walkableprinceton

New Guide Offers Architectural Walking Tours Of Princeton U., Seminary, Institute of Advanced Study.

Posted on December 8, 2015 by walkableprinceton

Princeton University’s Blair Courtyard looking south. Image credit: Robert Spencer Barnett.

One of the great pleasures of living in Princeton, or visiting the town, is the ability to stroll, for free, around the beautiful campus of Princeton University. But if you didn’t study there (and maybe even if you did!), it’s hard to appreciate the purpose and significance of each building, and how they all fit together. A new guidebook explains all this, by offering a series of self-directed walks around the campus. It’s a great resource for a local resident, or anyone who wants to learn more about the historic University campus. Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Placemaking, planning, Princeton | Tagged architecture, planning, Princeton University, Walking | Leave a comment

Latest Mercer County Affordable Housing Estimates: West Windsor Set for 1,000 New Units?

Posted on December 4, 2015 by walkableprinceton

Apartments in West Windsor: lots more required. (click to expand)

Last week, Princeton Council and Planning Board discussed a new municipal housing plan to comply with state affordable housing requirements. By take advantage of a new analysis by Richard Reading for Mercer County Courts, Princeton has been able to make a very modest plan, which only requires a limited build-out of new affordable units. But other towns around the County still face a big challenge to come into compliance. Through an public records request, we obtained the latest estimates for affordable housing that are being used by the court, which are likely to represent minimums for towns around Mercer County. Continue reading →

Posted in Affordability, Local, People, planning | Tagged Affordable housing, coah, planning, Princeton | Leave a comment

Princeton Planners Name Sites For New Affordable Housing

Posted on December 2, 2015 by walkableprinceton

Princeton University’s Merwick-Stanworth apartments include 56 new units of affordable housing. (click to expand)

Sites for new affordable housing in Princeton were listed last week in a joint meeting of Council and the Planning Board. In response to a statewide legal process, Princeton is submitting a new Housing Plan, to ensure that the town is protected from “builder’s remedy” lawsuits, which might allow a developer to overturn local zoning.

Continue reading →

Posted in Affordability, planning, Princeton, Zoning | Tagged Affordable housing, coah, Princeton | Leave a comment

Details of Proposed Witherspoon-Jackson Historic District Presented At Princeton Town Hall Meeting

Posted on November 30, 2015 by walkableprinceton

Map of proposed historic designation area in Princeton (click to expand)

Consultants hired by the town of Princeton presented a proposal for a new historic district at a meeting Monday night at Princeton Town Hall. The consultant’s work was to identify if some area around the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood would fit requirements for a legally-defined historic district. After considering the history of the local area, the consultants concluded that a new district could be justified as a ‘distinct neighborhood in Princeton within the context of racial discrimination against its African American residents’. They also argued that the neighborhood has sufficient integrity and character to warrant designation. Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Princeton, Zoning | Tagged historic preservation, history, Princeton | Leave a comment

New Report Aims To Guide Maintenance Of Princeton’s Open Spaces

Posted on November 24, 2015 by walkableprinceton

Preserved woodland and wetlands in Princeton’s Woodfield Reservation. (click to expand)

Earlier this year, the town of Princeton set up an ‘Open Space Advisory Committee’, to look at how best to maintain our protected woodlands and green areas. On Monday night, committee chair Wendy Mager presented a new report from the 12-member task force to Council. The report contains recommendations for the town about how to improve trails and manage invasive species, but Council members seemed skeptical about implementing all the proposals. Continue reading →

Posted in planning, Princeton, Sustainability, Trails, Walking | Tagged parks, Princeton, recreation, trails | Leave a comment

New ‘Little Free Libraries’ Appear In Littlebrook Neighborhood

Posted on November 20, 2015 by walkableprinceton

“Little Free Library of Snowden Farms” (click to expand).

A new ‘Little Free Library’ has been dedicated on Snowden Lane in Princeton. Little Free Libraries are community book exchanges where local neighbors can share books. No membership is required, and people are free to take or drop off books as they like. They are constructed and maintained by residents who act as ‘stewards’. This particular library is a jaunty green and red, and is labeled as ‘Little Free Library of Snowden Farms’. Continue reading →

Posted in Placemaking | Tagged little free library, Placemaking, Princeton | 1 Comment

Princeton Council Struggles With “Anti-McMansion” Regulations

Posted on November 18, 2015 by walkableprinceton

A current knock-down / rebuild project in Princeton. (click to expand).

A tear-down / rebuild job in Princeton. (click to expand).

“Control the size of houses and where they are built”. That was the target of Princeton Council at their meeting last week. Like many prosperous places, Princeton seems in the grip of teardown fever, as developers replace modest mid-20th-century homes with larger, more modern models. Planning Director Lee Solow suggested four different measures to make this harder, but unintended consequences seem likely… Continue reading →

Posted in planning, Princeton, Real estate, Zoning | Tagged mcmansions, Princeton, Zoning | 1 Comment

Town To Host Public Meeting To Get Input On ‘Bike Masterplan’

Posted on November 12, 2015 by walkableprinceton

Bikes in Princeton (click to expand).

Thursday evening, November 12, the town of Princeton will host a public meeting (details below) to get input on the creation of a new ‘Bicycle Circulation Plan’. Earlier this year, Princeton successfully applied for a program to fund a team of consutants to work with members of the public to figure out how best to enable safe movement of people on bikes around the town. This will be the first of several public meetings between the consultants and local residents. The new plan offers an opportunity to help address traffic problems around Princeton, and to find safe places for people to ride without annoying walkers on local sidewalks. It also features a much greater push for public consultation than is typical for town planning exercises. Continue reading →

Posted in Biking, Community, Complete Streets, planning, Princeton | Tagged bicycle transportation, Complete streets, Cycling, planning, Princeton | Leave a comment

Three Observations From Princeton Local Election Of November 3, 2015

Posted on November 9, 2015 by walkableprinceton

Princeton High School with snow and moon. (click to expand.)

Princeton High School: Voters didn’t respond to supposed capacity issues. (click to expand.)

Princeton voters were among those casting their votes in an election on November 3 last week. By now the results are clear, with most incumbents being returned at County and Council level, and Andrew Zwicker (D) set to score an upset by unseating Donna Simon (R) for the 16th NJ Assembly seat. Here are three stories ‘behind the headlines’: Continue reading →

Posted in Events, People, Princeton | Tagged election, Princeton, Princeton University | Leave a comment

Princeton Named “USA’s Best Small City”. But Is It Really A City?

Posted on November 5, 2015 by walkableprinceton

Tiger Transit bus at intersection of Nassau Street and Witherspoon Street, center of the ‘Best Small City’ in the USA. (click to expand)

Princeton was named ‘Best Small City’ in an online survey this week, following on from another recent analysis that named it ‘Best College Town To Live In’. Although these online polls shouldn’t be taken too seriously, it’s great to have attention focused on the good things that are happening in Princeton. On the other hand, the survey gave Princeton a terrible score for ‘affordability’, placing 1,144th out of all the cities considered. Princeton is increasingly becoming too expensive for average families. The other point that could be controversial is the use of the word ‘city’ to describe Princeton. Some residents hate the idea that Princeton is ‘becoming a small city‘ Is Princeton a city? And does it matter? Continue reading →