Kiosk removal, Witherspoon Street intersection design, racism, federal funding, Princeton Shopping Center parking, FreeB replacement, general assistance transfer to county, and more on council agenda
The Princeton Council will review plans for the redesign of the intersection of Witherspoon Street at the governing body’s public Zoom meeting at 7 p.m. Monday night. Those plans include the removal of the kiosk near the intersection of Nassau Street and Witherspoon Street.
Several years ago, officials proposed that the two kiosks on Nassau Street near Witherspoon Street and Vandeventer Avenue be replaced with electronic billboards. The proposal upset some residents, who argued that the kiosks were a resource for the whole community where anyone could post information about an event. Because of the public outcry at the time, the council scrapped the idea of removing the kiosks, even though some officials considered them to be eyesores.
Officials at the New Jersey Department of Transportation now want to remove the kiosk near Witherspoon Street to make way for new traffic signal equipment that requires a larger signal controller box and more space. The new box can’t be placed inside the kiosk because of access and ventilation concerns. The Princeton Historic Preservation Commission has weighed in and doesn’t object to the removal of the kiosk. The council will discuss whether the kiosk is obsolete or could be moved elsewhere.
The meeting agenda is packed with other items for discussion. The council will hear a presentation from the local board of health about racism as a public health crisis. Officials will also discuss what to do with federal funding for the municipality from the American Rescue Plan. Also on the agenda is a public hearing and final vote on an ordinance that changes zoning regulations for parking at the Princeton Shopping Center, an ordinance prohibiting cannabis businesses in Princeton, and an ordinance that would enable the municipality to borrow $630,000 for parking utility improvements.
Officials are also slated to vote on transferring the management of Princeton’s General Assistance Program for individuals, formerly known as welfare, to the Mercer County Board of Social Services. About a decade ago, elected officials proposed the transfer of the program to the county as a cost-saving measure, but local human services advocates lobbied at the time to keep the management of the program in-house so that those being served by the program would not have to go to Trenton to apply for benefits and meet with caseworkers.
A contract for interim transit services with WeDriveU for $44,000 is on the agenda. The service would replace the FreeB shuttle, at least for now. Officials will also accept a grant from the state to purchase police body cameras. The council is slated to award a bid of $218,000 to Messercola Excavating for a storm sewer improvement project, and to hire a consultant for $27,500 for floodproofing design services for the Pretty Brook and Winfield pumping stations. The council will also vote on shared services agreements with the library and school district for technology support and network services.
Also on the agenda is a contract for $38,000 to complete a wall at the municipal fueling station on Mount Lucas Road. The council will also approve special budget funding from the New Jersey Department of Health for a vulnerable populations outreach coordinator ($140,475), operations ($34,000), COVID-19 vaccination supplemental funding ($50,000), and a COVID-19 generalist ($116,667).
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.
NJDOT should place their signal control equipment in a underground accessible vault at such a highly visible Town intersection(s)
I agree ,if you are going to spend this kind of money be smart about it. Do under ground.
The kiosk is obsolete if and when there are no notices on it during the University year. It has that well-used, proven purpose, no less a precious freedom of speech derivative. The Princeton Historic Preservation Commission and the Council should be placed inside the kiosk with no access and without ventilation concerns. They have done vented. Then, and only then, shall there be no objection to the removal, with said content. Such obtuse meandering reminds one of the first steps in the 60’s, a famed magazine kiosk removal, which led to the demise of Harvard Square’s profound Cambridge ambience. Go work on the invisible bike lanes, set the streets free!
Why does the council consistently want to get rid of the kiosks and the freedom of expression that they represent? The suggestion that they are ugly keeps coming up. Do people not realize that represent American democracy at its best? It’s hard not to think that our leaders want to suppress the unorganized, disorganized voices of the community. If the kiosk has to move, let’s move it the library plaza. And let’s have the traffic designers design an attractive signal box. Could the box be placed next to a building so it doesn’t obstruct the intersection and the crosswalks? Thanks!
Perfect solution to one of Princeton’s problems that cover another problem. I’m sure I’m out of step. But there’s something so reassuring about ugly pieces of paper containing handwritten notes pasted to the old kiosk as opposed to some apparatchik sitting in a cubicle deciding which public announcement for sacrosanct Princeton should be accorded the municipal
nihil obstat. Malmost all of the Amazon rainforest has been opened up for legal destruction ( not on the kiosk).