After a year-long study, two open meetings, and much discussion in the recent municipal election, the state released its long-awaited final vision for a transit village at the Princeton Junction train station with little fanfare.##M:[more]##
The study, conducted by New Jersey Transit (NJT), was released on June 24, but the only evidence of the fact was an item on the West Windsor Township web site (www.westwindsornj.org) stating, “The final version of the West Windsor Township Village Study is now available for purchase in CD from from the Office of Community Development. The cost for the CD is $7.”
The study, which proposes a concept for the redevelopment of the area on the west side of the train station, calls for the development of a mixed use development comprised of commercial, retail, and residential uses.
The plan proposes three distinct elements — a new 445-unit residential neighborhood bordering on Washington Road, a 174,”000-square-foot office district off of Alexander Road, and a mixed-use village core on the west side of the train station. The village core is proposed to be comprised of 355 residential units, 120,”000 square feet of retail, and 90,”000 square feet of office space.
The plan would also increase the amount of commuter parking at the site by 360 space — about 10 percent over the existing 3,”635.
NJT, in cooperation with the township, started the vision study about a year ago to help determine the feasibility of a transit village on the west side of the train station and to draft a concept plan, or “vision,” of what might be done with the site. The majority of the project would be built on land owned by the township and NJT, including the Vaughn Drive parking lots, and the township compost station on Alexander Road.
NJT and the township hosted two open meetings to solicit input from township residents and were to consider those issues in creating the final study. West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said he was told by state officials that the level of public input during the study process was unprecedented in the history of transit village planning in New Jersey.
Hsueh says he believes that transit village is “doable,” but there are many puzzle pieces to be assembled before the project gets the green light.
Issues to be considered include the results of a bus rapid transit feasibility study being conducted by the state; a study by township professionals as to whether the downtown Junction qualifies as a redevelopment district; the reconstruction of Vaughn Drive into the train station; and the reconstruction of Route 571 through the Junction downtown.
“We have to start looking at how this plan ties into the other studies,” says the mayor. “All of these will have to be integrated together, and I expect the planning board to take charge of looking into these integration issues.” The mayor adds that he expects that the board will begin taking a hard look at the vision study results in the fall.
Ultimately the township will have the final say as to whether the plan gets built or not. The development would require master plan and zoning changes that would all be subject to public hearings.
The Housing
The element of the plan that may be the hardest to sell to township residents is the residential component. Residents in West Windsor have made it clear that they are vehemently opposed to the construction of new housing that would add more children to the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District.
It would have to be made clear that the housing would not have a significant impact on the school district, or that the revenue generated by commercial ratables from the transit village would far outweigh the costs associated with additional school children.
The housing in the Washington Road residential neighborhood is described in the study as being “low in scale, and oriented to the street” in an effort to conform with the township’s residential neighborhoods “rather than create a more urban enclave.”
The proposed housing mix is three-story, multi-family buildings on the new Vaughn Drive, and townhouses oriented to the side streets. Parking would be located below, or in the interior of the block.
“These types of housing are especially suited for young professionals, active seniors, and empty nesters,” says the study. “The edge of the new Washington Road residential neighborhood would preserve and build upon the existing character of Washington Road in the established neighborhoods to the west, where a stately canopy of mature trees lines the road.”
According to Gerry Hutner, WW-P district spokesperson, studies by the district in association with the Estates at Princeton Junction development have shown that high density housing — such as is being proposed for the transit village — generates a significantly lower number of children than single-family home developments.
According to a study completed in 2002, a single-family home in West Windsor generates 1.5 children, an apartment generates .4 children, a townhome generates .3 children, and a condominium generates .3 children.
Hsueh maintains that a residential component is an integral part of the plan.
“Housing has to be included otherwise it wouldn’t be a transit village. We need to have more communication with the public so they can understand what this really means. The reason people have a negative response (to the housing) is because of a lack of understanding between school children and housing design,” says Hsueh.
“These numbers talked about in the study are subject to a lot of discussion,” the mayor adds. “There is a lot of additional information that we need to dig out for a planning board review.”
The Park
At the westernmost edge of the site and bordering the residential neighborhood, the study envisions a new recreational facility, called Long Meadow Park. The centerpiece of the new park would be an existing pond, currently enveloped in brush. According to the study, the park would be “a place for reflection, toy boats, etc. with passive recreational programming along its edges.”
A pedestrian promenade would act as the spine of the new neighborhood, running through the center of the residential development and connecting to Long Meadow Park. “This mall will serve as a pedestrian link to the train station for the new residential neighborhood and the Penns Neck neighborhood,” says the study.
