Wednesday’s presentation will be before Montgomery Township Committee.
By: Kara Fitzpatrick
MONTGOMERY After hours of deliberation, the North Princeton Developmental Center Concept Planning Team will present its findings to the Township Committee on Wednesday night, said Emad Abou-Sabe, vice president of HACBM, a firm of architects, engineers and planners that is moderating the planning sessions.
The planning team, which consists of 30 members from myriad backgrounds appointed by the mayor, began conducting sessions last month to identify possible uses for the 250-acre former NPDC property, which the township is slated to purchase from the New Jersey Department of the Treasury for $5.95 million.
In that time, the committee has formulated specific ideas for the site’s development including senior housing and civic, commercial, cultural and recreational uses.
At the group’s most recent session on Saturday, township traffic engineer John Rae gave a presentation reflecting his findings and suggestions concerning traffic flow on Route 601 and Burnt Hill Road both of which border the property.
According to Mr. Rae, about 12,500 vehicles per day travel on Route 601 and about 4,500 on Burnt Hill Road. The peak hours for traffic flow on Route 601 occur from 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Peak hours for Burnt Hill Road occur from 7 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m.
Based on that information, Mr. Rae suggested "they look for uses that do not generate a lot of peak-hour traffic something along the lines of a combination of age-restricted or recreational uses, any kind of recreational use that would generate weekend traffic."
Mr. Rae said some retail uses would be manageable, but "no big-box retail. That would generate too much traffic."
Following Mr. Rae’s presentation, the committee separated into three subgroups and were asked by Mr. Abou-Sabe to create a vision plan. As it turned out, Mr. Abou-Sabe said, the three plans were "nearly identical," and a consensus was reached.
In each plan, Mr. Abou-Sabe said, the group respected the school zone, recognized the need for ratables, and supported cultural uses and age-restricted housing.
Wednesday’s Township Committee meeting is set to begin at 8 p.m. at the municipal building.