Plan
for West Windsor bike, pedestrian paths outlined
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| By:
Jill Matthews, Staff Writer |
10/29/2004 | |
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Township seeks a safe alternative to
driving.
WEST WINDSOR — Consultants presented
plans for a proposed bicycle and pedestrian path system that
would crisscross from one end of the township to the other
during a Planning Board meeting
Wednesday.
The concept plan presented by
consultants from Orth Rodgers Associates combines a series of
existing and conceptual multi-use trails, bike lanes and
pedestrian paths. The state Department of Transportation hired
ORA for approximately $160,000 to complete the
study.
The goal is to provide a viable,
safe alternative to driving and increase bicycle and walking
opportunities, both for recreational and transportation
purposes, in the township. Specifically, the path system will
work to connect residential neighborhoods, schools, business
offices, transit stops, shopping centers and community
facilities and services.
Site visits
conducted by ORA in the past year determined that roadway
conditions in the township vary widely and that two-thirds of
all roadways in the township are incompatible with bicycle
usage, under the DOT's bicycle roadway guidelines, said Dan
Kueper, a consultant from ORA.
While the
guidelines deem the roads incompatible for bicyclists, that
does not mean bicyclists need to avoid them completely or that
some roads cannot be brought up to standards with minor
changes, he said. Rather, it means that the roads are not as
optimal as they could be for bicyclists, he
added.
At the request of the township
Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force, six target areas were also
analyzed in detail, Mr. Kueper said. The targeted areas
include: Route 571 and Wallace Road/Cranbury Road; Wallace
Road and Alexander Road; Wallace Road and Wallace Circle-Scott
Avenue; Route 571 and Sherbrooke Drive; Alexander Road from
Berrien Avenue to the Gables Senior Housing Complex; and Canal
Pointe Boulevard in the area of Princeton
MarketFair.
Recommended improvements to
the Canal Pointe Boulevard area — to change the roadway from
two lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction with
left-turn lanes, six-foot bike lanes and a landscaped or
striped median — met with mixed reviews. Some at the meeting
expressed concern at reducing the number of travel lanes
because of major office development anticipated in the area,
while others expressed support for the plans as a way to
reduce speed on the road and increase pedestrian
safety.
As a next step, Planning Board
Chair Marvin Gardner said the board would ask the township
traffic engineer to review the report and come up with
recommendations in response to the
plan.
As part of the process, the task
force is requesting that the bicycle and pedestrian path plan
be added to the township's Master Plan. The path plan is
expected to be incorporated into other studies, such as the
Route 571 study and the Princeton Junction transit village
study, so they can all be coordinated
properly.
The township expects to place
copies of the plans in the library and on the township Web
site for public view.
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