To the Editor: 

Having lived in Princeton for decades, I remember less than fondly the traffic backups at the Harrison Street/US 1 intersection — particularly those at rush hour. Recently this situation has been greatly improved as a second lane was added by the DOT. This has effectively alleviated the traffic jam exiting Princeton via Harrison Street. The traffic light timing has been optimized, and there are now two lanes, both of which allow left turns onto US-1 North. Since the improvement, I have yet to wait more than a single light cycle to proceed onto US-1. I am sure there are exceptions, but I have yet to see them.

For those who are concerned that they will be delayed getting to the new University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro in an emergency, the situation seems much less serious than it had previously. Emergency services vehicles can easily traverse Harrison Street, and the recently announced traffic light override equipment being installed will expedite access to Route 1 and the emergency vehicle access drive to the hospital.

We may be losing our downtown hospital, but the state-of-the-art facility opening soon will still be readily accessible just on the edge of Princeton.

Peter Thompson

Hornor Lane