Witherspoon Street design meeting set for May 18
The municipality of Princeton will host an online neighborhood meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 18 to discuss the design of Witherspoon Street from Paul Robeson Place to Valley Road.
“In 2020, we began a community discussion about Witherspoon Street, focusing on the downtown area between Nassau Street and Paul Robeson. This May 2021 design meeting is intended to continue the community discussion about Witherspoon Street from Paul Robeson to Valley Road,” reads the announcement about the meeting from municipal engineer Deanna Stockton. “We are seeking your ideas and feedback for pedestrian, bicyclist, transit and motor vehicle improvements; street lighting; tree and other vegetation additions; public art; seating and other street furniture; and any other features that will enhance the vibrancy of the corridor.”.
Princeton engineering and planning staff members and the town’s consultant, T&M Associates, will give a presentation at 6:10 p.m. to review the goals of this master planning process, discuss the agenda, and provide more details on the project schedule. The agenda will include discussion about: existing conditions, proposed improvements from Nassau Street to Paul Robeson Place, bike facilities, pedestrian facilities, transit facilities, parking and traffic movements, stormwater and sanitary sewer infrastructure, tree removals and replacements, street lighting, signage, public art, and other features, including benches, bike racks, bike corrals, newspaper receptacles, and trash receptacles.
Utility company improvements will also be discussed. Stockton said utility companies and property owners should make necessary upgrades to water, electric, telecommunications, and natural gas systems now to avoid a five-year moratorium that will be enacted after the completion of roadway paving.
More information will be posted to the project website at https://www.princetonnj.gov/246/Witherspoon-Street-Improvement-Project. If you are unable to attend the meeting, submit comments to the Princeton Engineering Department at engineering@princetonnj.gov.
Staff members for the municipality are also trying to schedule an in-person neighborhood meeting in May or June to solicit additional feedback from residents about the Witherspoon Street corridor.
To access the May 18 meeting, follow this bit.ly link https://bit.ly/Witherspoonstreet and enter the password 708940.
Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.
When I moved to Princeton in 2002, I told people that by 2020 Witherspoon from Paul Robeson Place to Valley Road would be transformed into a grand boulevard. The Financial Crisis intervened, but we are still more than halfway to this dubious “vision.” Make no mistake: these “improvements” are no more or less than the completion of the gentrification of yet another part of our once-somewhat-diverse town, in some sense the completion of what happened when Palmer Square was built.