According to the findings of a joint Princeton University and Princeton Municipality task force, which presented a report Saturday at the University’s Carl Fields Center, the approach to town via the Alexander Street corridor has seen a particular increase in use. And worse is to come.

The Alexander Street/University Place (ASUP) Traffic and Transit Task Force looked at problems and potential solutions. Transit options along the Dinky line between Princeton Junction were included in the latter.

The ASUP Traffic & Transit Task Force was formed to evaluate and make recommendations about Princeton’s long term traffic needs in view of the University Arts and Transit Project, including benefits of implementing transit from the Northeast Corridor rail line to Nassau Street.

The Committee is governed by municipal law and is made up of council members Lance Liverman and Patrick Simon; citizen volunteers Nat Bottigheimer and Kevin Wilkes; as well as Kristin Appelget and Kim Jackson of Princeton University; and Princeton Planning Director Lee Solow.

The presentation began with a review, by traffic consultant Mayuresh Khare of AECOM Technology Corporation, of existing problems and “context-sensitive solutions” to mitigate traffic that is going to increase because of local and regional developments.

Among local developments cited were the University’s expansion of graduate housing and the Arts and Transit neighborhood; the recent redevelopment of Palmer Square and Hulfish Road; and anticipated development of the former Princeton hospital site on Witherspoon and of the YMCA/YWCA on Paul Robeson Place. Among the regional developments mentioned as also having an impact on the area were the hospital’s relocation and the redevelopment of Princeton Junction at West Windsor.

Mr. Khare’s powerpoint presentation included details of trips that either originated or ended in Princeton as well as those passing through the town en route to other destinations. Using standard Department of Transportation (DOT) and federal traffic analysis models and tools and focusing on peak travel hours, Mr. Khare predicted that: “Even five years from now, every vehicle trying to reach Mercer Street from Alexander will sit in traffic for 17 minutes. At Mercer and Nassau the delay will be about 10 minutes.”

“The problems we have today will be exacerbated over time,” said Mr. Khare. “We are looking for solutions that do not involve widening the streets, are sensitive to pedestrians and cyclists, and respect the town’s historic buildings; multi-modal transportation improvements that will make traffic flow more efficient.”

The task force considered the feasibility and impact of such measures as turn restrictions, closing segments of Mercer between Alexander and Nassau and closing Witherspoon Street between Nassau and Spring streets, introducing a one way loop, either clockwise or counterclockwise in the Alexander Street/University Place area, which offers opportunities to include a bike lane and/or a mass transit lane or to extend sidewalks.

The road closure ideas were observed to shift problems onto neighboring streets. The one-way loop schemes were suggested as viable.

But council member Jenny Crumiller described the measures as “stop gap” and wondered whether “improving traffic congestion might encourage more traffic” and thereby possibly reduce the incentive that would get people out of their cars and onto mass transit alternatives. Jo Butler, also of Princeton Council, raised the question of safety if there were to be increased traffic speed.

Kip Cherry of the Save the Dinky group, whose supporters want to keep the old station on University Place and are fighting the University in court over the issue, questioned the assumptions behind the study’s predictions of growth over a 15 year period. In response, Kevin Wilkes, a former Princeton elected official, said: “These are the best models we have, based on identifiable projects that have been proposed. We may have a boom, we may have a recession, that’s the nature of the future, we don’t know, so we have to rely on the best information we have and that shows us that traffic will double on Alexander. That’s the takeaway here.”

“All of these solutions come with trade-offs, non-peak trips will be less convenient” said Mr. Simon.

After a short break, transit consultant Stephen Gazillo of URS Corporation, cited examples from Europe that were examined for ideas suitable to Princeton. He described options such as a commuter rail extension, rapid transit, bus rapid transit (BRT), light rail (LRT), personal rapid transit, enhanced bus options, among others. Of these, it was suggested that BRT or enhanced bus options, LRT, or streetcar options might be most feasible. “Not much would be required to convert the existing Dinky line to a light rail,” said Mr. Gazillo. “Some modifications would be needed: a new power station and a new maintenance facility.” Various routes were looked at, including the opportunity of serving the Princeton Shopping Center. What we need now, said Mr. Gazillo is input from the public.

Summing up, Mr. Wilkes said: “Our goal is to have a one-seat ride from the Northeast Corridor along the Dinky line and expand it to Nassau Street in some way. We would prefer a one-seat solution and would rather not sacrifice the Dinky for a bus, that would be a two-seat option. But can we afford a one-seat option? Is it appropriate? Would ridership fall off if we had a two-seat option?”

Mr Simon commented: “I hope we will come to something that is compellingly better than what we have now.”

Ms. Cherry pointed out that “the Dinky is bought and paid for” whereas a new mass transit system would be “horribly expensive.” In an email message she stated the Save the Dinky view: “Right now we have a train on a dedicated rail line. It works pretty well and every effort should be made to enhance its continued success. It’s possible conversion to light rail or street car on its existing line should be studied. The proposal to invest further funds in study of a BRT plan that the community forcefully opposed just a few years ago deserves the utmost skepticism.”

Regional planning expert Ralph Widner, the author of “Princeton: A Statistical Portrait,” a database created from official data from the U.S. Census as a tool for dealing with Princeton’s present and future traffic problems and presented to the community in March of this year at a Princeton Future meeting, commented: “About half of commuters find it more efficient to drive to the Junction and park there rather than use the Dinky. The Dinky should link into a wider network of transit so that we encourage people to move from automobile to mass transit. Replacing the Dinky isn’t going to do that if it only serves a route from the Junction, a multi-stop system would be preferable.”

Mr. Widner was one of several attendees calling for a more visionary solution to Princeton’s problems that would integrate with other municipalities in the region, such as West Windsor and Plainsboro. Taking up this point, another attendee cited the NJ Transit River Line as an example.

About 35 people attended Saturday’s event, including members of Princeton council and representatives from the University. Ms. Butler was one of several to comment on the lack of public participation.

Earlier this year, higher numbers turned out for three Saturday morning discussions on issues affecting the town sponsored by the non-profit Princeton Future and held at the Princeton Public Library.