July 7, 1999
Mr. John Coscia
Executive Director
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
The Bourse Building, 8th Floor
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Mr. Coscia:
On behalf of the Board of Directors of MSM Regional Council, I am writing to express our support for the so-called "Millstone By-pass". As you know, the By-pass is a single grade separation project to remove three lights on Route 1 at Washington Road, Harrison Street, and Fisher Place in West Windsor, Mercer County, New Jersey.
At its July meeting, the Commission will be asked by NJDOT to approve a budget for the design and the acquisition of the right-of-way for the project as part of FY 2000-2002 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). I understand that the approval of this budget will not preclude any changes to the project that may result from the Environmental Assessment that has not yet been completed.
We believe that the Millstone By-pass is of critical importance to the region, since Route 1 is its economic engine. The By-pass is essential to removing three lights which bottleneck Route 1 and create hazardous driving conditions. To ensure that progress continues to be made to complete the By-pass, we ask the Commission to approve NJDOT's request and include the project in the TIP.
I understand that some opposition to NJDOT's request has been expressed. Opponents are questioning the appropriateness of the design and alignment of the By-pass as well as the process being used to ensure the protection of environmental quality to the D&R Canal and the Millstone River.
The remainder of this letter summarizes for the Commission the many important concerns that have already been discussed over the years since the improvement was first proposed as part of NJDOT's 1986 Route 1 Corridor Study. It is our opinion that these new concerns have already been effectively balanced and addressed in the NJDOT's preferred alignment, first agreed by all of the major parties in 1989, and that no good public purpose will be served to re-open the discussion about the alignment and delay an already protracted planning process. I hope that this history will assure the Commission that the proposal to continue work on the design and right-of-way acquisition is appropriate and necessary for the timely implementation of a project vitally important to our region.
NJDOT's 1986 Route 1 Corridor Study: MSM was an active player in NJDOT's Route 1 Corridor Study. That Study was the first and most comprehensive of a series undertaken by NJDOT in the 1980's. During the four year Study, an enormous amount of data on land use and traffic was collected, a major model was developed, and the public was actively involved, with over 200 people serving on three committees and participating in a series of conferences. In 1986, the final report was published in which a number of recommendations were agreed as to how best to improve Route 1 from I-295 in Lawrence to Route 130 in North Brunswick. The intersection at Washington Road was identified in this Study as the second most dangerous intersection in the Corridor, after the Route 130 intersection. It was ranked as a high priority to remove the lights and separate the traffic in order to make Route 1 operate safely and effectively as both a major mobility route as well as the focus of economic development in the region.
The Millstone By-pass: The project was named the Millstone By-pass during the deliberations which ended in a consensus among the major parties in 1989 as to how the improvement should be configured. West Windsor argued strongly to move Washington Road away from the neighborhood of Penns Neck, which it currently bisects. Sarnoff Corporation agreed to allow the relocation of Washington Road around the back of their buildings, following the Millstone River in order to protect the neighborhood. NJDEP was involved in this discussion and, after assurances were made that water quality would be protected and that the road would not increase flooding, they agreed that NJDOT could pursue this alignment. As part of the deliberations with NJDEP, a compromise was reached over the crossing of Little Bear Brook, which moved the alignment closer to the neighborhood. Overall, however, it was this alignment that balanced the impacts to the neighborhood with impacts to the streams.
The project was also configured to satisfy some other important concerns. Although the entire By-pass is in West Windsor, it is also of significant importance to Princeton Borough and Princeton Township. They want traffic to be evenly distributed among Alexander Road, Washington Road and Harrison Street. This goal was satisfied by ensuring that traffic on the by-pass could still choose between Washington and Harrison to enter Princeton. Princeton University, which owns the land on which this connection would be built, agreed to this, as long as the connection would be built to skirt the land on which a campus would be built in the future. The University agreed to relocate and rebuild the Eden Institute facility, to ensure that this alignment would protect their future campus. Hence, the alignment follows the D&R Canal, with the University agreeing to build no buildings between the road and the Canal.
The Canal Commission was consulted back during the 1989 discussion, and, like the DEP regarding the Millstone River and Little Bear Brook, they indicated they could agree to the proposal if NJDOT could assure them that the result would be a minimal impact to the water quality in the Canal and the quality of the experience in the Park.
