The following is an E-mail sent to Mark Rollo and Kimberly Nance of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
FYI –– please listen to us and pay attention to these problems in our neighborhood created by vehicles turning around –– a direct result of the turn restrictions at Route 1 and Washington Road in West Windsor.
In addition to a noisy and scary incident one night –– my husband witnessed a huge tractor-trailer rig as it stopped on Washington Road, backed into Wilder Avenue, then turned left and headed back to the Route 1 circle –– there was a serious accident at this same intersection one morning at 7 a.m. as a result of a large pick-up truck making a U-turn, and a second accident nearby on Washington Road later in the day. Most residents on Fairview Avenue, Wilder Avenue, Fisher Place, and Varsity Avenue as well as Washington Road have had a steady parade of all kinds of vehicles backing into driveways and driving up on lawns while turning around. We had a tank truck back into our driveway. Two tour buses and several moving vans made U-turns on Washington. The worst offenders have been the larger and potentially more dangerous commercial vehicles.
Some drivers are confused (I suspect by now incorrect GPS instructions) and often reckless, ignoring the no U-turn signs on Washington Road. Other drivers (and I see some vehicles daily) just find it easier to turn around in Penns Neck rather take the lengthier more congested routes west into Princeton that NJDOT suggests.
We live near the Princeton Junction railroad station. There are pedestrians and bicyclists who use Washington Road to get there. There will be children on the street waiting for school buses. I am incredulous that NJDOT did not anticipate this scenario in Penns Neck. The neighborhood warned NJDOT representatives at the information presentations. I really do not want to come to the conclusion that you did expect this outcome but just don’t care that Penns Neck is being forced to bear a very dangerous burden.
Please do not dismiss our concerns and ignore us with a bureaucratic stonewall. Please do not insult us by having Ms. Nance tell us again that it is really not a problem because nobody else has complained or that it is merely a police enforcement issue and no longer the responsibility of NJDOT.
Susan Parris
207 Washington Road
