Regarding the Trolley Line Trail article May 28 (“The Trolley Trail’s Secret Beauty: Forging the Path Less Taken”, by Bart Jackson), the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) strongly supports the creation of convenient bicycle and pedestrian connections between West Windsor and Plainsboro, as well as other surrounding towns.
Extending the Trolley Line Trail in both directions would enable connections to Plainsboro directly, as well as to Hamilton via the Mercer County Park trail system, and to Robbinsville via the Capital to Coast Trail, which connects to the park trails near Mercer County Community College.
The WWBPA has received several letters in the past year from residents of West Windsor and Plainsboro pointing out the current difficulty of bicycling between the townships, and asking about the possibility of such a connection. Both the school campus in Plainsboro and the Princeton Junction train station were mentioned as desired destinations.
The West Windsor Township master plan specifically recommends such a connection, which is also noted in a trail network draft map by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. The Plainsboro Township master plan also shows a planned trail along the Millstone River between Grovers Mill Road and Cranbury Road, without specifically showing connections to the adjacent schools.
Challenges remain, however, due to the specific concerns of various property owners about the effects of a trail on or adjacent to their land. These concerns are legitimate, and the WWBPA is confident that working with all stakeholders, including PSE&G and both townships’ officials, will yield win-win solutions to mitigate the potential risks and provide benefits to everyone, albeit at potential additional cost.
Trail design best practices have been developed to address many challenging design issues, and studies show that property values increase with the addition of nearby trails, according to the National Trails Training Partnership (americantrails.org). Funding through the federal programs Safe Routes to School or Safe Routes to Transit should, in our view, be considered.
Jerry Foster
President, West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, www.wwbpa.org
