This one was for the record books. Heated debate over a single engineering and surveying contract at the April 4 Council meeting lasted until 11:30 p.m. More than two dozen residents commented on the proposed Canal Pointe Boulevard road diet, and Council ultimately approved the engineering services contract needed for the project.
The vote was 4-0, with Council vice president Hemant Marathe abstaining.
The engineering services should be completed by July, after which the township must seek bids for the actual road construction work. The construction contract is anticipated to exceed $1.5 million and it will require Council approval. The best case scenario for the completion of a reconstructed Canal Pointe Boulevard would be late fall.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh and his administration’s road diet design will reconfigure the current four-lane roadway into three lanes: one car lane in each direction plus a center lane for left turns. Bicycle paths will also be installed on both sides. The road diet design aims to improve roadway safety by providing a turn lane and slowing down traffic. This “traffic calming” is also intended to discourage commuters from using Canal Pointe as a Route 1 alternative, as well as to provide improved bicycle and pedestrian access.
Most of the Canal Pointe residents who spoke before Council supported the redesign. Speeding was a central concern. Several residents noted that repaving the potholed road while maintaining the current lane configuration of two vehicle lanes in each direction would result in even faster motorist speeds.
Kristin Appelget, a West Windsor resident and the Princeton University director of community and regional affairs, asked Council to maintain the existing bus cutouts used by university “Tiger Transit” buses to shuttle seminary students and university staff to and from the main campus.
“As you consider the redesign, consider mass transit options and bike storage,” Appelget said.
However, some Canal Pointe residents disagreed with the redesign’s safety benefits and believed lane reductions would worsen traffic conditions in a still developing corridor. Dan Fabrizio, who lives off Canal Pointe Boulevard, presented a petition with 129 neighbor signatures in support of maintaining the four-lane configuration.
After public comments the Council debate divided along partisan lines. Council members Alison Miller and Ayesha Hamilton supported the proposal, while Peter Mendonez and Council president Linda Geevers sought more discussion on improving safety under the existing configuration. The most vocal opponent was Marathe, who voiced traffic and EMS access concerns while also criticizing the mayor for a lack of transparency.
Miller noted the petition mischaracterized the road diet redesign as two lanes, adding that she heard support for the project once residents learned the proposal includes a center lane for left turns.
“I think there may be an education problem, as if this is a bike lane project,” Miller said. “It’s not. It’s a safety project.”
Hamilton cited past township public policy, which supports bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
“I think the factors you have to consider, in addition to resident opinion, is our professionals’ opinions and our complete streets policy,” Hamilton said. “As the public safety liaison, I’ll make sure the engineers work closely with public safety to ensure EMS access.”
A big point of contention from Geevers and Marathe was the administration’s request for proposals (RFP) process for the engineering contract. Marathe said the mayor withheld information and “destroyed the trust” between the administration and Council.
“I think the road diet is going to be a disaster from a traffic point of view,” Marathe said. At one point, he passed out an amended engineering services contract that stipulated the road design must be four lanes, but township attorney Michael Herbert advised against adding language to the contract after the RFP has already been sent out.
“I would have liked to know how the RFP is set up,” Geevers said. “We should have known it went out as a matter of communication.”
Hamilton countered that as a Council member she “wasn’t under the impression we were reviewing RFPs” and the mayor said he will listen to Council and the community’s input before making the final decision on the road design.
The checks and balances of the township’s mayor-council government structure were rehashed. In response to inquiries from Council members, Herbert said the mayor has the power to determine the striping of the road.
“Council has power of the purse. You can vote up or down whether or not to fund it,” Herbert said.
“Council does not have the right to make the decision,” Miller added. “Council just has the right to advise the mayor.”
Hamilton asked Marathe if he would vote to withhold funding if the mayor chose the road diet design, but Marathe declined to directly answer the question.
The back and forth on the road diet design ended after an impatient Hsueh asked Miller to make a motion to end the discussion, which triggers a vote on the engineering contract.
“I don’t know how many times I have to say the same thing,” Hsueh said. “Once the design is done I will share it with every member of Council. And you will have another bite of the apple.”
Added Hsueh: “I will also come back [before Council] with a construction bid.”
Geevers also leaned toward the current four-lane design because of anticipated growth, but she ultimately cast the deciding vote in favor of the engineering contract. The corridor is zoned for an additional 1 million square feet in office space and 400 apartment units on Wheeler Way. After the meeting, Hsueh said, “I can assure you there will not be full build out,” explaining that traffic assessments requirements will limit overall development.
Van Cleef Engineering Associates will provide the engineering services for $58,850.
Council also approved contracts with Nassau Animal Hospital, Weber’s Training School, and Princeton Animal Hospital for veterinarian and animal boarding services; a $57,200 contract with Spiezle Architectural Group for designing the township’s Post Office facility; and a $15,300 contract with BANC3 Inc. for additional Cranbury Road sidewalk design services.
Council also approved the appointment of Yan Mei Wang and Melissa Hager to the Human Relations Council.
#b#Arts Council Update#/b#
At the beginning of the April 4 Council meeting, West Windsor Arts Council director Aylin Green presented an overview of the art group’s growth the past year. Reiterating her predecessor’s request made a year ago, Green requested the township’s support in opening up additional space for the Arts Council.
EMS equipment currently occupies the bay garages adjacent to the Arts Center on Alexander Road, which will eventually become additional usable space. Hsueh guaranteed to Green and the dozen Arts Council members at the meeting that the garage space would be “available by next year.”
According to Hsueh, the township must first expand storage space at the former Twin W building to accommodate the equipment currently in the bay garages.
Green thanked the community’s support that made the Arts Council’s activities and programming possible. More than 100 adult and 45 young people volunteered more than 6,800 hours last year, and the Arts Council has more than 400 members and more than 220 donors. For more information on future events and workshops, visit www.westwindsorarts.org.
