PRINCETON: DOT will close two Route 1 jughandles for four weeks

By Victoria Hurley-SchuberT and Allison Musante, Staff Writers
   The New Jersey Department of Transportation “has raised my blood pressure,” said Princeton Township Mayor Chad Goerner, after a meeting on Wednesday with NJDOT officials and the other mayors whose local traffic would be affected by proposed changes to Route 1.
   The meeting, which was closed to the public, was a work session for NJDOT officials to gather input and concerns from the mayors before beginning a test run, according to the mayors who attended the meeting.
   ”What they want to do is to conduct a four-week trial period,” Mayor Goerner said. “During this four-week period they will take traffic counts on these roads, nearby roads and Route 1 to gauge impact.”
   To improve traffic flow on Route 1, officials are proposing closing the jughandle turns into Princeton at Washington Road and Harrison Street, a move that would likely funnel traffic onto Alexander Road and Faculty Road. Several of the mayors are concerned about the pressure this move would put on Alexander Road traffic.
   ”What it will do is make an impact on the Princetons in many different ways,” Mayor Goerner said. “Alexander is already our most clogged artery and you’re going to put more traffic on it.”
   The township passed a resolution against the measure in December, he said. He was also concerned that Alexander tends to clog near the narrow bridge, a sharp intersection that will be under construction in May.
   ”They already made the decision going into the meeting,” said Mayor Goerner. “This will impact the congestion on Alexander, and while it may alleviate some traffic on Route 1, it will push overflow onto Faculty Road. It will also back up Route 1 as people wait,” because the only U-turns in the Princeton corridor would then be Alexander Road or Scudder’s Mill Road in Plainsboro, which is more than one mile after Harrison Road.
   Borough Council President Kevin Wilkes said he supported the test-run, but wasn’t convinced the proposed changes would serve the local communities well.
   ”They are testing our appetite to endure more traffic on the local roads for the benefit of people driving north and south on Route 1 so they can travel through faster,” he said.
   ”I understand they want to improve the flow on Route 1, but they should look at this holistically and one town should not bear the brunt of this and it seems like we are,” Mayor Goerner said. “Why don’t we look at this in a piecemeal fashion that balances the interests of the municipalities.”
   Mr. Wilkes added that he hopes NJDOT officials are transparent in sharing data and continue seeking townships’ input as it moves forward. Officials would be doing mechanical and in-person counts of the traffic and number of cars that make turns before and during the four weeks of testing. Two weeks before the closure, counts will be taken to establish a baseline figure of traffic flow, then counts will be taken every week during the four-week trial period, said Mr. Wilkes.
   Mayor Goerner was concerned about holding doing the test run in May when Princeton University has its reunion weekend and graduation. He suggested that NJDOT hold the pilot next fall, adding that a summer test probably wouldn’t yield an accurate count because the university isn’t running at full capacity.
   West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said he hopes the NJDOT will plan the program carefully and be considerate of the townships’ own road projects, such as West Windsor’s Alexander Road S-curve realignment, which is under way.
   ”Our main concern is what impact the changes could have on our own project for the S-curve realignment,” he said. “We think the DOT will consider this in their plan, but of course we have concerns about the traffic situation on the West Windsor side of Alexander Road.”
   Plainsboro Mayor Peter Cantu said he supported the trial run to evaluate how effective the proposed modifications would be and their impact the local communities, prior to implementation.
   ”We’re all concerned about congestion on Route 1,” he said. “But to object to the trial is shortsighted. It will answer a lot of questions, like what problems it may present to the smaller municipal roads. If the trial is properly done, it’ll evaluate whether the changes make sense.”