Legislation establishing a New Jersey Transportation Research Bureau to study the mobility needs of individuals with physical, sensory, intellectual, and developmental disabilities is headed to Governor Phil Murphy’s desk to be signed into law.
The bill’s advancement fittingly came on June 30, one day before the start of Disability Pride Month in New Jersey, which promotes the independence and inclusion of state residents with disabilities.
The legislation (S146) is part of a two-bill package Senator Patrick Diegnan, D-Middlesex, authored to ensure transportation services are more accessible for all residents and to enhance the ability of persons on the autism spectrum and with intellectual and developmental disabilities to travel independently.
Earlier this year, Murphy signed into law Diegnan’s other bill (S147), which requires the New Jersey Department of Transportation to implement a Complete Streets policy that considers persons with certain disabilities.
“Public transportation is vital for so many New Jerseyans, especially persons living with disabilities,” said Diegnan, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. “These individuals deserve to travel independently and it’s up to us to do everything we can to identify ways to increase their access and familiarity with various public transportation services and modes of travel.”
Diegnan’s two-bill package garnered support of many advocacy groups and organizations including The Arc of New Jersey (ARCNJ), the Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities, Devereux New Jersey, New Jersey Disability Action Committee, Easterseals New Jersey, and The New Jersey Statewide Independent Living Council.
“Transportation challenges are among the top issues we hear about from individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Sharon Levine, director of governmental affairs for ARCNJ, said during a Senate Transportation Committee meeting.
“For those with IDD, living independently, trying to maintain competitive employment in the community, socializing with friends and family – that’s only possible with the right transportation. That means that it has to be affordable, accessible and reliable. Without that type of transportation, family members and direct support professionals are forced to fill the gaps when it comes to transportation.”
Based on national estimates, approximately 178,000 children and adults in New Jersey have an intellectual or developmental disability.
The CDC reports an estimated 1 in 6 children 3 through 16 years of age nationwide have at least one developmental disability, while 1 in 44 children nationwide has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (New Jersey has the country’s second highest rate of autism with 1 in 35 children identified).
New Jersey adults on the autism spectrum face significant challenges getting to and from their jobs, schools, medical appointments, and social and community engagements, according to a Rutgers University Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) study.
The CAIT study found “transportation barriers of adults with autism spectrum disorder are not limited to public transportation issues but are also related to walking, driving, the locales where they reside, the schools and day programs they attend, the training they receive on various aspects of life, and also certain limitations that are imposed by their disabilities.”
Diegnan said those same barriers exist for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and must be addressed.
Senator Patrick Diegnan 