The independent, non-profit Regional Plan Association has released a report (PDF) making recommendations for a unified regional transit plan for the tri-state area. The Observer breaks down recommendations for additional services in Manhattan, including subway extensions and free cross town buses.

In Jersey City, the report recommends extending the existing light rail line to route 440 and to 8th Street in Bayonne, both plans currently under consideration. In addition, the organization recommends constructing a new light rail line along Sixth Street through the Bergen arches, at least as far as the western slope of the Heights.

Other notable recommendations include extending Newark’s light rail subway line, connecting Staten Island via light rail, and building a new light rail station in Hoboken. Missing from the plan is any suggestion of additional trans-Hudson subway lines; we have long advocated connecting the future Second Avenue subway to a new trans-Hudson connection that would service the southern side of Jersey City, Bayonne, and link up with Staten Island’s North Shore Line.

While the independent agency has no authority in making policy, the recommendations are not without merit. The report bases conclusions on recommendations “informed by two brainstorming sessions and interviews with 25 transit experts, by existing studies and by the analysis depicted in the tables and figures of the report.”

The full report is loaded with plenty of charts and graphs for readers who enjoy that sort of thing.