Dinky station move retained, but now it gets a plaza
By: Courtney Gross
Princeton University is shifting the focus of its proposed arts neighborhood to more prominently highlight its transit elements, while also reaffirming its commitment to the Dinky station’s relocation several hundred feet south.
After public and community forums as well as a meeting with Princeton planning officials last month, the university released a revised concept development plan for the Alexander Street and University Place neighborhood Monday a design meant to concentrate not only on arts spaces, but also transportation and public areas.
Although the Dinky is still slated for relocation within the university’s concept plans much to the dismay of some Princeton residents the station would now be adjacent to a large public square fronting on Alexander Street that would open up the rail station to the thoroughfare and provide better access to any university, state or municipally operated bus or shuttle systems, university officials said.
In a memo to the Princeton Township Committee, Princeton Borough Council and members of the Regional Planning Board of Princeton, university Vice President and Secretary Robert Durkee said university officials no longer consider their proposal an arts neighborhood, but "more accurately think of (it) as an arts and transit neighborhood."
In the memo, Mr. Durkee also responded to criticism and suggestions from Princeton municipal officials on the Dinky’s move approximately 460 feet south. That move is intrinsic to improving traffic flow and creating better access to parking for Dinky riders, Mr. Durkee said.
"We have taken a fresh look at whether there is any way to create an arts and transit neighborhood on this site and improve traffic flow in this area without moving the Dinky, but it is simply not possible," Mr. Durkee’s memo states.
Because of certain requirements established by NJ Transit, such as mandating commuter spaces be within 1,000 feet of the rail terminal, both the station and the parking lot must be moved southward to morph the area into an arts neighborhood equipped with a string of landscaping, public walkways and plazas, Mr. Durkee said.
The newest concept design, Mr. Durkee added, is also meant to respond to both a proposal by NJ Transit for a bus rapid transit system that could either replace or supplement the rail service as well as the extra traffic accompanying the borough’s proposed jitney, or minibus, shuttle service.
Joe Dee, a spokesman for NJ Transit, said the proposed bus rapid transit system has not been funded for construction, but the borough, the township, Princeton’s planning officials and the university along with NJ Transit are working collaboratively to plan for the future.
The latest design, the university memo states, would increase visibility for the Dinky station from Alexander Street, and also incorporate traffic calming measures for those entering the transit hub from one of Princeton’s main corridors. The design, like previous drafts, includes a roadway connecting the university’s parking garage, also known as Lot 7, to Alexander Street in an attempt to provide better access for arts patrons to the proposed public spaces.
Although the Dinky’s relocation would lengthen the commute time for those who walk to the station from downtown, Mr. Durkee said the university is also committed to contributing financially to the borough’s forthcoming jitney service to ensure the station is accessible.
But even with the incorporation of a public plaza, some Princeton officials continue to oppose the station’s move.
The new design, at least to former borough mayor and chairman of the Planning Board’s Master Plan Subcommittee, Marvin Reed, does not address the community’s needs nor the suggestions given at the most recent planning meeting with the university.
Contending the municipalities would not "rubber stamp" any proposal, Mr. Reed hopes the university and the Princeton community can have a constructive dialogue on the future of the site.
"I don’t think we’re ready to say this is the plan that really services the community’s needs," Mr. Reed said. "This is the community’s train station. The Wawa is a community food store not just a midnight store for people at Forbes College," he added of the relocated convenience store.
To create an intersection of town and gown, Mr. Reed urged the university to keep the rail station as is and construct its arts facilities and retail establishments surrounding it.
Dinky rider and Borough Councilman Andrew Koontz agreed.
"With some creative planning and some thoughtful planning, we can create an arts neighborhood where transit is well integrated with what the university is trying to do," Mr. Koontz said.
"This is planning very much in vogue in the 1960s. … I think that’s a methodology of planning that has very much gone out of fashion and for good reason," the councilman added of the university’s current concept design.
With the proposed station relocation, university officials said they would attempt to minimize the move as well as preserve the original buildings at their current location or nearby.
The new station, university officials added, would include the latest commuter amenities, such as an indoor waiting area, restrooms, newsstands and a coffee shop.
The updated conceptual plan is not meant to define in detail which buildings will go where or what site would be used for particular uses within the arts and transit neighborhood, according to the university. Although there are a series of ovals stretching across the concept plan titled "site for academic/performance use," Mr. Durkee said the number and size of prospective buildings is still in the earliest planning stages.