LAWRENCE: Planners to review Mercer Crossings

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   The Lawrence Township Planning Board is expected to review Mercer County’s study of the Mercer Crossings redevelopment area on Princeton Avenue and Spruce Street at its regular meeting Monday.
   The planning boards of Ewing Township and the City of Trenton also have been invited to the meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held in the lower level conference room at the Municipal Building.
   Mercer County officials will outline the traffic study report for the planning board members. A draft version of the report, which was prepared by engineering consultant DMJM Harris, was reviewed a public meeting in January at the Mercer County Agricultural Extension Service on Spruce Street in Lawrence.
   The draft version of the county traffic study report was released in December 2008. It contains more than a dozen recommendations for the Mercer Crossings redevelopment area, which spans Lawrence and Ewing townships and touches the City of Trenton.
   The report organized the recommendations by using a phasing plans that calls for implementing the various improvements based on access and land use triggers, according to the report summary.
   For example, consolidating the multiple driveway entrances in front of the Trenton Farmers Market and Halo Farm would trigger the need to provide a new traffic signal at a combined driveway in front of the two businesses, according to the summary.
   Revising the existing zoning in Lawrence from Highway Commercial to office or residential use would trigger converting the existing four-lane roadway into three lanes — one lane in each direction plus a center left-turn lane.
   At the meeting, Mercer County officials expect to review the county’s previous planning efforts in the area. The officials also plan to discuss the implications for future land use, related to traffic improvements.
   And updates to Ewing Township’s Olden Avenue redevelopment plan also will be discussed. Olden Avenue runs parallel to Spruce Street. Arctic Parkway, which is in Ewing Township, connects the two streets.