Transit upgrades eyed for Camden, N.J.

The bistate Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) says it will spend $12 million to improve its transit hubs in Camden, including $3 million for the Walter Rand Transportation Center in downtown Camden, which serves both DRPA’s PATCO rapid transit line, which ties New Jersey points to Philadelphia, and New Jersey Transit’s RiverLINE diesel light rail transit (DLRT) service, as well as NJT buses.

Construction is set to commence late this year or early in 2011.

Roughly $9 million would be applied for unspecified transit-oriented development around Camden’s Broadway and City Hall PATCO stations, both of which are underground.

DRPA says the goal is to attract businesses to the city, considered by many to be among the most beleaguered urban area within the Garden State.

"This gives Camden a very significant step up to becoming again the vital municipality it once was and can again become," said John Matheussen, chief executive officer of the DRPA. "And transit is key to these kinds of developments."