Minutes from the August 12^th, 2004 West Windsor Bicycle/Pedestrian Task Force Meeting

Meeting Attendees: Roger Alig, Peter Bilton, Ken Carlson, Susan Conlon, Bruce Ellsworth, Shing-Fu Hsueh, Arnold Kelly, Alison Miller, Ken Naglak, Ham Pakradooni, Art Pope, Sandy Shapiro, Don Smart

Web site: http://www.princetonol.com/groups/bikeped/

General Business

· Volunteers needed to staff a Task Force information table at the Sept. 11^th Farmer’s Market- Susan, Ken C, and Arnold volunteered

· Previous Action Item: Status of Orth-Rodgers report- In an e-mail to Ken C, Daniel Kueper of Orth-Rodgers stated that they anticipate completing the technical report in mid to late August, followed by a Steering Committee meeting, preparation of the Master Plan amendment, and ultimately a presentation to the Planning Board in October.

· Previous Action Item: Discussion with County re bikelanes on Edinburg Road- Chris Marion informed Ken C that he will set up a meeting to discuss this with County officials. The Mayor also said he will follow up on this.

· Previous Action Item: Timetable for sidewalk improvements at Acme- Chris Marion informed Ken C that he will look into the timetable for the construction of the short sidewalk from Alexander Road. The timetable for the moving of the newspaper boxes should also be established.

· BikeFest- Dan mentioned that the first meeting of the 2005 BikeFest Committee will be in September.

Grants

· Two grant applications for sidewalk and bikelanes projects were submitted by the township last month. One application, a State Aid to Counties and Municipalities grant, was written by Don with technical help from Jim Parvesse for the construction of bikelanes along Southfield Road The second application, a Safe Routes to School Grant Application, was written by Meg and Susan with technical help from Jim Parvesse for two missing sidewalk links- one sidewalk on the west side of Clarksville Road near Landing Lane and the other on a missing sidewalk link in addition to curb cuts and crosswalk improvements at the intersection of South Mill and Old Village Roads in Dutch Neck.

· The township was notified that the TEA-21 Grant application for a TowPath trail on the West Windsor side of the D&R Canal (written by Bruce Ellsworth with technical help from Jim Parvesse) was not funded this year. Bruce intends to re-submit the application next year for re-consideration.

Update with the Mayor

· Agreement on PSE&G ROW- The Mayor updated the Task Force on the status of the negotiations with PSE&G for the use of the power line ROW for a bikepath. There are a final few items to deal with in the agreement but it looks very promising. The township will show PSE&G the designs for the bridge over Bear Brook and for the bikepath. The township should be ready to start using the $300,000 in grant money and start construction next spring. Due to the existence of the overhead power lines, the bridge will have to be constructed off site and transported to the brook. Ken C. suggested that the bike trail be called the “Trolley Line Bikepath”.

· Route 571 improvements- The Mayor updated the group on the development plans for Route 571 between Clarksville Road and Wallace Road. The township is in favor of two travel lanes with a center turning lane on Route 571. The township has presented a request to township council for $59,000 to pay for an outside consultant (Gary Davies of Urbatran) to develop a conceptual design. This design will use elements of the Orth-Rodgers report and other recommendations and the Mayor said that it can be safely assumed that bikelanes and sidewalks will be part of the design. The proposed design will go through the Planning Board Design Process and will be open for public review. It was discussed that whatever is decided, there will need to be close coordination between the township, the county, and the state. As Brian Hughes said in a letter to the Mayor copied to Council, Mercer County has placed $500,000 into the 2004 budget for Rt. 571 improvements..

· List of Priorities- The Mayor actioned the Task Force to come up with a priority list of projects by mid-September. He encouraged the Task Force to not be concerned about cost at this point.

Bikelanes

· Bike/Ped Bridge over Route 1- There was a brief discussion on the strategy that the Task Force should pursue for the proposed Bike/Ped bridge over Route 1. The bridge will be the subject of a feasibility study the DOT as part of the Penns Neck EIS process. The Mayor suggested that the Task Force focus on getting the bridge funded first and worry about the connections to the train station and the Canal later. Ken C. advocated for working on the trail connections first to help ensure the feasibility study comes out favorable. Peter suggested that we contact Princeton University and get a letter of support for the concept of a bikepath on Princeton University land connecting the Canal to the proposed bridge. Peter also suggested that we contact Sheri Davis of the DOT to get an idea of the timeframe for the feasibility study. Ken C. suggested that we continue to work on making a continuous bike path parallel to the Dinky tracks behind the businesses on Alexander Road. For instance, there are no current plans for a path behind the University Square property.

Brainstorming for New Projects in 2005

· Overview- The Task Force has been actioned to come up with a priority list of projects for 2005. We began the process at this meeting by going around the table and asking members to suggest projects for the coming year. Over the next month, Task Force members should continue to propose new projects by e-mail. At the next meeting, members who proposed projects should come to the meeting ready to advocate for the project and to possibly provide ideas for funding sources.

Project	Advocates	Potential Funding Source
Bikelanes
Bike/Ped Bridge over Route 1	Ken C, Don	Penns Neck FEIS
Washington Road Bikelanes- Penns Neck	Susan
Lanwyn Boulevard Bikelanes	Ken C	WW Capital Budget
Edinburg Road Bikelanes	ADVOCATE NEEDED	State Aid Grant or County
Bikelanes around Lake Mercer	Art Pope	County?
Rabbit Hill Road Bikelanes	ADVOCATE NEEDED	State Aid Grant
Canal Point Boulevard Bikelanes	ADVOCATE NEEDED	Carnegie Center
Alexander Road - Vaughn Drive to Canal	Susan, others?
Sidewalks
Washington Road bridge over NE Corridor Tracks	Arnold, Alison, Peter
Washington Road- Wallingford Road to Route 1	ADVOCATE NEEDED
Alexander Road - Vaughn Drive to Canal	Susan, others?
Cranbury Road - Sunnydale to Route 571	Sandy
Route 571- Missing link- Lanwyn to Slayback	Alison	WW Capital Budget
Route 571- Missing link- Lanwyn to Southfield Road	ADVOCATE NEEDED
Maintenance of existing sidewalks	Roger
Recreational Trails
Duck Pond Run Trail	Bruce
D&R Canal Tow path Trail	Bruce	Re-submit TEA-21 grant
Ward Road Trail	Alison
Cranbury Road to Landing Lane Path	Roger
Sunrise Park trail	Alison
Other Projects
Bike racks at Schools and at Municipal Center	Don
Curb cuts in sidewalks at WW-P HS South	Dan
Share the Road signs	ADVOCATE NEEDED
Replacement of Clarksville Road Bridge	Dan

Action Items:

· Inform Jim Parvesse that the Task Force is preparing a priority list of projects- Ken C

· Call Sheri Davis and find out the timeframe for the feasibility study for the Route 1 Bike/Ped bridge- Peter or Ken C.

· Continue to brainstorm for projects for 2005. E-mail ideas for projects to the Task Force- All

· Come to the Sept. 9^th meeting prepared to advocate for proposed projects and to prioritize-All

Upcoming Meetings/Events

• Sept. 11^th (9AM-1PM)- Task Force members to staff Bike/Ped info table at Farmer’s Market
• Sept. 23^rd (7 PM, Room A, WW Municipal Building)- NJ Transit Village Study Public Meeting

Next Meeting

· September 9^th - 7:30 PM

· Prioritizing projects for the next year