While many people may think of West Windsor when they hear news that studies are being conducted to solve transit problems, particularly at the Princeton Junction train station, Plainsboro is also jumping on the bandwagon — but will be looking to find its own solution.
Mayor Peter Cantu announced during the January 5 reorganization meeting that officials were looking to create a transit program for Plainsboro. According to Township Administrator Robert Sheehan, Plainsboro officials have asked the state Department of Transportation for financial assistance to conduct a study that would focus on how the township could improve “intra-township transit.”
“There seems to be several unique needs that have become evident to us,” says Sheehan. “One is connectivity to the regional services, largely the ones that go to New York, and they are the Park-and-Ride out at (exit) 8A, and the Princeton Junction train station. The 600 bus can get you there, but it’s not the most ideal service. It doesn’t get the maximum bang for the buck.”
Sheehan says township officials are eyeballing a “peak-hour service supplement to existing service” as a potential benefit to the township. “We also have a growing senior population that would want to get access around town,” Sheehan says. “With the hospital coming, there would be a very significant points of healthcare services and jobs that people would need to access. There are points of interest, like the Village Center, now, that we would like to connect people with.”
So what type of transit services will this study examine? “Maybe it’s some type of bus shuttle in peak hours to those destinations that have a demand during the time,” Sheehan says. But it could also include “off-peak services that connect citizens and seniors with services that are available in town” not during the hustle and bustle of rush hour.
However, since the study has not yet been conducted, it is hard to say what types of transit would be recommended, and the study “may or may not suggest that that makes sense,” Sheehan said, in reference to a bus shuttle.
