Crosswalk improvement plan reviewed
Nick Norlen, Staff Writer
Borough Council approved resolutions Wednesday designed to improve pedestrian safety in the borough far beyond looking both ways.
After a lengthy discussion of the Crosswalk Improvement Plan, compiled through a state Department of Transportation grant, the council decided ultimately to adopt two resolutions with the condition that the report will be used as a guide, rather than a mandate, of the potential avenues the borough will pursue.
Consultant Pam Lebeaux, of the firm PB Americas, reviewed the 40-page report, which was finished in May.
”The aim is to make all of the borough truly walkable,” she said.
Though she said Princeton has been a “laboratory for different concepts,” she said the goal is to work toward a “standard design” for the borough’s crosswalks and pedestrian-related infrastructure.
Locations listed as priorities included Bayard Lane, Witherspoon Street, Nassau Street and the intersections of Hamilton and Wiggins streets and Stockton Street and Elm Road, among others.
Among the issues and potential actions addressed in the report are curb and ramp deficiencies, the need for “pedestrian-oriented” lighting, maintenance of walkways during construction, a review of bus stop locations, crosswalk safety education and targeted enforcement campaigns.
Recommendations included retiming traffic signals at a number of roads along Route 27, or Nassau Street, constructing missing portions of sidewalks, providing raised medians in certain areas and traffic calming measures.
The possibility of “all-red” pedestrian crossing periods at some locations — such as the intersection of Nassau and Witherspoon streets — was also discussed.
Councilman David Goldfarb said the council should be careful about passing a resolution that would indicate the board’s full endorsement of all the recommendations.
”While the report has done an excellent job with recommending solutions, I am not enthusiastic about many of them,” he said.
To that end, Traffic and Transportation Committee Chairwoman Sandy Solomon, who served on the steering committee for the crosswalk report, recommended changing the language to refer to the report as a “guidebook.”
The council then unanimously approved the two resolutions, which deal with crosswalks on borough streets and the borough’s state roads, respectively.

