To the Editor:

On February 25, it will be six months since an elderly Princeton resident was hit by a car and killed while crossing Rosedale Road at its intersection with the access driveways to Johnson Park School and the Greenway Meadows parking lot. What changes have taken place at this site since that tragic accident? None.

In 1999, Principal Robert Ginsberg and the school’s PTO officers met with then-Mayor Phyllis Marchand to discuss concerns about the intersection. Their main issue was the speed of vehicles on Rosedale Road and drivers’ frequent failures to slow down despite the fact signage warned them they were approaching a school zone. Since that meeting, has the situation improved? No.

Municipal officials have often noted Rosedale Road is a county artery and responsibility lies with county decisionmakers. Our impatient and growing coalition of citizens will certainly take our concerns to Mercer County’s executive and commissioners, but we also expect our mayor and our Council members to demonstrate greater support and more direct advocacy to ensure the safety of our residents. 

We believe the best solution would be to install a traffic signal at the intersection. This signal would regulate when vehicles may safely proceed along Rosedale Road and when students walking or bicycling to school or seniors from the Elm Court and Harriet Bryan residences walking to the park may safely cross.

Because installing a traffic signal is a long-term project (22½-years and counting!), we respectfully request that our municipal officials engage with their county peers and implement the following low-cost yet effective “traffic calming” measures while we continue to advocate for a traffic signal:

1. Use roadway markings to narrow the vehicular-traffic lanes. Research shows drivers instinctively slow down when traffic lanes narrow. We recommend narrowing the lanes for the legal extent of the roadway’s school zone.

2. Colorize the intersection’s roadway pavement. This will serve as an additional measure to alert drivers to the presence of a hazardous crossing area.

3. Install and maintain flexible vertical delineators. These stanchions will provide additional cues to drivers to reduce their speed. Such delineators were installed in the past, but not maintained. 

4. Reduce the posted speed limit in the school zone from 25 mph to 20 mph. A “20 is Plenty” implementation and campaign in Hoboken has received wide recognition for its success in reducing accidents.

We invite our municipal and county officials to tell us what they plan to do to protect us, and we invite citizens from throughout Princeton to join us in holding our representatives accountable for making going to school or taking a walk a safe experience. This letter is our call to our officials to do the right thing —and to do it immediately.

Leslie Fabello
Fairway Drive

Gemma Hong
Elm Court

Ann Rieger
Lambert Drive

Naomi Rosenblum
Russell Road