Can Arts and Transit Go Together

[John WR]

blue streak 1

why not just build the museum above the station?

That has occurred to me.  I don't know that solution is rejected.  

[blue streak 1]

why not just build the museum above the station? might cost a little more but will be very easy access for people riding the dinky.

[John WR]

Or perhaps the University just doesn't care about the value of it.  Princeton University seems unconcerned about the problems of many people.

For about a year my son had an internship in Manhattan.  He rode his bicycle to Princeton station but he didn't get home until 10 pm so I met him and drove him home.  There were a surprising number of young people wondering in the street either drunk or high to the point where they were totally unaware of traffic.  I found driving through scary and did not expect the University to be so concerned about their safety.  Given that mind set I would not expect the University to care about public transportation.  

[henry6]

Its another case of not realizing the value of something as a whole by destroying the pieces.  

[John WR]

Getting a parking permit at Princeton Junction takes years.  However, in Princeton itself generally there is always parking in a metered lot.  

Feeling as you do I hope you are prepared to shed bitter tears.  The current station will be destroyed for the new Arts Center.   The Dinky will not be destroyed but walking to it from downtown Princeton will be a lot more impractical than it is now.  

Even now when students want to take the train south the University suggests they take NJT's 606 bus to Trenton and catch the train there.  However, that may be because there isn't a lot of Amtrak service from Princeton Junction.  

[henry6]

In the long run the most important statistic to look at is the passenger count and demographics of students, Princeton residents, and those from surrounding areas.   If I remember parking is tight at the station.  As a fan and historian, I hate to see such a valuable and unique piece of NJ, Princeton, and railroad history be destroyed, especially if the decision is made by those who do not have long term ties back into the community itself.

[John WR]

1.  You are right that moving the station will push at least some of the service out of the service area.  But the decision lies with Princeton University and that is what the University has decided to do.

2.  Princeton Borough runs a small circulator bus that will go to the new station and the University runs its own bus.  Perhaps they will be able to pick up the slack; if not there will be more cars on the roads which are already congested.  

[henry6]

Oh, I've seen and heard all the arguments...but it seems to push the service out of the service area an rendering it useless.  The best thing I've heard is it be converted to light rail which could also allow it to build and serve further into Princeton instead of away.  The main advantages of it as are the capacity of the train...whether one or two cars...and the lack of pollution being introduced into the air, the private right of way which seals it from auto traffic on city streets.

[John WR]

Henry,  

You ask "Why play with success?"

Princeton University has already played with success.  The train should end at Nassau Street where it would connect with New Jersey Transit's bus no. 606 which provides good service between Trenton and downtown Princeton and beyond.  To get from that bus down to the train is now a long hike down University Place, especially in bad weather.   At a normal walk it takes me about 15 minutes.  

Now PU says it will push the station back another 460 feet.  Except it will provide a meandering path to get to it which will be over a thousand feet.  This is going to be quite a distance even for students and faculty who use it and it will be even longer for Princeton residents.  So whatever happens the shortened Dinky we have now will no longer be with us.  

I doubt NJT considers the Dinky cost effective.  It is a two person operation.  Were it to be replaced with a light rail it could be operated by only one person.  

But the big advantage of a bus way would be the ability of a bus to go up and down US Route 1 and up and down NJ Routes 206 and 27 (which includes Nassau Street) and then hop on the bus way.  It would much better serve people in Princeton as well as people in Lawrence to the south and Kingston to the North and people up and down Route 1.  

So yes, the Dinky is efficient and does serve a lot of people .  But as bus rapid transit it would serve a lot more.  

[henry6]

I've always defended the Dinky and the branch because it is so well used by so many not just daily but all across the clock.  It is efficient, cost effective, environmentally safe, and already built.  A busway wouldn't be all those things and it isn't built either.  Why play with success?

[John WR]

daveklepper

And once we (the University) get the bus from Palmer Sq. in the center of town to the now more remote station, the next step is to simply have that bus go directly to Princeton Junction Station, either by the indirect current roads or by paving the rail RofWay.

Bite your tongue.  Several months ago New Jersey Transit proposed converting the who branch line to a busway.  That would allow buses to zip from Princeton Junction to Princeton, enter local roads and actually have a route into the township and any other place.  Also, the branch crosses US Route 1, a busy and congested highway.  Buses could enter the busway from the highway and again, just zip over to the railroad station.  Princeton residents would have none of it.  The plan has died.  

Many residents do oppose Princeton University's plan.  However, PU is the third wealthiest University in the world and has a lot more clout than NJT.  Nothing will stand in their way.  

[daveklepper]

And once we (the University) get the bus from Palmer Sq. in the center of town to the now more remote station, the next step is to simply have that bus go directly to Princeton Junction Station, either by the indirect current roads or by paving the rail RofWay.

If I were a Princeton resident, I would oppose the University's plan.   "You did enough damage already."

[John WR]

The Princeton Borough Planning Board has just approved plans to tear up 460 feet of tracks now used by the Dinky, the local name for a short section of rail formally called the Princeton Branch.  Princeton University has been trying for years to get this approval in order to get a new arts center.  Opponents of the plan promise to appeal the decision which they consider transit hostile although New Jersey Transit is supportive.  The decision is reported in The Times of Trenton, New Jersey:  

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2012/12/construction_for_princeton_uni.html

Princeton University explains the decision as supportive of transit in general and point out there will be bus service connecting Palmer Square in the center of town with the new Dinky station.  The University also reports that the station will be moved only 460 feet:  

https://www.princeton.edu/artsandtransit/faq/dinky/

Save the Princeton Dinky, a local transit advocacy organization opposes the move and points out that while the 460 foot distance is technically true in a straight line is drawn between the present station and the planned station Princeton University's plans call for a walkway that will be a little over 1,100 feet long.  They argue that this will pose a hardship, especially for senior citizens and people with disabilities:

http://savethedinky.org/

Historical note:  In the first half of the 19th century the Camden and Amboy built the original rail line between Trenton and New Brunswick with a station in the center of what is now Princeton Borough.  In the second half of the 19th century the Pennsylvania Railroad purchased the C&A and realigned the tracks to go straight from Trenton to New Brunswick with a short branch running from a new station called Princeton Junction to the station in Princeton.  Over the years Princeton University has pushed back the station from its original location in the center of town to about a 20 minuted walk from the town center.  This, of course, adds to the remoteness of the location.