Residents seemed excited about the proposal to overhaul Canal Pointe Boulevard but concerned about the anticipated traffic impact of future commercial development during the public presentation April 21 at the municipal complex.
Canal Point Boulevard is currently a four-lane roadway with two 11-feet lanes each way. The proposal recommends lane reductions in which there would be one 10-feet travel lane and one six-feet bicycle lane each way. In addition, the center of the road would be a 12-feet wide left turn lane or painted median.
Traffic engineer Dean Kaiser of the Burns Group, which prepared the report, explained the recommended road configurations represent a compromise for residents and commuters sharing the road.
“One of the interesting features of Canal Pointe is one side of the road is all office, the other side is all residential,” Kaiser said. “Residents have to contend with the office folks who come in the morning and leave in the afternoon.”
The proposal also recommends narrowing the two remaining car lanes to 10 feet. Both changes are designed to reduce speeds, which may also discourage motorists who use the road as a cut-through alternative to Route 1 south.
A dedicated turn lane at intersections is meant to reduce accidents, removing a vehicle from traffic and improving sight lines for motorists behind a turning vehicle.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh was also in attendance. He says the report is consistent with the master plan.
“In 2001 the township set up a task force that became the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA). The master plan was approved in 2005. If we have clear support from Council, we want to move forward.”
The highest volume of rush hour traffic occurs at the Alexander Road, Carnegie Center Boulevard, and Meadow Road intersections, numbering at two to three thousand vehicles. The anticipated development of up to 1 million square feet of office space at Carnegie Center West, the site of the new NRG headquarters, and Princeton Overlook is expected to add 1,700 rush hour trips. In addition, Princeton Theological Seminary intends to develop an apartment complex with up to 400 units on Wheeler Way, an extension of Canal Pointe Boulevard.
Residents of the Canal Pointe residential development voiced support for the “road diet,” as the proposal is called.
“It’s a terrific idea. If the road is slower, it will take people back onto Route 1,” says Ted Strempack, vice president of the neighborhood board. “The consensus of the board endorses the project, though not every member does.”
Fellow board member David Hingston expressed delight with the plan, but he also voiced concern over the number of existing entrances that bunch opposing turns too close together.
Two residents of Princeton Greens, which is the closest neighborhood to Alexander Road, the busiest intersection, were concerned with whether lane reductions would combine well with increased offices.
Princeton Greens board member Dan Fabrizio suggested shared bicycle pathways as an alternative that would preserve the four-lane road, noting additional lanes each way make it easier for neighborhood residents to pull out onto the roadway,
“I don’t think this is going to work. You’re going to build a million square feet of office space across the street from everybody. You’re taking four lanes and narrowing it down to two lanes. It’s going to add more traffic to Canal Pointe Boulevard,” says Fabrizio, who also mentioned that he was a member of the original traffic task force. “Why doesn’t the township not build driveways onto Canal Pointe? That way it’ll alleviate traffic. I think it should be a four-lane road. We’re very happy this isn’t a done deal yet and urge the township to get a true consensus.”
Neighbor Erica Levine was also concerned about potential traffic increases.
Patrolman Frank Latorre of the West Windsor Police Department weighed in on the issue of emergency management.
“I think the road would benefit from this improvement, but I think it’s very important to look at the access for Carnegie Center,” Latorre says. “Currently, there’s no entrance onto Route 1 South. Between Overlook and Carnegie, there’s only one entrance. If the state can give good access onto Route 1 and none to Canal Point Boulevard, that would help.”
Latorre also inquired about the construction of a traffic signal at Carnegie Boulevard intersection in anticipation of increased traffic.
Township engineer Francis Guznik said that the increased development and traffic is far off.
“It’s not projected to be met for Carnegie for quite a while,” Guznik says. “This study was prepared based on the worst case scenario.”
Aside from worries over future development, there was the issue of how buses would navigate a reduced lane roadway.
“If buses are going into the six-feet bike lane, you’re going to need widening where the bus stops. You certainly don’t want a bus stopping all traffic,” says Alison Miller, a WWBPA officer. “While you are talking about widening, is there any plan to use the bike lane plus a little widening, for a right turn deceleration lane?”
The township engineering office is accepting comments through Friday, May 8, and forms are available on the township website.
Several improvements were approved by Council at the April 20 meeting, while the status of the Howard Hughes property remains unknown.
#b#Open Space Acquisition.#/b# Council introduced two ordinances relating to the open space acquisition of the 10.4-acre Penn Lyle Woods parcel on Penn Lyle Road, near the intersection with Village Road West. According to land use manager Sam Surtees, Duck Pond Run traverses the property, which is adjacent to two other open space parcels owned by the township. The township has applied for Mercer County open space grants, which are expected to offset the $455,000 purchase by one half. The public hearing on the open space ordinances is on Monday, May 11.
Duck Pond Run. More trees will populate the 120-acre Duck Pond Park after Council approved the Pat Scanlan firm to plant 350 trees for $86,391. According to business administrator Marlena Schmid, the tree plantings are in accordance with state-mandated environmental compensation after mature trees were removed to build the replacement bridge on Old Trenton Road. Future park improvements include additional walking trails, picnic areas, and playgrounds.
#b#One down, one more to go.#/b# After rejecting long time auditor William Antonides Jr., the administration’s choice to conduct the 2014 township audit, Council approved a $26,900 contract with Warren M. Korecky of Westfield-based Suplee, Clooney and Company. Antonides previously prepared the township’s 2014 financial documents, known as supplemental schedules, which Korecky will review. The reporting deadline is June 30.
Council rejected the proposals for a health insurance benefit consultant, and the administration will issue another request for proposal. At the January 28 meeting, Council pulled the agreement with Eric B. Labaska of Frenkel Benefit. At the time, Council president Bryan Maher explained Frenkel was not the lowest bidder, and that more time was needed to re-evalutate the bids.
In other news, Council approved a contract with BANC3 Inc., to oversee the Alexander Road repaving project for $17,000. Council also approved a resolution terminating a $1.2 million contract with Montana Construction Corporation. Montana was contracted to install gravity sewer piping as part of the elimination of the aging Duck Pond Run pumping station but the tunneling under the Amtrack railroad has been unsuccessful and the township is pursuing alternate construction methods. The township has paid Montana $450,347 for work completed but has denied the company’s claim for an additional payment of $488,973.
#b#No News from Howard Hughes.#/b# All is quiet on the Howard Hughes front. Township personnel, Council members, and the Planning Board have not heard from Howard Hughes Corporation representatives in months.
According to Howard Hughes spokesperson Caryn Kboudi, project director Chuck McMahon and senior executive John Simon are no longer with the company.
Simon has retired, and the company has not announced a new project director to replace McMahon. The duo had previously been the contact persons for the 658-acre site on Clarksville Road, last year interviewing scores of residents and local groups as part of a high-profile community input effort.
The last known contact between the company and the township occurred at the December 8 Council meeting, when attorney Mark Solomon of Pepper Hamilton LLP went before Council to reiterate Howard Hughes’ request for redevelopment designation. The township’s position was to request a concept plan presentation to the Planning Board before considering anything else. Solomon did not return multiple calls for comment.
Before that, Howard Hughes representatives made a general presentation and unveiled their request for redevelopment designation at a packed September 22 Council meeting. At the next Council meeting October 6, McMahon pushed for the redevelopment process.
