Rendering of proposed Triumph Brewpub on Palmer Square, seen from what is currently the back of the old Post Office (click to expand)
On July 13, the Princeton Planning Board will consider a plan to convert the old Princeton Post Office on Palmer Square into a new Triumph Brewpub. The site plan shows a rendering of the new bar. The entrance would be at the back / loading dock area of the old Post Office, with a glass porch welcoming guests. Continue reading
‘Cargot Brasserie’, at the old Princeton Rail Station (click to expand).
A new upscale restaurant opened today at the former Princeton ‘Dinky’ rail station. ‘Cargot Brasserie’ now occupies one of the buildings that made up the historic station, joining ‘The Dinky Bar and Grill’, which opened in the former passenger waiting room last year. The restaurant offers another alternative to diners looking places to go around Princeton’s walkable downtown. Across the street from McCarter Theater, ‘Cargot Brasserie’ is just a few minutes walk from Palmer Square, and right next to the Princeton University campus.
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Plan of road expansion project on Route 1 around Washington Road – Harrison Road. Image by US-1 Newspaper / Diccon Hyatt.
If you’re able to get a copy of ‘US-1 newspaper’ from your local newsstand (the June 21 edition), go to page 27. Diccon Hyatt has what looks like an important story about a plan from New Jersey Department of Transportation to widen Route 1 in West Windsor, around the intersections with Washington Road / Harrison Street (near the SRI/Sarnoff site). Several intersections and jughandles would also be expanded under the plan. Continue reading
Pay-by-space parking meters by Princeton Rail Station (click to expand).
The town of Princeton is holding a public meeting tonight (June 14) to discuss parking. The meeting is the latest in a series of discussions led by consultants hired by the town to evaluate issues relating to parking. These issues include (1) Perceived shortage of downtown parking, (2) Employee parking encroaching on residential neighborhoods, (3) the difficulty of balancing parking vs other street uses, for example bike lanes, and (4) the high cost of parking for employees of local businesses. With such a wide range of problems to solve, the consultants have their work cut out. But there are some simple approaches that could really help reduce the current parking chaos in Princeton…
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Time to build: Princeton urgently needs to allow for construction of a huge amount of housing (click to expand)
The town of Princeton announced at the end of April that it will settle a court case about how much affordable housing the town will add through 2025. Six weeks on, the terms of the settlement are still shrouded in secrecy. Nobody at the town is talking, but it seems very likely that the town will have to add somewhere in the region of 700 new affordable homes. The town will build most of these as ‘inclusionary’ units in larger, market-rate developments, which means that several thousand homes will probably have to be built. But the settlement, when it comes, will not just say how many homes Princeton must allow. It will also specify the *sites* for new affordable homes, and set a timetable for zoning changes to allow the homes to be built. Members of the public are not getting the chance to comment on where the housing should go, but here are some ideas… Continue reading
‘Discovering Princeton’ (2017) – by Wiebke Martens and Jennifer Jang (click to expand)
Weekend visitors to Princeton (and even long-time residents!) will want to grab a copy of a new guide, ‘Discovering Princeton’, which has just been published. The book, by local authors Wiebke Martens and Jennifer Jang, presents a wealth of beautiful photos and history, capturing many of the best places in town, and putting home in context. Best of all, the book is arranged with five self-guided ‘walking tours’, designed to allow the reader to explore the sites on foot! Continue reading
The town of Princeton today announced that a settlement has been agreed in our ongoing court case regarding affordable housing. Although few details are available at this stage, a settlement is likely to pave the ways for Princeton to plan for provision of housing aimed at people on limited incomes. According to statements from the Mayor and Council previously, addition of new affordable housing is likely to also require construction of hundreds or thousands of new market-rate housing units, so this is potentially a momentous day for the future of Princeton planning.
We will post more news as it becomes available!
Detail from draft Princeton bike plan, showing ‘existing bike network’ in green and ‘proposed bikeways’ in purple. (click to expand)
On Thursday, March 16, the Princeton Planning Board will hold a work session to discuss a ‘bike master plan’. The plan has been under development for several years, and is intended to create a safe network of routes to allow people on bikes to safely get around the town. If the Planning Board likes the approved plan, it will be added to the Circulation Element of the community Master Plan, which guides planning on transportation. Several key details are missing from the plan, however, which makes it hard to understand in its current form. Continue reading
Richard T Smith, President of the New Jersey chapter of the NAACP. (click to expand, image msnbc.com via NJ NAACP)
The President of the New Jersey State Conference of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) has criticized the Governing Body of the town of Princeton for their current legal action on affordable housing allocations. In a statement provided to ‘Walkable Princeton’, NJ NAACP President Richard T Smith says the town is “walking away from its historic commitment to fair housing”, and urges Princeton leaders to “sit down and negotiate in good faith with advocates to reach a solution”. Continue reading
Judge Mary Jacobson overrules another objection from Edward Buzak, attorney representing Princeton and other Mercer County towns, as attorneys from Fair Share Housing Center cross-examine municipal witness Peter Angelides. (click to expand)
One way to mark African American History Month, which began yesterday, is to attend the Fair Housing trial that is currently taking place at Mercer Superior Court in Trenton. The trial features attorneys representing five suburban Mercer County Towns (including Princeton) versus the Fair Share Housing Center, a group that advocates for adherence to New Jersey’s Constitutionally-mandated affordable housing program. The two parties disagree over how much housing should be built, so Assigment Judge Mary Jacobson has scheduled months of hearings to try to evaluate each sides’ case. Princeton elected officials Continue reading
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