#b#The Canal Pointe Road Diet#/b#
To begin with, I don’t live anywhere near Canal Pointe Boulevard. I use it only once every two weeks or so, and never at rush hour, so how it’s striped would have very little effect on me. So, as dispassionately as possible, let’s examine the pros and cons for the proposed “road diet.”
First the pros. A left turn lane would be very nice to have and could reduce the likelihood of rear-end accidents for people making such turns. Having 10-foot-wide travel lanes would automatically slow down traffic and might reduce accidents even more. And our biker friends would obviously be very happy.
Now the cons. For many reasons, cars are by far the dominant means of transportation here and will continue to be so. Given average commuting distances plus weather issues, most people wouldn’t bike to work no matter how many bike lanes might be available.
Route 1 needs a safety valve on the north side, and four travel lanes on Canal Pointe Boulevard do provide this. Southbound traffic on Route 1 is frequently backed up at rush hour. Restricting access to the boulevard and inhibiting traffic there would very likely make this situation much worse, causing driver frustration as well as increasing idling times and exhaust emissions.
At the March 21 work session, an earnest and worried Canal Pointe resident observed that making a left turn onto the boulevard out of her neighborhood would be next to impossible with single-lane traffic each way. I agree with her.
Another serious consideration is the effect that the road diet could have on emergency vehicle access to Canal Pointe residences and businesses, including Route 1 itself, especially during rush hour. Both fire chiefs were clearly concerned about this at the work session. The large trucks that they drive are not maneuverable and could easily get completely bogged down in crowded single-lane traffic. It doesn’t take much imagination to see that very dangerous situations could develop quickly.
I enjoy biking the streets of central West Windsor on my trusty old three-speed. It’s good for errands to Windsor Plaza and for exercise on my usual four-mile circuit. But like those summer soldiers and sunshine patriots of long ago, bikes are fair weather, daytime friends at best. I don’t ride under hazardous conditions, which means most of the time in the winter months or when it’s raining or at night. Nor, in my opinion, do very many bikers go out at such times. This means that dedicated bike lanes on Canal Pointe Boulevard would be a waste of space for much of the year.
In summary, road diets do have their place on certain West Windsor roads, and I appreciate bike lanes where these are suitable. But Canal Pointe Boulevard is not a good candidate for this approach. I urge Mayor Hsueh and council to do the right thing and stick with conventional four-lane striping on this critical thoroughfare.
John A. Church
West Windsor
#b#Bike Lanes for Allt#/b#
Thanks to Gerald Halloran III for his letter correctly associating the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance’s efforts on the behalf of our children with safer bicycling and walking in our community (The News, March 18).
What Mr. Halloran misses is that we are not asking for bike lanes on Canal Pointe Boulevard for ourselves. The group’s leadership tends to be experienced cyclists, and ride Canal Pointe Boulevard and other busy roads as they exist, in the center of the right lane, so cars can safely pass by changing lanes.
Rather, we’re asking for bike lanes so cyclists who are not as comfortable in traffic can safely bike to the D&R Canal State Park, so the Princeton Theological Seminary students can safely bike to the main campus, so NRG employees can easily use their company-provided Zagster bikes at lunchtime to go to the restaurants near MarketFair and Whole Foods instead of driving, so Canal Pointe condo residents can walk accross the street to MarketFair, to name a very few of many use cases.
We’d like to invite Mr. Halloran to bring his four-year-old to our Learn to Bike class at the Farmers Market this spring, or next spring, so his child can learn to enjoy all the many benefits of living in West Windsor.
Jerry Foster
President, West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance
#b#A Response to the WWBPAt#/b#
A few points?
1. I respectfully disagree with your assessment(s). You might disclose to readers what your professional role is in all of this.
2. We need roadways dedicated to … roadways. There are countless other venues for cyclists to ride. We have bikeways to nowhere. How have you been championing a connection between the high schools as an extension of the Trolley Line Trail via the PSE&G utility easement?
3. Do taxpayers know what they spent on the construction, continued maintenance and insurance, and 50-year tax abatements to PSE&G … yet the Trolley Line Trail stops on Village Road instead of extending down to Conover Fields and Mercer County Park crew/rowing facilities?
4. Your group has been beyond silent on the Cranbury Road sidewalks and way beyond silent regarding the Washington Road sidewalks and bikeway lane along Washington Road from Princeton University to the Princeton Junction Train Station.
We proposed sidewalks along Cranbury Road in 1984, and the mayor promised action on the sidewalks as one of the many faux promises of his re-election run three years ago.
5. Alexander Road and Harrison Street both/each have flashing road crossing signals that serve both cyclists and pedestrians. Despite a recent pedestrian/auto accident on Washington Road, there remains no signal for safe pedestrian/cyclist crossing. I tire of the endless mantra that nothing can be done because it is a county-owned highway. Retroactive pay increases for County Freeholders were crafted by the re-elected County Executive.
6. What financial contributions and resident input have been forthcoming to the Road Diet from Princeton Theological Seminary. Would these riders not be better served riding along the D&R Canal towpath?
7. NRG Employees would probably walk across the street and not bike on Canal Pointe Boulevard. These same employees will bike to Whole Foods or Wegmans to do grocery shopping during their lunch hours? I don’t embrace that concept.
8. Pedestrian and User-activated crosswalk signals would better benefit pedestrians from Canal Pointe frequenting Marketfair Mall. As Mr. Halloran states, if speed is an issue, West Windsor police can patrol that area.
9. Canal Pointe Boulevard is a surface nightmare — replete with the infamous tree plantings that uplift sidewalks. I don’t see the Bike & Pedestrian people generating support with the township landscape architect for this sustained cost. There are tree species that do not have invasive tree roots but the township is silent on this.
10. Roadways are meant for cars, trucks, and motorized vehicles. The introduction of pedestrians and cyclists into the roadway is not a good fit. Installation of roadway islands are useful at some intersections but not the full length of Canal Point Boulevard. (I had suggested sidewalks to NJDOT many years ago on Route 1 to accommodate the pedestrians walking from Meadow Road apartments to their places of employment in Nassau Park. NJDOT finally did effect that safety improvement!
11. Perhaps you would explore opening Canal Point Boulevard into Nassau Park for local users. I have not heard about revisiting that effort to keep vehicles and pedestrians/cyclists segregated from one another for the purpose of mutual safety.
As always, I invite corrections of any misunderstandings.
Pete Weale
Penns Neck
