WEST WINDSOR: Two infrastructure wish lists emerge

By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
   WEST WINDSOR — The process of developing West Windsor’s list of needed infrastructure improvements in order to request appropriations funding was on divergent paths this week.
   Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh and the administration are in the process of gathering a list of projects to submit to Rep. Rush Holt’s office Monday for consideration for fiscal year 2010 appropriations.
   Meanwhile, President Charlie Morgan held a public meeting Monday night, asking for suggestions on projects that should be considered for the appropriations.
   Residents were eager to give their input on needed infrastructure improvements in the township, he said. About 16 people attended the meeting, while more suggestions were sent via email, Mr. Morgan said.
   ”It was a great response,” he said. “I was really impressed with the ideas that people came forward with.”
   A list of the items was sent to township officials today. It included many of the “usual suspects,” he said, including road repairs, intersection improvements, sidewalk completion, an upgrade to the emergency response system, the Route 1 cut, parking garages at the train station, and construction of a “Main Street” along Route 571.
   The 28-item list, which wasn’t ordered by priority, also included repairs to the township sewer system because it is “beginning to fail in some places,” Mr. Morgan said.
   ”We need to put liners in our sewer system to make it last longer,” he said.
   Other suggestions were new, including one for the construction of a safety-driving facility to teach new drivers how to handle adverse road conditions.
   ”I’m working hard with the administration to include more on the list rather than less, because if you don’t ask you’re not going to get it,” said Mr. Morgan, who was the only township official present at the meeting.
   Township Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said the suggestions would be examined for inclusion in the list based on the required criteria. Projects that are partially funded and already begun will receive priority, he said.
   ”I have been working with the state and Rush Holt’s office to try to make sure all of our so-called pipeline projects will be considered,” he said.
   Requests will include the Vaughn Drive connector and improvements to Route 1 and Route 571 as priorities, he said.
   The mayor also added that he organized a coalition of the mayors of Princeton Township, Princeton Borough, South Brunswick, Plainsboro and Lawrence to ask for funding for Route 1 improvements as a regional need.
   A letter was sent this week to N.J Department of Transportation Commissioner Stephen Dilts asking that the Penns Neck Bypass Project is restored the state’s transportation priority list.
   The project was removed from the list two years ago because NJDOT had indicated that West Windsor had to complete its train station redevelopment plan before it could be made a priority, Mayor Hsueh said.
   ”This requirement has been met. The plan is being finalized – a draft of the plan passed West Windsor Township Council and the Planning Board and the final version is scheduled for a final vote by Township Council in early March,” the letter reads.
   Federal stimulus funds will be handled through the governor’s office, Mayor Hsueh said, and the effects of the funding on the state economy as a whole will be considered.
   ”That’s why it is important to have more support from other communities,” he said.
   NOTE:  The following is a letter to N.J Department of Transportation Commissioner Stephen Dilts concerning restoration of the Penns Neck Bypass Project to the state’s transportation priority list, in light of the possibility of transportation infrastructure money from the Federal Stimulus Package, as well as the resolution of the West Windsor redevelopment plans.
Dear Commissioner Dilts:
As mayors representing the central New Jersey Route 1 Corridor we request that the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) restore the Penns Neck Bypass Project, which includes Route 1 improvements at County Route 571 and Harrison Street and Vaughn Drive Connector, to a high priority status.
We urge NJDOT to honor the direction given by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) to include the Penns Neck Bypass Project with the Vaughn Drive Connector in the “Transportation Improvement Program” (TIP), the regionally agreed upon list of priority transportation projects to receive federal funding.
The Penns Neck project with frontage roads, an overpass near Harrison Street, an elevated Washington Road over Route 1, and the elimination of all traffic lights would transform the portion of Route 1 between Alexander Road and Harrison Street from a highly congested, dangerous section of road to a safe, free-flowing thoroughfare.
The Vaughn Drive Connector project provides a road at the Princeton Junction Train station to facilitate east/west traffic through Princeton Junction to Route 1.
Even though all the improvements would occur in West Windsor, all of the Route 1 Corridor mayors, highly motivated by economic development and health and safety reasons, express their steadfast support of the Penns Neck Improvements to eliminate the unacceptable vehicular paralysis on this portion of Route 1 that occurs during morning and evening rush hours, as well as on the east/west feeder roads onto Route 1, particularly Harrison Street, Washington Road and Scudders Mill Road.
These projects were removed from the TIP two years ago, because, according to West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, NJDOT indicated that West Windsor had to finalize its train station redevelopment plan before the road could be made an NJDOT priority. This requirement has been met. The plan is being finalized – a draft of the plan passed West Windsor Township Council and the Planning Board and the final version is scheduled for a final vote by Township Council in early March.
The design of the Penns Neck Bypass Project and Vaughn Drive Connector emerged in 2004 after a two-year community planning process and a completed Environmental Impact Statement that reflected input from all the stakeholders in the region who worked out their differences to come up with a functional and widely acclaimed road reconstruction plan. However, all of the undersigned mayors emphasize that the action being endorsed should not jeopardize other projects, especially the widening of Route 1 in South Brunswick.
Even if the Penns Neck Improvements become a priority, it would be several years before a completed roadway would be functioning. Therefore, the mayors conclude that the region still must obtain in the very near future a modest improvement on Harrison Street and Route 1, i.e., a turning lane to help alleviate the long rush-hour backups at Harrison. This is crucial in light of the University Medical Center at Princeton moving in 2011 to Route 1 in Plainsboro between Plainsboro Road and Scudders Mill Road.
Sincerely,
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, West Windsor
Mayor Peter Cantu, Plainsboro
Mayor Frank Gambatese, South Brunswick
Mayor Bernard Miller, Princeton Township
Mayor Pam Mount, Lawrence
Mayor Mildred Trotman, Princeton Borough