New Princeton Hospital Site Plan Set To Be Unveiled Tonight At Community Park School

Posted on May 22, 2013 by walkableprinceton

Barry Rabner, President of Princeton Healthcare System, the operator of University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro (UMCPP, formerly known as ‘Princeton Hospital’), was quoted this week in the Princeton Packet (potential paywall) on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the hospital’s move from Princeton to Plainsboro.  Mr Rabner spoke about the emotion and excitement among hospital staff regarding the move, which ended a 90-year history of medical care in central Princeton: Continue reading →

Posted in Density, Princeton, Zoning | 4 Comments

Meet The New Jersey Guy Trying To Walk Across the USA!

Posted on May 21, 2013 by walkableprinceton
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Alex Hrebin, who is attempting to walk across America, via whereintheworldisalexsandiego.wordpress.com

Updated 6.5.13: We made some changes to this piece based on info from ‘J.P.’ in the comments section!

Every now and again, you come across a story so bizarre that it takes you away from your daily work and makes you think. For us, the story- if you can call it a story- of Alex Hrebin Sandiego, is one of those events. Mr Hrebin is a native of Sea Bright, NJ, a small borough on the shore near Sandy Hook Oxford, NJ. At some point in April of this year, he set out to walk across America. You can follow his travels at his blog here. Continue reading →

Posted in People, Walking | 3 Comments

Take Our Poll: Why Do Princeton Area People Not Cycle To Work?

Posted on May 20, 2013 by walkableprinceton
Bicycles in Princeton: not as widely used as in other College towns.

Bicycles in Princeton: not as widely used as in other College towns.

National Bike Week is now over! Did you cycle to work last week? Don’t feel bad if the answer is ‘No’. In Princeton, not many people cycle to work. Why is that? We are trying to answer that question in our poll today. Please click through to our Facebook page and give your answer at the following link:

Walkable Princeton Cycle-To-Work Poll Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Transportation, Biking, Local, Princeton | Leave a comment

Climate Change A Consequence Of Princeton Planning Decisions

Posted on May 17, 2013 by walkableprinceton
Hwy 27 traffic heading towards Princeton, April 2013

Hwy 27 traffic heading towards Princeton, April 2013

This week we learned that carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have broken 400 parts per million for the first time in human history. 97% of atmospheric scientists believe that this is likely the cause of rising global temperatures and extreme weather events similar to what we saw last year with Hurricane Sandy. Admiral Samuel J Locklear III, Commander of the US Navy Pacific Command recently described climate change as the greatest threat to security in the region, and this is coming from somebody who has to deal with China’s growing military ambition and North Korea! Reducing CO2 emissions could reasonably be described as the #1 priority facing our society. Continue reading →

Posted in Density, Downtown Vibrancy, Princeton, Smart Growth, Sustainability, Traffic, Zoning | 7 Comments

Let Kids Walk And Bike To School Like In The Old Days

Posted on May 16, 2013 by walkableprinceton

As this great video from Streetfilms shows, around 50% of kids used to walk or bike to school. And this wasn’t in the days of horses and carts– we’re talking about the 1960s– well within living memory! Things have changed. Nowadays, the vast majority of school are bused or driven to school. And as the video makes clear, things didn’t change by accident– we planned for cars, and that’s what we got. Walking and biking was discouraged by the building of more, wider roads, and development in car-dependent suburbs instead of close-in, walkable neighborhoods. Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Transportation, Biking, Walking | 5 Comments

The Problem With Low-Density Housing, As Seen From Space

Posted on May 15, 2013 by walkableprinceton
Top - Princeton from Landsat imager 1984. Bottom- Princeton as seen by Landsat in 2012.

Top – Princeton from Landsat imager 1984. Bottom- Princeton as seen by Landsat in 2012. (Click for larger image)

Last week, Google made available an astonishing resource, which enables us to review satellite imagery of anywhere in the US on an annual basis from 1984 through 2012. You can read about the project here. They were able to make some amazing images, showing, for example, how the Columbia Glacier in Alaska has retreated in the face of rising global temperatures (click the previous link for an animated GIF). Continue reading →

Posted in Local, Sustainability, Zoning | 2 Comments

Why Does Princeton U. Score So Badly On Walkscore?

Posted on May 14, 2013 by walkableprinceton
Walkscore data for Ivy League Schools, from walkscore.com

Walkscore data for Ivy League Schools, from walkscore.com

How walkable is your college? One way to measure this is to use Walkscore, which attempts to quantify how walkable any location is by calculating its distance from stores, services, transit and other useful stuff. We previously tested Walkscore and found that although locations in downtown Princeton get scores consistent with being a “Walker’s Paradise”, some other neighborhoods in Princeton are rated as ‘car-dependent’. Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown Vibrancy, Princeton | 4 Comments

Ten Easy Ways To Join In National Bike Week in Princeton!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by walkableprinceton
With a positive attitude, many more of us could take to our bikes. Via Simply Bike

With a positive attitude, many more of us could take to our bikes. Via Simply Bike.

In Princeton, not many of us use cycling as our primary means of getting around.  For some of us, the trip seems too far, or too dangerous. Others are not steady enough on a bike to head out on the roads. Even if you’re not ready to make cycling your regular means of commuting, there are plenty of ways you can participate in this year’s National Bike Week. Why not try one of the following ideas to increase your ‘cycle-power’: Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Transportation, Biking, Princeton, Walking | Leave a comment

Princeton Draws In Cars From All Around Central Jersey

Posted on May 10, 2013 by walkableprinceton
Traffic in Princeton is driven overwhelmingly by people from outside Princeton driving into town to go to work.

Traffic in Princeton is driven overwhelmingly by people from outside Princeton driving into town to go to work.

Everyone has a theory about why traffic in Princeton is getting worse and worse, but if you want to understand why traffic volumes have grown in Princeton, it helps to look at the statistics. A thorough analysis of car journeys in Princeton, based on data from the US Census and the American Community Survey 2007-2011 has revealed that approximately 50,000 car journeys take place every day to get the Princeton workforce to and from their places of employment. Continue reading →

Posted in Affordability, Princeton, Traffic | 18 Comments

NYC Bike-share Launches; Misguided Residents Still Objecting

Posted on May 9, 2013 by walkableprinceton
Sharable Bike, from Citibike NYC

Sharable Bike, from Citibike NYC

Many years in the coming, New York’s Citibike bikeshare program is finally launching. Similar to the Capital Bikeshare program that has existed in Washington DC since 2010 (and also similar programs in Montreal, Paris and London), the scheme allows users an economical way to borrow a somewhat clunky but surprisingly resilient bike for short trips between designated stations. Continue reading →

Posted in Biking | 5 Comments