Minutes from the Sept. 13, 2003 West Windsor Bicycle/Pedestrian Meeting

Meeting Attendees: Roger Alig, Peter Bilton, Ken Carlson, Sue Conlon, Chris Duckworth, Dan Gerstenhaber, Arnold Kelly, Ken Leon, Marcus Loecher, Daryl McMillan, Sandy Shapiro,

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

Misc.

· New meeting attendees- The meeting began with introductions as there were three new people in attendance interested in bike/ped issues. We also reviewed the proposed bike and sidewalk projects to help bring our guests up to speed. Brief background on our guests:

· Chris Duckworth recently moved into town from the Philadelphia area and lives in Princeton Seminary housing. He’s interested in being able to walk safely to Market Fair. He found our group by doing a Google search on West Windsor and pedestrians.

· Dan Gerstenhaber is a longstanding WW resident and has been very involved in the WW Recreation Committee in past years. Dan attended Hamilton Twp’s Bike Event last year and was very impressed. He was wondering if West Windsor could get a similar event going. Dan found out about us through our old colleague DJ Varner.

· Ken Leon is a longstanding WW resident and is a member of the Princeton Freewheelers. Ken L. found out about the Task Force while talking to Ken C. on a Freewheeler’s bike event. Can the group handle another member named Ken?

· Bike Tour- The mayor has expressed interest in staging our Second WW Bike Tour. It was felt that it might be a little late in the year to hold a bike tour this fall and may be better done next year, either in the spring or in early summer. Dan Gerstenhaber told the group about Hamilton’s Summerfest Bike event, which is having its tenth anniversary event this week. This event is run by the township and has a good deal of corporate sponsorship. Registration is $20 which helps defray some of the cost of the event. We should form a committee to do some initial planning for a similar event in West Windsor. We will need considerable help from the township on this.

Recreational Trails

· Recreational Trail Grant- Ken C. informed the group that we were awarded the grant for the Millstone River Trail, a ½ mile trail that runs along the Millstone River on the newly acquired Yeger property bordering Millstone Road. This grant is funded through the DEP and was funded for the maximum amount of $32,500, which includes a 20% matching fund to be provided by the township (which can be provided by in-kind labor). The grant was written by Ken C. with editing help from various members of the Task Force, and was submitted by Friends of West Windsor Open Space through the Recreational Trails Committee. Ken is forming a committee to implement the project composed of members from FOWWOS, the D&R Greenway, township officials, and the Task Force. If you are interested in being part of the committee, please let Ken know soon. The Township was also awarded a Recreational Trail Grant for West Windsor’s section of the Capitol to Coast Trail, a trail that will ultimately link Manasquan to Trenton. This grant was written by WW Director of Community Development Sam Surtees.

Sidewalks

· Sidewalk Inventory- Roger updated the group on the Sidewalk Inventory project. We are trying to improve upon our first iteration of this map of existing sidewalk conditions. Roger literally divided the map up into sections and members in attendance took sections to walk and review. The code for the map is as follows: Green demarks the presence of sidewalks on both sides of the road, Blue demarks sidewalks on one side, yellow indicates no sidewalks, and red denotes off-road paths.

· Millstone Road Sidewalk Project- Ken C. gave a quick update on the Millstone Road sidewalk project. In speaking to Andy Pratt, a neighbor who lives on Millstone Road, Andy indicated that all the neighbors he has spoken to (the majority of those on the street) are in favor of the sidewalk project. Andy plans to circulate a petition in the next month to gather signatures for those in favor of the project. He indicated that there may be enough consensus to get sidewalks on both sides of the road. In a private conversation with Bruce Ellsworth, Bruce indicated that he intends set up a walking tour of the potential project with the twp. engineer, Jim Parvese, to get an estimate and understand the scope of the project.

