The municipality is preparing to make improvements to Valley Road in 2016, as part of a capital improvement program, partially funded by a New Jersey Department of Transportation municipal aid grant.

Last month Valley Road residents were invited to contribute their ideas at a May 12 meeting. A second meeting, described as a “public design session” will take place Monday, June 15, at 7 p.m. in the Community Room at Witherspoon Hall, 400 Witherspoon Street.

This meeting, which will again be chaired by Mayor Liz Lempert, will continue the discussion between residents and representatives from various municipal Boards and Commissions. It is designed to discuss Valley Road in the context of the town’s master plan, which recommends the installation of an off-road multi-use path along Valley Road, as well as Princeton’s Complete Streets Policy, adopted in 2013.

Topics to be discussed include repairs to storm sewers, sanitary sewer main and laterals, new curbing repair of sidewalks and/or replacement with blacktop pathways. The municipality will be imposing a five-year moratorium on any street openings once the work is completed, and residents planning to upgrade or install new utility services are being advised to contact their utility company. A list of contacts is provided on the municipal website: www.princetonnj.gov.

Valley Road is currently classified as a minor collector roadway. It has a 25-mph speed limit and a five-ton weight restriction. It is estimated that approximately 6,000 vehicles per day use the road, which is part of the route of the Princeton FreeB. There are sidewalks along both sides of the road except for the northern side of Valley between Witherspoon and Jefferson. It is lined by a number of large established London plane trees.

At the initial May 12 session, three options were proposed in order to accommodate bicyclists. Option one would be to complete the existing four feet wide sidewalks and install “sharrows” on the roadway (a sharrow is a shared lane marking painted on the road surface). Option 2 would be to widen the sidewalks to six feet and install sharrows on the roadway. Option 3 would be to install an eight feet wide asphalt side path on the south side of Valley Road and complete the four feet wide sidewalk on the north side.

According to a document available on the municipal website (www.princetonnj.gov/engineering/Valley-Road-Improvement-Project.html), Valley Road residents have expressed the view that the third option is not desirable.

After the May 12 meeting, a Princeton resident proposed an alternative (fourth) option to “install a six feet wide bike lane, buffered from the vehicle traffic lanes with a planted median, and complete the four feet wide sidewalks.” This option would necessitate a reduction of on-street parking and the relocation of parking to the north side of the roadway. (See the Mailbox on page 8 for more on this issue)

Since the May 12 meeting, engineering staff and the Municipal Arborist Lorraine Konopka have completed an initial review of the existing right of way trees, their size, species, and general conditions. Ms. Konopka will be on hand to provide more information on the trees at the June 15 meeting.

Municipal tree crews are expected to be at work on Valley Road during the next few weeks, to remove some dead branches identified during the review.

In addition, engineering staff identified the location of some sump pump and/or roof drains that discharge very close to the road and/or sidewalk. Residents are being asked to fill out a Drainage Utility form to assist in this process. Public Works staff working with a subcontractor are in the process of cleaning and inspecting the storm sewer and sanitary sewer mains on Valley Road.

Later this month or in July, a surveyor is expected to conduct an engineering survey of the roadway, after which engineering staff “can begin our design drawing preparation.”

According to the engineering department, “comments will be evaluated and incorporated into the design as appropriate.” An additional design meeting may be scheduled in the summer to clarify any unresolved design issues but if no such meeting is deemed necessary, engineering staff will proceed with the design in order to secure the services of a contractor in late fall for the 2016 construction season.

Documents from the May 12 meeting are available at: www.princetonnj.gov/engineering/Valley-Road-Improvement-Project.html.

For more information, call (609) 921-7077 or email dstockton@princetonnj.gov