Vaughn Drive
The development also hinges on the construction by the state Department of Transportation of the Vaughn Drive connector. The road would replace the current Vaughn Drive entrance to the train station and run through the property connecting Alexander Road to Washington Road.
The road was conceived as part of the Penns Neck Environmental Impact Study completed last year to draw peak-hour traffic off of the township’s internal roads. With the study having eliminated the Penns Neck Bypass from the planning rolls, the connector is the only part of the plan that would provide traffic relief to the township.
Some residents have said they fear that by developing a transit village on and around the connector road, its effectiveness will be diminished.
“The vision for Vaughn Drive is that it will be a landscaped boulevard that balances the street’s necessary through-traffic function with its potential as a commercial and residential addressing street,” states the vision study.
The plan calls for the construction of new traffic signals, a dedicated bicycle lane, a landscaped median, double rows of trees to tie disparate conditions together, buildings set back from street, and connected sidewalks and pedestrian crosswalks.
The Village Core
The village core, located between the Vaughn Drive Connector and the railroad tracks, is seen as being a mix of different uses with walkable, “high-quality” public spaces and streets lined with active ground level uses.
Says the vision study: “It should be a place where transit and the public environment mix, and where the environment supports transit use, communicating the perception of transit as a preferred mode of transportation.”
Typical building heights will be three-to four stories, with a potential for “signature buildings” along Vaughn Drive or adjacent to the station. The village core would be focused on a new main street leading to the station. The area immediately around the station would feature a new series of public spaces accommodating car, bus, and train transfers and a plaza for bus rapid transit (BRT).
Since the village core would be located in the current Vaughn Drive lots, parking would be accommodated by the construction of four parking garages in the village core. The garages would provide parking for 2,”870 cars.
According to the study, street-oriented buildings should be built to screen garages along important frontages; the ground level of the garages should be designed so that they can be converted in the future into active ground level uses; and design guidelines should be established to “maintain quality architectural facade treatment.”
Within the village core, the plan proposes the construction of a main street that would act as a “place of symbolic arrival” to the township with retail shopping along its edges. “The new main street is envisioned as a busy place, full of activity and people,” says the study.
The vision study also proposes a town green and plaza for a bus rapid transit system in the village core. “The BRT plaza should be designed as a multi-use space — a place people come to commute by bus Monday through Friday and relax, read, stroll, or shop on the weekends and evenings.
The town green, which would be comparable in scale to Palmer Square in Princeton, “should be large enough to hold evening concerts in the summer, as well as rallies, and other civic events,” says the study.
The Offices
The Alexander Park office district would be located at the southwestern end of the site along Alexander Road as an extension to the existing commercial offices in the area. The buildings would be a maximum of three stories in height, with surface parking in the interior of the new development sites.
The district would be served by the construction of a new road running from Alexander Road (near the current entrance to Old Bear Brook Road) and connecting to the Vaughn Drive Connector (area 4 on the above map).
“The district will provide significant new ratables, including reclamation of the existing township compost facility,” states the vision study.
Route 571
The vision study proposes a new plan for Route 571 to improve access from the east side of the train tracks.
Proposals include locating buildings closer to the street; creating a landscaped side median with a sidewalk and double tree canopy; a new landscaped connection to the Washington Road Bridge, and improved pedestrian access up to the bridge itself; and a new pedestrian route to Station Drive.
The Staging
The study breaks development of the plan into three phases, presenting two possible scenarios for the first phase of construction.
The first phase one scenario calls for initial development to precede construction of the Vaughn Drive Connector. Proposed for construction are the BRT plaza/town square, the first segment of the Main Street retail — about 30,”000 square feet, and one parking garage that would increase overall parking at the site by about 400 spaces.
Under the second scenario, construction would commence after the construction of the Vaughn Drive Connector. Under this scheme the sidewalk, streetscapes, and bike paths associated with the new road would be installed. Also to be built would be the BRT plaza/town square, about 30,”000 square feet of the retail on Main Street, the new parking garage, and 90,”000 square feet of commercial offices.
“The first key test of the plan will be the first phase,” says the study. “The first phase is important in establishing the credibility of the development, and its level of quality. This in turn, will assist in creating value for, and encourage, future development, and decrease risk factors for future investment.”
The second phase requires completion of the Vaughn Drive Connector and focuses on the village core.
All 120,”000 square feet of retail space and 90,”000 square feet of commercial space would be completed, as well as 220 units of residential housing. The three remaining parking garages would also be constructed.
The final phase calls for completion of residential elements of the project — a total of 350 units in the village core, and 450 in the Washington Road neighborhood.
