Officials at the West Windsor Parking Authority have completed the scrubbing of their waiting list, and the number of people waiting for a parking space at the Princeton Junction train station has been dramatically reduced.##M:[more]##
In August, the authority began reviewing a draft of the parking supply-demand analysis that will project how many more spaces are needed at the Princeton Junction train station, but decided it first wanted to scrub the waiting list so that it can hand over more accurate numbers to Desman Associates of New York, the firm who is working on the study.
The “scrub” — or removing people from the waiting list who have failed to respond three times to postcards asking them whether they were still interested in being on the list — was intended to give the authority, and thus its consultants, more accurate numbers on the wait list, which will affect data in the report.
The authority has now forwarded the new waiting list numbers to Desman officials, Parking Authority Chairman Andy Lupo said. “What we think right now is that we’re looking at a revised list of somewhere around 3,”900 to 4,”200; 4,”300; or 4,”400,” he said. “We were able to take out a number of duplications, a number of people who didn’t leave forwarding addresses, and people who were no longer interested.” In addition, he says, the parking authority is taking into account that not everyone takes a space who is given one.
“If you want to be conservative and say 4,”500 (people on the waiting list), that’s still a lot better than where we were,” with an original waiting list of around 7,”000, he said.
The draft parking supply-demand report originally showed that about 3,”400 more parking spaces will be needed to accommodate ridership projections up through the year 2015. But authority members stressed that the number is not final. The original report examined the authority’s two distinct waiting lists — the one for West Windsor residents only and the one for the public-at-large, which also includes those West Windsor residents. In their own scrub of the waiting lists, they determined that 1,”900 more spaces would be needed solely for West Windsor residents, but all together, taking into account the public-at-large waiting list, about 3,”400 more spaces would be needed. The projection was based on the 50 percent response rate the authority gets on its waiting lists. At the time the draft report was issued, however there were 2,”199 names on the West Windsor waiting list, and 5,”100 are on the public-at-large list.
There are currently 7,”300 daily travelers using the train station. There are 3,”600 spaces, 2,”600 of which are accessible by permit. The remaining 1,”000 are daily, first-come, first-serve spots. There are 3,”900 permit holders who have access to those 2,”600 spaces.
Lupo said that with the latest calculations from Desman, using the revised waiting list, the number of spaces needed at the station will be more manageable. Officials from Desman are working on the revised report and will bring it to the parking authority at its next meeting on Wednesday, November 12, for discussion.
The overall parking study by Desman will be divided into three analyses — a supply-demand analysis, an alternative site analysis, and an economic feasibility analysis. The draft report only encompasses the supply-demand analysis, and Tom Calu, consultant for the parking authority, said the alternative site analysis is on hold until the task force of township, county, and state officials completes its traffic circulation plans. The economic feasibility study is dependent on the other two pieces of the report, he added.
