walkableprinceton

Report: New Jersey Road Maintenance Costs Are The Highest In The Nation

Posted on March 20, 2014 by walkableprinceton

Drakes Corner Road in Princeton: New Jersey roads are the most costly in the nation to maintain. (click to expand.)

Princeton is facing a bill of around $1 million for emergency road repairs after snow plows cut up roads this winter, leaving drivers facing a course of potholes. Meanwhile, a resurfacing project getting underway on Route 206 in Princeton is going to cost another $1.1 million. That means that $2.2 million of taxpayer money will be spent on two road maintenance projects alone. If that seems like a lot, remember this: New Jersey roads are the most expensive in the nation to maintain. Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Transportation, Princeton, Sustainability, Traffic | Tagged New Jersey, NJDOT, Princeton, Roads and Highways, taxes | 6 Comments

Somerville, NJ Now Has A Thriving Downtown Pedestrian Street. Could It Work In Princeton too?

Posted on March 17, 2014 by walkableprinceton

Pedestrians explore Division Street in Somerville free from motorized vehicles. (Click to expand.)

Pedestrians explore Division Street in Somerville, free from motorized vehicles. The ‘Guinness Tent’ used for St Patrick’s Day is in the background. (Click to expand.)

Somerville, NJ just celebrated their 23rd Annual St Patrick’s Day Parade with a street festival that included a party at a ‘Guinness Tent’ on Division Street. What makes Division Street such a perfect venue for a community gathering like this?? It’s a pedestrian-only street, a rarity in New Jersey. And its success shows that it is possible to give an entire street over to people in a New Jersey town, bringing vibrant street life and strengthening local businesses.

Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown Vibrancy, Local, Placemaking, The Parking Question, Walking | Tagged New Jersey, Pedestrian, pedestrian streets, Princeton, somerville | 5 Comments

Giant Rats Occupy Square In Front Of Princeton Town Hall To Protest Apartment Plan

Posted on March 11, 2014 by walkableprinceton

Union men inspect their giant rat outside the 400 Witherspoon municipal building in Princeton on Monday night, March 10, 2014. (click to expand.)

Union men inspect their giant rat outside Princeton Town Hall on Monday night, March 10, 2014. (click to expand.)

Two giant rats have joined the protests against the redevelopment of Princeton’s old hospital as apartments. The 15ft-tall inflatable rodents were unveiled by demonstrators from a labor union. “Don’t ask me, I just blow up the rat,” was the response from one of the protestors when asked what it was all about. Another union man pointed out that they were objecting to the use of non-union labor for stripping the old hospital of asbestos. The rats came out to coincide with a Princeton Council meeting, which was expected to decide the exact terms by which the demolition and redevelopment could occur. Continue reading →

Posted in Placemaking, Princeton, Smart Growth | Tagged AvalonBay, Princeton, surrealism | 1 Comment

Could a ‘Village’ of ‘Tiny Houses’ Open The Door To Greater Affordability in Princeton?

Posted on March 10, 2014 by walkableprinceton

A ‘tiny house’, as advertised at Neighborland. (Click to expand.)

During the recent Princeton Environmental Film Festival, a documentary shed light on the ‘Tiny House’ movement, an ongoing trend for people to live in houses that are much smaller than usual. These homes, which are typically in the rage of 35o sq ft to 800 sq ft, are often constructed by the occupants themselves. The demand is so great that materials for the little houses can now be ordered as a kit, such as this model from ‘Tumbleweed Homes’. The cost of construction can be as little as $30,000, assuming you’re good with a hammer and nail. Continue reading →

Posted in Affordability, architecture, how-to-add-density, Real estate, Sustainability | Tagged Princeton, tiny house | 1 Comment

Princeton U. Should Ask Some Serious Questions About Their Disappearing Professors

Posted on March 4, 2014 by walkableprinceton

Suburban amenities of Princeton's Western Section are not enough to hold Nobel laureate Alan Krugman. (Click to expand,)

The suburban amenities and open space of Princeton’s Western Section are not enough to hold Nobel laureate Paul Krugman. (Click to expand,)

Professor Paul Krugman, recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Economics, and Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, has announced he is leaving Princeton. Writing in his New York Times column, Krugman announced he is moving to New York where he will take up a position at City University. Krugman joins a host of senior Princeton U. faculty who have recently quit the University, and his stated reasons ought to give the University cause for concern. Continue reading →

Posted in Placemaking, Princeton, Smart Growth | Tagged krugman, liberal, New York Times, Placemaking, Princeton University, Redevelopment | 1 Comment

Walkable Princeton Celebrates 1st Birthday, Looks To Future

Posted on March 2, 2014 by walkableprinceton

Nothing says a party like a badly-put-together graphic! (click to expand.)

