A new RR station for West Windsor?

It’s still only one option

By: Nick Norlen
   WEST WINDSOR — Moving the Princeton Junction train station is one of the more popular ideas to emerge from West Windsor’s redevelopment workshops but planners say it is too early to focus on any one plan.
   Moreover, the station move would be costly and complicated, according to representatives from Hillier Architecture and New Jersey Transit. "We see all of the options still very much in play," said Bradley Walters, senior designer for Hillier’s Special Projects Team. "We’re not putting all of our eggs in one basket. We’re really trying to find a way that pulls all the best pieces together. None of the four will survive as they were presented last time."
   But if elements of Concept D, called "The Big Move," were to be included in the final plan, just what would be involved?
   "Concept D is fundamentally an idea about aligning the public entry to the station with commercial aspects of (Route) 571 as it goes through the station," Mr. Walters said, stating the thought behind it: "Let’s connect the entry with the train station with 571 in a meaningful way — make it one experience."
   But before accomplishing that, a number of issues would have to be addressed, he said.
   "It’s complicated. We’re talking about some of the issues with Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. Part of it is the viability and part of it is the cost," he said. "There is considerable cost involved."
   NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel didn’t dispute that statement.
   "It certainly would not be an insignificant cost," he said.
   Mr. Stessel said NJ Transit’s in-house planners, who have been involved throughout the process, have called a station move a "major undertaking."
   He said such a project could include the need for cross-track access, the possible relocation of tunnels and the Amtrak electrical substation and the reconfiguration of the Dinky station.
   Not to mention that "all of that would have to take place on one of the busiest stretches of track in the world," he said. However, Mr. Walters said it’s still too early to say what aspects will be pursued.
   He said it is yet to be determined if the platforms will be moved or extended, and said Hillier is looking at the financial and technical aspects of both above- and below-track pedestrian crossing.
   As far as similar projects that have occurred in the state, Hillier Urban Design and Planning Director Anish Kumar said he is aware of at least one.
   Before he joined Hillier, he was the project manager that developed the plan that led to the designation of South Amboy as a transit village — one of the first in the state.
   Although he said his firm recommended a station move of comparable distance to the one proposed in Concept D, he warned against comparing the two.
   "The conditions are different," he said, noting that the South Amboy project is now in the later stages of development.
   For now, Mr. Kumar said, planners are focusing on ensuring the final concept is feasible.
   "This has to be something that can be done. Whatever recommendations we make, we constantly test ourselves on that," he said, referring to considerations of cost, time and impact on nearby neighborhoods. "Unless we keep that on the front as a very key criterion, the project can run away from us."
   Mr. Walters agreed.
   "The fact is that a lot of the residents have recognized that change is coming to this area, especially along the 571 frontages, and you have a lot of developers and current business owners that are ready to make a change to their property," he said. "If we create a plan that is going to take 20 or 30 years that’s going to realize itself, you have a lot of current land owners that are kind of in between. We’re really wanting to create something that will happen."
   Mr. Stessel said he expects all of the interested parties to continue to analyze the feasibility of a station move.
   "It’s doable, but there are a number of considerations," he said. "This is not the time for ruling anything out. The phase that we’re at in this process is one where all ideas should be welcomed at the table. We’re not going to outright reject anything at this point."