The Washington Road Elms: This brings us to 1996. Although seven years had gone by since the consensus was reached, NJDOT was only now ready to move toward the design of the project. At this time, it reached the press that NJDOT was going to cul-de-sac Washington Road on the west side of Route 1, and remove a large number of prized elm trees in order to construct the intersection where the new Millstone By-pass connector met Washington Road.
This announcement caused an outcry from many, including MSM. This had not been discussed as part of the original consensus, in which Washington Road would remain open for right turns, and in which a minimal number of trees would be removed. The issue also caused the mobilization of a small but vocal group of people to oppose the By-pass itself.
Although all parties have now agreed to keep Washington Road open for right turns, and to reduce the number of elm trees that will be affected, the opposition group, called STOP, has expanded its efforts to oppose the current design. They feel that the 1989 consensus, in which so many important interests had been carefully balanced, should be re-opened. MSM disagrees, and supports the original consensus.
Congestion Management System (CMS) Study: During 1998, staff of DVRPC and NJDOT, with the help of consultants from Frederick R. Harris, Inc., undertook a CMS study, even though it was questionable whether such a study would be required under the FHWA rules. But DVRPC and NJDOT wanted to ensure that everything had been done to address the concerns raised by the public about this improvement. After more data collection and more modeling and more public hearings, the final report was published in January of 1999. The recommendations included, among other things, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, promotion of ridesharing and travel demand reduction (TDM) strategies, some transit and paratransit service improvements, and some traffic control system improvements. The Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association (TMA) was given the responsibility for undertaking some of these measures.
Of most significance to the public concerns, was the commitment made in the report that NJDOT would construct a pedestrian crossing of Route 1, probably at the old alignment of Washington Road. In addition, DVRPC and NJDOT would conduct a Central Jersey Transportation Forum to address the coordination of land use and transportation issues among the various towns in the region. This Forum will be holding its third meeting at the end of this month.
State Plan: Since 1992, New Jerseyans have had a State Development and Redevelopment Plan, which serves as a touchstone for government agencies and private decision-makers to guide development and infrastructure investment decisions. In 1995, the Princetons' application for Regional Center designation was approved by the State Planning Commission. According to the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, it is important for a Regional Center to be connected to a major transportation corridor (Route 1 and the Northeast Corridor Line) because it is the "locus of high intensity, mixed-use development, with a density of more than 5,000 people per square mile and an emphasis on employment". The Millstone By-pass, as currently configured with both Washington and Harrison Streets as entrances to the Center, serves this purpose. The boundary of the Center is the Canal, which is also the Township boundary. Except for the Canal itself, which is Planning Area 5 (Environmentally Sensitive), the West Windsor side of the Canal is Planning Area 2 (Suburban Development). The Millstone By-pass is an appropriate infrastructure improvement for this Area.
Other Alignment Proposals: There have been some alternatives to the NJDOT currently preferred alignment circulated. They were proposed in part because opponents did not know of the many different proposals that were originally studied and because they were uninformed about the balance among the various parties' interests that is an integral part of the preferred alignment.
The major proposals are to run the connection between Harrison and Washington close to Route 1. This proposal ignores the fact that because of the overpass, the connector road only reaches grade quite far into the University's property, and would have to double back to hug Route 1. The University is adamantly opposed to this and would also make Harrison Street the preferable entrance to Princeton. This would undermine the Princetons'desire to encourage traffic to enter Princeton on Washington Road. None of these new ideas balance the interests of the various parties as well as the current alignment.
The Planning Process: It is MSM's position that the process leading to the current NJDOT preferred alignment, although protracted, has adequately addressed the many concerns that have been raised.
The proposal protects the neighborhood of Penn's Neck, evenly distributes traffic to the Princeton's and to West Windsor, and addresses the concerns of the landowners whose property will be used to construct the project. In addition, if it is designed properly along the proposed alignment, the Millstone River, the D&R Canal and its Park, and the allee of elm trees can be adequately protected.
For these reasons, MSM supports the Millstone By-pass as currently designed and opposes any new proposals which would impede its progress.
Yours sincerely,
Dianne R. Brake
President