Following a successful tour of their campus planning effort, Princeton University officials will present the school's master plan and campus planning project before members of the Regional Planning Board of Princeton this Thursday, at 7:30 p.m., at Township Hall.
The presentation will be the first in the more than six months since the full board heard the University's development intentions, when the University first launched its vision plan. At that time, University officials and representatives from the school's architectural and planning consultant, Beyer Blinder Belle, outlined the concept of creating a more pedestrian-friendly campus, with an emphasis on offsite parking and building on the existing shuttle system, P-Rides.
But most notably, campus officials pointed to the creation of so-called academic neighborhoods, a concept first outlined by University President Shirley Tilghman in early 2005. The goal would be to cluster related academic and social programming in similar areas, all within walking distance of the intended campus focal point, the Frist Campus Center.
A likely topic of discussion will be the future of New Jersey Transit's Princeton Shuttle train, or the Dinky, as the University aims to appropriate a portion of a $110 million alumni gift to creating an arts neighborhood along the University Place/Alexander Street corridor, focused around McCarter and Berlind theaters. University plans indicate that a desirable scenario would be to turn the Alexander Street throughway into an official town and campus gateway. Early concepts outlined an alignment of University Place to connect with Alexander Street further south, opening the possibility of the relocation of the Dinky station about 500 feet south of its current location. That, along with the relocation of the Wawa, would allow substantial development to take place south of McCarter, across from Forbes residential college.
At a recent community meeting focusing on the Dinky reconfiguration, several commuters expressed continued concern for drastic changes to the vehicle or the infrastructure.
Renzo Piano, the noted architect who was to spearhead the redesign effort for the school's planned arts neighborhood at University Place and Alexander Street, withdrew from the planning process last month, but campus officials have indicated that his firm, in working with BBB, had given enough input to move forward, and that Mr. Piano's firm could return to the fold when it comes to actual building design. Mr. Piano cited time constraints with existing projects to devote significant time to the University effort.