This Sunday, local non-profit ‘Walk Bike Princeton‘ is organizing a tour of the new protected bike lanes that were installed on North Harrison Street at the end of 2024. The new bike lanes are a temporary configuration installed by the town, which reduced the section of North Harrison Street between Clearview Ave and Terhune Road from two traffic lanes in each direction to just one lane. That created space for new bike lanes, which are separated from motorized traffic by plastic delineators. The new layout also includes green ‘bike boxes’, which are intended as a safe place for cyclists to wait at traffic signals
The new arrangement at North Harrison Street is the first time that protected bike lanes have been installed anywhere in Princeton. They have received praise from some users, but there has also been some complaining about them on local social media.
The current layout is intended to be an interim arrangement. In the long term, the town hopes to install a more permanent road design, to support all users. The permanent design may include a new sidewalk on the west side of North Harrison Street, across from the Princeton Shopping Center. It could even include new roundabouts at key intersections, such as at Valley Road (Report: North Harrison Street Improvements Set To Begin Between Nassau St and Franklin Ave, With Bicycle Improvements To Follow).
To help capture the local community’s thoughts about what is and isn’t working with the current road layout, ‘Walk Bike Princeton’ is organizing the tour on Sunday, June 7. Participants will meet outside the “Chopt” restaurant in the Princeton Shopping Center (map) at 1.45 PM on Sunday, June 7. At that point, two groups will set off, either on foot or by bicycle The walkers will walk for about 1.5 miles to explore the new traffic layout. The cyclists will ride for about 3.5 miles, including multiple passes through the new protected bike lanes, and also some of the surrounding neighborhood, where other improvements may occur in the coming years.
After the walk / bike tours, which will last for about 45 mins – 1 hour, the groups will reconvene in the courtyard of the Princeton Shopping Center to discuss what they observed. The event is intended to be suitable for all ages.
Related links:
walkableprinceton 