Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the hybrid alternative Cranbury Road mobility plan. I am a 25-year West Windsor homeowner, living in an older neighborhood surrounded by old, narrow rural roads lacking sidewalks or shoulders. Walking and biking have always been a dangerous proposition around my neighborhood for both children and adults. I’ve wanted improvements in all roads in my neighborhood ever since moving here and am grateful that at least Cranbury Road is finally being addressed.
I appreciate the efforts toward transparency and community collaboration being made in the process. I agree that the initial options were overly ambitious and disruptive given the existing regulatory restraints, homeowner burden, and cost. I believe the hybrid plan is a more realistic option than any of the initial ones. However I am unhappy that this new option has essentially disregarded bicyclists. Yes, cyclists can use the proposed sidewalk (and they will), but this is dangerous for pedestrians.
Rather than cyclists being metaphorically (and potentially actually) “thrown under the bus,” I ask you to reconsider and implement anything and everything that can realistically be done to improve the safety of cyclists using Cranbury Road.
In order of priority and effectiveness, here are some specific options I ask you to consider, or reconsider. Ideally all four would be implemented to protect vulnerable cyclists without the need to change the essential structure of the hybrid plan.
Pursuing the option once again to make an exception for the nine-foot lane minimum width requirement, at least in the most dangerous parts of Cranbury Road. I believe I heard at the latest public meeting that a request was made but has been abandoned because the township has not been able to get a reply from the state agency that sets this requirement. A lack of a reply is not a refusal. I am asking you to pursue and advocate for this option, at least until a clear answer and rationale is provided. One of the issues on Cranbury Road is gaining better compliance with the 25 mile per hour speed limit. I submit that eight-foot lanes (which would accommodate a two-foot shoulder) along with signs warning of extra narrow lanes, would do more to keep speeds down and bikers safe than 10 “share the road” signs. This extra narrow lane width would not need to be implemented for the entire length of Cranbury Road. Rather it is most needed along the stretch from 571 to Clarksville Road.
Provide thorough, nine-foot, outer-lane lines for the entire length of Cranbury Road. There are multiple sections of Cranbury Road that are wider than 18 feet and so provide a safer area for pedestrians and cyclists, but these areas are not consistently marked with outer lane lines. In addition I believe there are sections that have outer lane lines, but that are wider than the nine foot minimum.
Keep the entire width of Cranbury Road clean of organic accumulation and overgrowth. Over time, leaves and other organic debris accumulate on the edges of the road, which allows other seasonal growth. Over time areas of the road disappear as nature intrudes from the edges. This is facilitated by the lack of curbs. Because Cranbury and other old rural roads are of minimal width, losing just six to 10 inches on each side makes a big difference, especially for pedestrians and cyclists negotiating minimum-width lanes.
Paint cyclist symbols onto the outside of each lane in each direction, like the symbols on Harrison Street in Princeton. Between Faculty Road and Route 27 in Princeton, Harrison Street is quite narrow. However there are repeated painted symbols indicating bicycle use toward the outsides of each lane. While “Share the Road” signs have been mentioned for Cranbury Road, in my opinion painted on-road indicators like those on Harrison Street feel more “real” and are less likely to be overlooked than Share the Road signage.
I hope these recommendations will be earnestly considered and pursued. On behalf of all the cyclists who fear for our safety on the narrow old township roads, I thank you in advance.
Ted Whitby
Princeton Junction
