When the state DOT announced plans to close the jughandle turns Route 1 at Washington Road and Harrison Street, the belief was that rush hour traffic would improve without cars backing up in turn lanes. But several elected officials, including Plainsboro Mayor Peter Cantu, believe that DOT may have not considered safety as a priority in mapping out the experiment.
“One of my concerns is, if you solve the traffic problem on Route 1 are you creating another problem for West Windsor? My opinion is yes,” said West Windsor Councilman George Borek, who attended the DOT meeting on January 24 in West Windsor and commented on his concerns at the Council meeting January 30.
After meeting with police department, fire department and emergency services officials who brought up major concerns about the impact on response times and abilities of emergency vehicles, Borek was convinced that the DOT’s planned experiment had flaws. He brought up the dangers of a delayed response in case of a fire, and he specified Lower Harrison Street as a potential problem.
Mayor Cantu also attended the January 24 meeting. Like Borek, Cantu has told the DOT officials about his concerns. “We want to understand how the DOT would deal with our concerns over safety and emergency services during rush hour periods and the access they would have,” he said.
Cantu says the DOT’s call to action is not related to the opening of the new hospital, University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, slated for May 22. But he views the trial as important.
Cantu says months ago the DOT unveiled the proposal to implement the changes on Washington and Harrison. From his conversations with all of the area mayors, there was a consensus that this experiment needed to involve “a clear understanding of the criteria for judging success or failure, as well as to understand how the DOT could deal with problems that could arise with the changes during the experimental period of eight weeks.”
Mayor Cantu reiterated his priority at the Plainsboro Township Committee meeting on January 25. He said a number of municipalities were concerned that the timing of the project should allow for a thorough analysis of the benefits the changes it brings about. He does not necessarily feel that the March-to-May window the DOT has in mind can accomplish that. While Cantu does not foresee a major problem ahead due to changes on Route 1, Plainsboro’s concern is focused on the already bad buildup of traffic on Scudders Mill Road.
Cantu was involved throughout the DOT’s planning process. “A number of mayors in the region had been meeting with the department of transportation over the period of one year. When this began it was with us expressing concerns over the congestion on Route 1 and promoting the larger improvements that are planned, particularly in West Windsor, which would affect all the communities within the region,” Cantu said.
“Coming out of that was the admission that it appears we were likely to see a major improvement project with improvements to Harrison Street and Washington Road area take place in the future, depending on the funding situation. But it was proposed that they were going to look at some other interim things and solutions to ease the congestion on Route 1,” he explained.
