New Witherspoon St. Plan Advances Despite Princeton Biz Pushback

PRINCETON, NJ — The town council decided to move forward with the new plan for Witherspoon Street during Monday’s meeting. This came despite the local business community expressing concern over some aspects of the design.

Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton presented the new concept plan for Witherspoon Street at Monday's council meeting. According to the latest concept, Witherspoon Street has been designed as a one-way, one-lane road — a 12-foot travel lane with curb bump-outs at Nassau street.

A hybrid flexible loading lane has been included in the design. "It's a 10-foot lane can be used for loading, it can be used for parking, it can be used for pedestrian space,” said Stockton.

At the last meeting, the council suggested maximizing the pedestrian area. So the township engineers have “accessorized that loading service lane with pedestrian uses.”

Between the two-lane yard crosswalk and Spring Street crosswalk the new design sets up outdoor dining and a bike corral. Moving south down the road, the design has included a parklet and another bike corral.

“All of these features are totally portable, seasonal and if additional loading area is needed in addition to this space, all of these things can be modified,” said Stockton. Additional parking can also be “accommodated in the service” areas, she said.

Sidewalks now measure from 14 to 16 feet. The alignment of the green infrastructure will remain even if the service lane becomes a travel lane. “It’s very pedestrian-friendly. We’ve given some accommodating if a second lane of roadway is needed," said Stockton.

The new design also proposed a bus shelter on Paul Robeson Street near the cemetery.

“It was an interesting challenge to design a one-way street that can change to a two-way design in the future,” said Michael LaPlace, planning director. “I believe personally that this will be very popular when it's put into place as a one-way street. We’ve designed it in such a way that there is flexibility.”

Read More Here: Princeton Witherspoon St. Plan Recommends Outdoor Dining Change

However, many from the business community expressed concern over the one-way design of the street citing reduced traffic flow. In a letter to the council, a group of business owners in Princeton said the current one-way street setup is “creating hardship for businesses and shoppers alike.”

The group put forward four points that "support the continuation of outdoor dining” in the township. The group agreed that Witherspoon street requires beautification and a full redesign to make the best use of space in the downtown area.

“We all love outdoor dining and encouraged the new design to incorporate space for merchants to include outdoor seating next to the stores should they choose to,” the group said.

The business owners said they require loading and parking areas on the street. “In terms of loading zones, our stores require them for businesses to operate. And we can surely utilize time limits on loading or dynamic loading parking spots throughout the day to enhance the experience for all.”

The group called on the council and engineers to ensure a wide enough road for two-way traffic. “The one way set up is creating hardship for businesses and shoppers alike,” they said. “Why artificially limit traffic flow and make things harder on businesses and shoppers by constraining this main thoroughfare to one-way traffic.”

In response to the pandemic last year, several parking spots in Princeton were converted into outdoor dining spots. This became really popular with residents and visitors. An earlier plan proposed reducing outdoor dining spots and restoring parking spaces. But Princeton residents opposed this plan.

The following reworked design proposal included ample dining space. The council wanted a new plan with the ability to close the street off and create a pedestrian area.

Read More Here: Princeton May Allow More Dining Space On Witherspoon Street

Many Princeton residents gave the new design plan a thumbs up. “The opportunity that is presented to create a really valuable public space with nice, wide sidewalk areas that will attract customers into Witherspoon Street is being underrated,” said resident Sam Bunting. He said the potential loss of extra parking spaces that local businesses talked about was being “overstated.”

Several members of the public said they liked the new design but preferred an all “pedestrian space.”

Council members said they “appreciate the feedback,” and decided to move forward with the design.

"At the end of the day, there are some issues here that are diametrically opposed. You have some folks advocating extremely to make it a two-way. Some folks want it completely closed off. You are not going to please everyone,” said Councilman Dwaine Williamson.

“We should move forward boldly with the ‘compromise’ plan that the staff worked so hard on.”

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