##M:[more]##There has been some debate about traffic implications stemming from the planned transit village at Princeton Junction.
I agree it is a substantial concern, as Hillier reported that more than 22 percent of the people living here are rail commuters.
I was pleased to hear a traffic expert address this important issue during the first workshop. He talked about how the train station now is bustling, with 7,”300 people using the station each workday.
Four thousand people are now on a five-year waiting list for a parking permit. For those without one — about 3,”000 people — it means four trips are generated per day, per person, as someone has to drop them off and pick them up.
No wonder there is so much traffic!
By creating a transit village, we will take a huge step toward correcting the problem. Private developers would construct parking decks on the site, supplying the parking we need, and the people living and working in the transit village would reach the station on foot.
Transit villages are designed to encourage people to walk or ride bicycles, and typically reduce vehicular trips by 10 percent or more and parking demand by up to 20 percent, according to the traffic report.
Also, by constructing this transit village, developers will modify and expand roadways without the need for taxpayer dollars.
For West Windsor, this appears to be the ideal arrangement to relieve our traffic issues at the train station. If we do not pursue this transit village opportunity, we are at the mercy of current zoning, which as any commuter can testify, is failing us.
Michael Manning
West Windsor
