By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The township Planning Board is considering whether to commission a study to determine the feasibility of creating traffic improvement districts in Lawrence Township.
The Planning Board discussed the issue at its meeting Monday night.
Philip Caton, the board’s planning consultant, explained that a traffic improvement district is geared toward making local traffic improvements that are needed as the result of new development.
Mr. Caton said a developer may choose to contribute money toward the traffic improvement district, rather than prepare a traffic report for the development project that would be submitted to the Planning Board.
”You just write a check and the transportation improvement district uses the money from the developer (to pay for transportation improvement priorities),” Mr. Caton told the Planning Board.
Municipal Engineer James Parvesse, who is the former West Windsor Township engineer, said West Windsor created a townshipwide plan that spanned a 10-year period. The township figured out the developers’ cost for the improvements.
In Lawrence, there may be a few intersections that could be improved, Mr. Parvesse said. But he questioned how much developable land is left and how much money would be generated “at the end of the day.”
Councilwoman Pam Mount, who sits on the Planning Board, agreed there is little left to develop. The Quaker Bridge Mall, which is poised to undergo a renovation and expansion project, is “about the last big stuff,” she said.
Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun suggested speaking to township traffic consultant James Kochenour before proceeding with a traffic improvement district study, and board members agreed.

