, fire, and emergency medical services that have been agreed upon to

service the needs of the Project Area (NM Stadco, 2006).

Page 80: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-160

4.14.4.1.1 Police

The New Jersey State Police main office at the Meadowlands Sports Complex during

non-event days is located within the Meadowlands Racetrack. They will also establish

and maintain an office within the New Meadowlands Stadium for game day event

support. They will deploy a sufficient amount of troopers and supervisors to the Project

Area during event and non-event days to maintain security.

The ERPD is headquartered in East Rutherford and will be establishing a substation at

the Meadowlands Xanadu site. The ERPD will provide officers to the Project Area as

requested by the NJSP.

The Bergen County Police Department will coordinate all requests for assistance from

the NJSP by activating the county-wide Rapid Deployment Force, which can supply up

to 150 additional officers, as well as a response by HazMat Teams, Bomb Squads,

canine units, SWAT Teams, and mounted units.

NM Stadco will also deploy an adequate number of security personnel to patrol the

Project Area on a daily basis throughout the entire year.

4.14.4.1.2 Fire Protection

The NJSEA Fire Department will continue to service the entire Project Area from its

current fire station location on the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The East Rutherford

Volunteer Fire Department (ERVFD) will continue to provide support services to the

Project Area, as needed from its three fire stations.

4.14.4.1.3 Emergency Medical Services

Emergency Medical Services for the Project Area will continue to be provided by the

NJSEA Medical Department and EMS personnel for day-to-day operations and events.

An NM Stadco Security Group will be responsible for the day-to-day patrolling of the

lease areas within the Project Area. Basic first-aid kits and automated external

defibrillator (AED) units will be located in all security vehicles and security stations.

The Security Group will be immediately dispatched to any reported sick or injured

person within the lease area. After assessing the scene according to all applicable

safety and security policies and procedures, the Security Group personnel shall notify

Page 81: 4.11 Traffic and Transportation - Government of New JerseyNew Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement of existing access points to and from state highways

New Meadowlands Stadium Project Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement

4-161

the NJSEA Medical Department, NJSEA EMS, the East Rutherford EMS, and additional

mutual aid EMS units, as necessary. The NJSP will also be dispatched to calls for EMS

within the Project Area meeting specific requirements outlined within the Public Safety

Standard Operations Plan.

4.14.4.1.4 Impacts

Given that the Stadium Project is a replacement project, impacts to local, county and

state police, fire, and emergency services are expected to be minimal. The Stadium

Project is not expected to generate significant new demands on these facilities that

currently serve the HMD and Meadowlands Sports Complex. East Rutherford will

continue to receive statutory authorized Payments In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) on land and

improvements. The PILOT payments are shared among the municipalities in the HMD

in accordance with a formula administered by the NJMC. Given this statutory

mechanism to provide a source of municipal revenues on property that is otherwise tax

exempt, no mitigation is proposed or required.

4.14.4.2 Schools

The Stadium Project is not proposing to directly introduce a residential population into

the Project Area or surrounding region. As a result, the Project will not result in

significant increased school enrollment or the need for additional bus service. There

may be some modest additional population increases in the surrounding residential

areas due to the projected increase of 5,540 full- and part-time jobs, some fraction of

which may be held by new residents of the surrounding communities.

4.14.4.3 Environmental Justice

Executive Order No. 96, signed on 18 February 2004, addresses environmental justice

and directs state agencies to consider the health and environmental impacts of their

decision-making on low income and minority communities. As documented in previous

studies completed by the NJSEA, there are no low-income or minority populations

located in close proximity to the Project Area (NJSEA, 2004; NJSEA, 2005). Therefore,

there will be no impacts to such populations as a result of construction or operation of

the Project.