If the transit village at the Princeton Junction railroad station ever becomes a reality, then Joshua Waterman may be considered one of the pioneer settlers. Waterman and his wife moved from the heart of Princeton to an apartment on Cranbury Road precisely because of its close proximity to the train station.##M:[more]##
Waterman dashes off by foot every morning to catch a 6:30 train to Manhattan, where he works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His wife, a librarian, also commutes by train to New Brunswick.
But life in the transit village as it now exists is not without its hardships — especially dodging rush hour traffic at intersections that seldom see the shadow of a pedestrian. One that Waterman first complained about in a letter to the mayor more than a year ago (see letters, page 6) is the corner of Princeton-Hightstown and Cranbury-Wallace roads.
While Waterman’s initial letter never received a response, his cause has been taken up by the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, which is meeting Tuesday, October 9, at 5:30 p.m. at the clock tower at the PNC Bank on the southwest corner of the intersection. (Rain date Tuesday, October 16. For more information E-mail the Alliance at wwbikeped@gmail.com or call 609-954-6584.)
“This touches upon re-development, the development of the Rite-Aid site [on the southeast corner], and pedestrian commuting to one of the busiest train stations in the northeast through one of the most pedestrian unfriendly intersctions in our town,” says Ken Carlson of the alliance.
Further complicating matters, the jurisdiction of the intersection is shared by the township, county, and state. Says Carlson: “This intersection will be undergoing some re-configuration during the construction of the new Rite Aid complex on the southeast corner. These improvements may provide an opportunity for officials to come together to pursue implementing additional bicycle and pedestrian improvements.”
Waterman says that some residents of the Sherbrooke neighborhood also walk to the station, and that they face similar challenges when they reach the intersection.
Except for the hassles endured as a pedestrian, Waterman says that life in close proximity to the train station is mostly a cakewalk. He and his wife can go days without starting their car. The sound of the passing trains can be heard in his apartment, but he says he got used to it quickly, and now finds it “soothing” especially compared to “the screeching of car traffic.”
And for those interested in the demographics of transit villages, and whether or not families with children would be attracted, the record should show that the Watermans, early settlers, have no children.