· Sidewalks on Cranbury Road- Sandy brought up the idea of sidewalks on Cranbury road, between Millstone and Washington Rd. A few of us were dismissive of the idea due to the proximity of the houses to the road and the high embankments, but since this is such a key walking route to the train station perhaps we should formally look into the project. You are right Sandy to have us re-think this!

Bikelanes

· Route 1 Bike/Ped Bridge- Ken C. reviewed the advocacy efforts for the bike/ped bridge over Route 1. This bridge has been proposed as part of the road improvements that will accompany the Penns Neck Bypass. Ken brought copies of articles and letters to the editor written in favor of the bridge that have appeared recently. Among those were articles in the Packet (http://www.princetonol.com/groups/bikeped/) and in the current FOWWOS newsletter (http://www.fowwos.org/newsletters/Vol%204,%20No%202,%20p%201.pdf). The online petition has over 455 signatures (see our web site to sign up). The next step is to wait for the final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to be released and for the Bike/Ped Bridge Feasibility Study that the DOT will administer. Ken C. gave a heads up to the group that West Windsor will receive a lump sum of funding for sidewalk and bicycle improvements as part of the EIS process and that we should be prepared to make recommendations for the use of these funds.

· NJDOT State Aid Grant- Don could not make the meeting tonight but he forwarded a copy of the NJDOT State Aid to Counties and Municipalities that he wrote for bikelanes on Southfield and Edinburg Roads. Don and Ken C. are trying to find the date for the next round of submission (the township submitted a grant to the same agency for the Scott Avenue sidewalks -see below- and decided to wait on submitting the Southfield Road grant). We should take this time to make the grant application as strong as possible (Ken C. will forward the application from Don). Please read through it and feel free to make suggestions - we should stress the Plainsboro to Mercer Co Park connection. One idea is to elicit supporting letters from Plainsboro government officials, the principals of Grover and Village Schools, and Mercer County Park officials.

· Sidewalks on Scott Road- Sue updated the group on the $50,000 NJ DOT State Aid to Counties and Municipalities grant that was applied for to construct sidewalks on Scott Road.

Bike/Ped Consultant

· Sue Blickstein of Orth-Rogers & Associates (a bike/ped consulting firm that is currently working with the township) has submitted her revised scope of work for the Planning Assistance Grant. The revised scope addressed the edits we suggested - that is, a stronger emphasis on pedestrian mobility and safety. According to Sam Surtees, Orth-Rodgers has started data collection and staff has been in the field measuring roadways and recording existing conditions. They have also started mapping and analyzing accidents involving bicyclists and pedestrians. Township staff is gathering additional info for the study as requested by Ms. Blikstein. Once they are a little farther along the steering committee will meet. The Steering Committee is comprised of Ken C. and Ken N. as well as Sam Surtees, Jim Parvese, the Mayor, and two additional volunteers from the township yet to be named (not affiliated with the Task Force). The committee has not yet met. Sue Conlon requested that Ken C. ask the Mayor if she can be included in the Steering Committee. It was suggested that we inform Ms. Blikstein of the bike locker situation at the Train station in which all the lockers are currently subscribed but few people appear to be using them.

Action Items

· Need several volunteers to work on the Millstone River Trail committee

· Set up a walking tour of Millstone Road with Jim Parvese - Bruce

· Scope out the possibility of sidewalks on Cranbury Road - Sandy? Other volunteers?

· Update the revised sidewalk inventory map sections at the next meeting - All

· Start the process of creating a Bikelanes inventory map - need volunteers

· Read over and make suggestions to make the Southfield/Edinburg Road Bikelanes grant as strong as possible - All

· Find out the due date for the next Local Aid grant - Ken and Don

· Circulate the Scott Ave Grant application - Sue

· Alert the Task Force when Data Ram goes up for re-zoning of its property on Route 571 in front of the Planning Board (we need to lobby for inclusion of sidewalks and bike path) - Alison

Next Bike/Ped Meeting

· October 9, 7:30 PM.