Dangerous West Windsor curve in line for improvements

Area of bridge over train tracks was site of student’s fatal crash

By: Emily Craighead
   WEST WINDSOR — Safety improvements to State Highway 64, the section of Route 571 that takes traffic over the Northeast Corridor rail lines, will be made this summer, a New Jersey Department of Transportation spokeswoman said Wednesday.
   Those changes will include extending the existing guide rail, installing more informative, concise and visible signs, revising the striping, and improving the roadway delineation.
   The proposal to improve the roadway comes following the death of 17-year-old Stephanie Au-Yeung, a West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North student who died when her car crashed into a tree there March 12.
   Nearly every tree along the curve has scars from car accidents.
   "We know there’s a need to modify it," Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said. "It’s long overdue."
   Beyond the improvements planned for this summer, substantial changes to the roadway could be made as part of the redevelopment of the area surrounding the Princeton Junction train station, according to Mayor Hsueh.
   Highway 64 is a dangerous curve not just for cars, but for bicycles and pedestrians as well, according to Ken Carlson, president of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, a local nonprofit organization. Long-term improvements to the road should include a less slippery surface, bike lanes and sidewalks, he said.
   Design plans for the interim improvements that will be made this summer were in the works even as a petition seeking the installation of a steel guardrail circulated among township residents and commuters who drive that stretch of Princeton-Hightstown Road. The petition is addressed to Gov. Jon Corzine and the Department of Transportation’s acting Commissioner Kris Kolluri.
   The petition, which can be viewed at www.petitiononline.com/ay0312/petition.html, has been signed by over 1,000 local residents, including friends of Stephanie Au Yeung and parents of teenage drivers fearful of the consequences of an inexperienced driver navigating dangerous roads.
   Comments on the petition range from the frustrated — "The entire Rt. 571 requires improvements!" — to the poignant — "Please extend the guardrail, Stephanie went to my school and she will be greatly missed by all." Several people who signed the petition also related their own stories of accidents and near misses at the spot where Stephanie’s car crashed.
   West Windsor resident Theresa Wu, who knew Stephanie as a sweet, beautiful and smart girl who volunteered at the Chinese school her children attend, started the petition.
   "The Au-Yeung family really wanted to file the petition," Ms. Wu said. "They hope that through the action, Stephanie’s death would help save others. I am glad that I am one of the many people who made the petition happen. It gives me and our community a way to heal the loss of this very special girl."
   Mr. Carlson said he is impressed both by the state’s quick response and the community’s support for the petition.
   "What often happens that frustrates people is that there’s a fatal accident and the perception is that nothing happens," he said. "This to me is how a response to a tragedy should occur."