Princeton Today: Increased Sewer Fees, Overnight Parking, Construction Projects

noovernightparkingThe Princeton Council will vote tonight on a controversial ordinance that would ban overnight parking in the consolidated Princeton on streets already covered in the old Princeton Borough,  plus several additional streets. Elected officials have voiced support for the ordinance, arguing it make the town more pedestrian friendly and that not allowing parking overnight makes the town more affordable. Officials claim houses without cars sell for less, and therefore are purchased by people with lower incomes who don’t have cars. The vote in an ordinance introduction.

The council will also hold a public hearing and vote on increasing sewer fees for residents and businesses. Sewer fees are based on actual water usage from the previous year. Fees will increase from $6.25 for the first 2,000 cubic feet of water used to $6.35; an increase from $8.50 to $8.75 for between 2,000 and 5,000 cubic feet of water; and from $10.50 to $10.75 for more than 5,000 cubic feet of water used.

A public hearing and final vote on an ordinance regulating parking along Edgehill Street and a portion of the north side of Mercer Street in the vicinity of Edgehill Street is slated to be voted on. The council will also vote on reducing the speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph on Edgehill Street.

The Princeton Council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the main meeting room at the municipal complex at 400 Witherspoon Street.

TRAFFIC AND TRANSIT

Poe Road will be closed between Princeton-Kingston Road (Rt. 27) and Random Road during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to approximately 5:30 p.m. this week for a road project.

Hamilton Avenue will be open this week. Minor sidewalk work is planned. Road closures are not anticipated. Milling and paving work is now tentatively scheduled for the week of June 15th.

Monday, June 8th through Friday, June 12th, weather permitting, Top Line Construction Corp., will continue with installation of concrete sidewalk and driveway aprons on the southbound side of Mount Lucas Road between Jefferson Road and Ewing Street and minor clean-up work on both sides. When concrete sidewalk and the concrete driveway apron are installed in front of a house, access to the driveway will be prohibited for the next 72 hours. Park on the side of the street, away from where the work is occurring, or work with a neighbor across the street to share their driveway. The town will notify you when access is restored to your driveway.

Stuart Road East and Ewing Street will be open to traffic this week.

CRJ Construction will begin service replacements within the public right-of-way between Jefferson Road and Ewing Street on Wednesday, June 10th through Friday, June 12th, weather permitting. Mount Lucas Road will be closed between Jefferson Road and Ewing Street during the hours of 7 am to approximately 6 pm, weekdays only. Mount Lucas Road will reopen at the end of each work day. New Jersey American Water staff are supposed to knock on your door prior to any temporary interruptions (approximately 1 hour) to your water supply in the switchover process.

Georgetown/Franklin Turnpike (CR 518) will be closed weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Canal Rd to Carroll Place until at least the fall due to a change in the scope of the project, which now calls for major earthwork construction.

Ongoing paving project from Route 27 to Route 1 will cause road closures throughout the day in South Brunswick. Plan alternate route of travel to avoid delays

Ongoing traffic intersection improvements including traffic signal upgrades and sidewalk at Route 522/Kingston Lane in South Brunswick. Brief lane closing may occur during the projects.

Ongoing traffic intersection improvements including traffic signal upgrades and sidewalks at Deans Lane and Georges Road in South Brunswick. Brief lane closing may occur during the projects.

EVENTS TODAY

Poets at the Library – Featured poets Liz Chang and Susan Gerardi Bello read from their work followed by an open-mic session. Chang was selected as the 2012 Montgomery County, Pa., poet laureate. Gerardi Bello is a member of the New York City-based poetry community Brevitas, and U.S. 1 Poets’ Cooperative. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals including the Paterson Literary Review and U.S. 1 Worksheets, and on New York Public Radio. She hosts the monthly Bucks County Bards poetry series at the Newtown Library. Her poem, “The Game.” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Co-sponsored by the library, Delaware Valley Poets and the U.S. 1 Poets’ Cooperative. 7:30 p.m. in the Princeton Public Library Community Room.

WEATHER

High of 82 degrees with isolated thunderstorms.

 IN THE NEWS

John Beck, Princeton’s First Head of Endowment Firm, Dies at 83

Recommendation Letter for John Nash When He Applied to Princeton

 

 

6 Comments

  1. The overnight parking ban is nothing more than assault by the more affluent on the less affluent in Princeton. “Officials claim houses without cars sell for less, and therefore are purchased by people with lower incomes who don’t have cars.” I would argue that with price tags in the $300,000 – $500,000 range, even houses without driveways are probably selling to buyers who can still afford a car and would expect to be able to have that option. Moreover, by banning free overnight parking for home-owners, the town council would be decreeing that people with lower incomes who own a car must be prepared to pay EXTRA to rent an off-street parking spot. This is not lower-income friendly policy. It is the opposite.

      1. You can’t judge people’s political views based on affluency. I would argue many in the less costly properties are very liberal as in a number of cases they are choosing a lifestyle with a smaller environmental footprint. But in our car-centric culture, even environmentally minded folks usually still need a car to get around.

  2. The overnight ban is absolutely disgusting. It’s a sign that Princeton doesn’t care about the town being affordable for people to live in.

  3. This shows how elitist and out of touch council members are. The gang of limousine liberals up there is clueless with their million dollar homes and big driveways. People without driveways pay taxes to pave and maintain the public streets in town and should have the right to use them.

  4. From the town meeting last night, it appears that the entire parking proposal is only about how to harmonize the parking rules for the streets that straddle the old borough/township border, so that both sides of the street, and different parts of the same street, have the same rules. This makes a lot of sense.

    The language used to describe this proposal has been very confusing. In the Town Topics article from May, one of the town officials speaks about banning overnight parking everywhere in town. This would be very detrimental to many people’s lives. Last night, several council people said that people with permits would still be able to keep their permits. I am glad to hear this. I ask that the mayor and council members make sure to remember people with permits when they make public statements about banning all overnight parking.

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