Happy Birthday to us! (click to expand.)

Happy Birthday to us! Walkable Princeton has passed its first birthday. January 22, 2014 was the date when Walkable Princeton founder David Keddie published his original letter announcing “an advocacy group dedicated to calling for zoning reform that will allow more members of our community to enjoy a walkable lifestyle.” One year on, Walkable Princeton is still going, and it’s Continue reading →

Posted in Affordability, Alternative Transportation, Complete Streets, Density, Downtown Vibrancy, Placemaking, Princeton, Smart Growth, Sustainability, Traffic, Transit, Walking, Zoning | Tagged planning, Princeton, sustainability, Walkability | Leave a comment

Push Button And Pretend To Be A Car To Cross Route 27 In Kingston, NJ

Posted on February 28, 2014 by walkableprinceton

Push button for green light…wait, what green light? (click to expand)

Kingston, NJ, a few miles outside of Princeton, is a pretty small town with an active main street lined by local businesses. Unfortunately, that main street is Route 27, which is a big barrier to pedestrians. The intersection of Route 27 and Heathcote Road / Laurel Ave is particularly dangerous, because Heathcote Road funnels commuter traffic from Route 1 onto Route 27. At rush hour, much of this traffic is headed for Princeton. To cross the intersection, there is a crosswalk, which has a push-button for pedestrians with a sign saying ‘PUSH BUTTON WAIT FOR GREEN LIGHT’ (see photo above). The only question is: where is the green light? Continue reading →

Posted in Complete Streets, Local, Walking | Tagged kingston, New Jersey, NJDOT, Princeton, south brunswick | 1 Comment

Hamburg, Germany To Ban Cars By 2034

Posted on February 27, 2014 by walkableprinceton

Hamburg, the second-biggest city in Germany, is set to go completely car-free by 2030. (Click to expand.)

Now how about this for a goal for sustainability? Hamburg, the second-biggest city in Germany (population: 1.8 million) is planning to ban all cars from the city by 2034.
Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Transportation, The Parking Question, Traffic | Tagged germany, planning, Walkability | Leave a comment

Can We Make More Space For People On Princeton’s Witherspoon Street?

Posted on February 26, 2014 by walkableprinceton

Outdoor dining at Terra Momo Bread Co...can we maybe get a bit more of this in downtown Princeton? (Click to expand.)

Outdoor dining at Terra Momo Bread Co…can we get more of this in downtown Princeton? (Click to expand).

Kevin Wilkes, Chair of the Alexander Street Task Force updated Princeton residents last Saturday about plans to revamp circulation and transit around the Dinky station and in downtown Princeton. Speaking at a meeting of Princeton Future at the public library, Wilkes presented possible concepts that his committee are considering. One exciting possibility relates to street use along Witherspoon between Nassau Street and Hulfish Street in downtown Princeton. The Alexander Street Task Force have been studying a traffic model, with which it is possible to Continue reading →

Posted in Complete Streets, Downtown Vibrancy, Placemaking, Princeton, The Parking Question | Tagged planning, Princeton, Princeton University, Witherspoon Street | 1 Comment

New 7-11 At Princeton’s West Coast Video: Good, Bad Or Ugly?

Posted on February 25, 2014 by walkableprinceton

The West Coast Video Site at 259 Nassau Street. (Click to expand).

Remember the ‘good old days’, when if you wanted to watch a movie at home, you had to go round to a store and rent out a book-sized ‘videotape’? It was pretty expensive and you had to pay extra if you were one day late bringing it back? Crazy, right…why didn’t we just watch it on Netflix? Well, that’s what we do now, and that’s why the West Coast Video store at 259 Nassau Street has been shuttered for years. But new life is coming to the site in the form of…a 7-11 convenience store! Are you excited? The online consensus (as seen at Princeton’s primary online news forum, ‘Planet Princeton’) is that Continue reading →