Princeton Area Mayors Want Meeting with NJDOT Commissioner to Discuss Route 1 Jughandle Trial

The mayors from Princeton and several surrounding communities want to meet with New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner James Simpson to discuss problems with the Route 1 jughandle closure trial.

About half a dozen mayors met last week to discuss area traffic issues and problems related to the trial, Princeton Borough Mayor Yina Moore said.The meeting was organized by West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh. The mayors have decided to write a letter to the DOT commissioner requesting a meeting.

“All the mayors are is very concerned about the impacts of the trial,” Moore said. “In most cases the feedback about the trial is negative. The purpose for holding the meeting last week was that Mayor Hsueh felt there needed to be a mid-course assessment, if not a mid-course correction.”

Some mayors would like to ask the DOT to stop the trial. The mayors would also like to discuss the possibility of at least reopening the Harrison Street jughandle. They also want to talk about long-term plans for an east-west connection such as a bypass or overpass.

“The trial has been failing in our estimations,” Moore said. “Our criteria has nothing to do with the NJDOT’s criteria, which is to have a continuous flow of traffic on Route 1. Our criteria for judging success has been weighing the impacts on local streets and neighborhoods.”

The back up on Scudders Mill has not been as bad as was anticipated, Moore said, and hospital employees have not reported problems commuting to the new Plainsboro hospital. “But Alexander Road has become unbearable in either direction,” she said. “The restrictions of the narrow bridge cause further delay. Some vehicles are too big to share the bridge.”

Moore said Princeton merchants are informally collecting data about commuting time and Princeton University is lo collecting data about the trial. “I hope we can regain some sanity for the drivers in our community,” she said.

 

One Comment

  1. Formerly, there were 4 ways into Princeton from Route 1. Only one remains, since Quaker Rd is closed indefinitely for construction. I’m not counting jughandles as far away as Scudders Mill. Already heavy traffic on 4 roads squashed into one road, which is also about to encounter yet more traffic due to the Dinky moving, is a disaster for Princeton. And a bad decision all around. I hope the mayors can move this mountain.

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