To the Editor:
It is clear that NJDOT intends to close the Harrison and Washington Road jughandles permanently. It’s advisory on the NJDOT website states: “If the trial is deemed a success, the turns will NOT be restored. “ (emphasis added).
What are the measurements of success? Are they that backups at the jughandles will no longer occur? It seems self-evident that this will be true since they will be closed.
What measurements are being taken of traffic congestion coming into Princeton via alternative routes? Where have counters been installed? Do we have adequate historical data in place for comparison?
How will the economic impacts be measured from loss of sales by our merchants? Have our merchants been asked to keep records that can be given to NJDOT? What about the extra time and gasoine required for using alternative routes? How is that being measured?
Has NJDOT run this through a computer model? Why haven’t they presented the results to the public? Where do our Legislators stand on this?
No one is denying that Rt. 1 traffic should be better managed. We are still waiting for an overpass at Harrison Street, which we are being told must be financed by Federal funds that are not yet forthcoming.
In the meantime, the addition of a turning lane into each of the jughandles would improve traffic backups at the jughandles. This could be accomplished more easily at Harrison Street than Washington Road, but this improvement at Harrison would help and could easily be implemented.
Kip Cherry
Princeton Township
Joe Budelis
8:49 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Kip Cherry makes a lot of good points. The addition of a turning lane for traffic turning left onto Harrison from Rt 1 North is a great solution that I believe everyone would agree is better than the temporary one being put into place except for the cost. However, I wonder what the cost is of all the work NJ DOT is putting into this no left turn project including the manpower to study and analyze it. These dollars being spent would probably be a good start on the Harrison turning lane.
Katherine
9:13 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
What's the most effective way to make your opinions on the jug handle issue heard by the DOT?
Greta Cuyler
10:41 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Katherine, the DOT has said it will conduct public meetings towards the end of the trial to help determine the project's success and we will keep readers apprised of when those meetings will be, once they are scheduled.
WWResident
5:02 pm on Thursday, August 2, 2012
Looks like Mercer County and DOT aren't talking to each other. Starting August 20, Quaker Road will be closed between Province Line Road and Mercer Road for 4-6 months for the replacement of the Quaker Road Bridge over Stony Brook. Anybody having to commute from West Windsor into Princeton, or similar commutes, is going to be extremely inconvenienced by this double-whammy.