Improvements to the intersections of Alexander Road and Vaughn Drive, Wallace and Cranbury roads with Route 571, and sidewalk extensions for North Post and Alexander roads are among the upcoming initiatives the township will undertake over the next six months to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety, according to Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh.##M:[more]##
Count-down pedestrian signals, signage, street lighting, high visibility crosswalks, and pedestrian markings will be installed at Alexander Road and Vaughn Drive. The township has also met with state and county officials to discuss crosswalks, curb cuts, and count-down pedestrian signals at the Wallace/Cranbury/Route 571 intersection.
Township and state officials are reviewing the possibility of a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the train tracks on the south side of the existing bridge on Route 571 between the double guide rails, connecting with a crosswalk on the west side of the tracks crossing Washington Road at Station Drive, Hsueh said in a press release.
Signage striping, improved street lighting, and sidewalks in the area of Wallace Road at the Wallace Circle, and sidewalk extensions for North Post Road and Alexander Road between the municipal center and train station are also slated between 2008 and 2009, the mayor said in a prepared statement.
The press release also stated that the Alexander Road S-curve will have bike lanes on both sides and a concrete sidewalk on the eastbound lane.
The announcements were made on the same day as the West Windsor Walk, held by the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, along Bear Brook Road — including the crossing at Vaughn Drive — to highlight dangerous conditions pedestrians and bicyclists face as they commute to and from the train station. The alliance says it will come up with new recommendations as a result of the walk, which the mayor and some council members attended.
The bicycle and pedestrian alliance is also encouraging residents to participate in the fifth annual Global Volunteer Day, on Thursday, May 22, in which volunteers will work all day to document gaps in the infrastructure throughout West Windsor by taking photos and logging details into and interactive website. The initiative is part of the alliance’s efforts to promote Safe Routes to School in partnership with the McGraw-Hill Company’s Global Volunteer Day. Participants will take inventory that will be used to develop information for online bikeability and walkability maps that the alliance will use to establish priorities for improvements.
Those interested can meet at 9 a.m. in the McGraw-Hill parking lot in East Windsor at 148 Princeton-Hightstown Road, and transportation will be provided to sites in the community. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
