Princeton Residents Press Council On Hamilton, Linden Traffic Safety

PRINCETON, NJ — Residents packed the Princeton Council meeting last week to demand immediate safety improvements at the intersection of Hamilton Avenue and Linden Lane, citing 20 reported accidents at the corner since January 2023 and four crashes since March of this year.

Alyson Resnick, a Linden Lane resident who organized a 2025 petition for change at the intersection that drew 90 signatures within 48 hours, told the council the crashes stem from three factors: the curve in the road, vehicle speeds on Hamilton, and drivers ignoring the stop sign on Linden.

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"Accidents on this corner have been a serious threat to people's safety as well as personal properties," Resnick said. She noted three of the four recent crashes occurred within weeks of each other, on Aug. 18, 26 and Sept. 6.

Resnick called for short-term fixes such as flashing beacon lights at the intersection, and said the community has long sought a long-term solution: an illuminated four-way stop or significant speed tables on Hamilton approaching the intersection. She referenced the town's Vision Zero Princeton Initiative, which she said commits the municipality to a "safe systems approach" that designs roads to prioritize people over vehicles.

George Cohen, of Hawthorne Avenue, said the town has already installed rumble strips and larger stop signs, but argued only a speed table will change driver behavior.

"No matter how many signs you put up, you have people coming in and out of town, rushing to pick up their kids ... going 40, 50 miles an hour," Cohen said. "The only thing that will stop them, no matter how many signs or blinking lights, you've got to have that speed table."

Michael B., a longtime Linden Lane resident, described the intersection's poor sightlines looking west onto Hamilton and said he witnessed two vehicles run through the crosswalk during the meeting's gathering earlier that evening. He said residents have taken to calling the road the "Linden Lane Expressway."

"It's just a terrible area for speeding cars," he said. He added that an officer stationed on Hamilton that day did not appear to stop drivers traveling roughly 40 mph through the intersection.

Mark S., of Hawthorne Avenue, said the intersection divides the town and prevents his children from safely crossing to see friends on the other side.

"There isn't enough time to act. People [are] coming too fast," he said. "It's come to a point where, when you hear it's like this sound, a boom ... we go down to make sure people are okay. It shouldn't be part of life."

Another resident who lives on Hawthorne Avenue near the intersection, said families avoid a nearby playground and instead travel out of their way to keep children from crossing at Hamilton and Linden. He suggested two speed tables paired with a solar-powered flashing caution light similar to one on Hamilton near Wiggins Street.

Councilman Brian McDonald reported on data presented at that day's Traffic Safety Committee meeting. He said Sergeant Matthews, who leads the police department's traffic bureau, provided enforcement numbers for June and July. In June, the Linden and Hamilton intersection saw 34 motor vehicle stops for speeding, stop sign violations and distracted driving, among six locations targeted that month. In July, the intersection again received directed enforcement, part of a broader rotation that included South Harrison Street, Cedar Lane, Birch Avenue, Princeton-Kingston Road and Prospect Avenue.

"For a town like ours, that's a healthy number, and it also shows you it helps the police know where the most challenging areas are," McDonald said, adding that stop counts on Princeton-Kingston Road dropped from about 140 to 114 over the two months, which he called "moderately encouraging."

Councilman Leighton Newlin said the intersection has been on the council's agenda for the past 10 months and pointed to additional enforcement already directed there.

"We fully recognize that Hamilton and Linden is challenging," Newlin said. "You have been heard tonight, and you are heard consistently." He said the council continues to track data on speeding at the intersection and elsewhere in town, adding, "Much of the accidents there are because of driver behavior."

Council President Mia Sacks said she was troubled that the intersection remained a matter for data collection rather than action, noting that a decision to prioritize traffic calming with speed tables dates back roughly a decade.

"If I were a member of the public, I would be losing my mind right now, because it's like we're going in reverse," Sacks said. She said the effort had stalled amid unresolved questions over capital funding for a related bike lane project on Hamilton, and that the council would revisit the matter in its Infrastructure and Operations Committee. "This decision has already been made by council to move forward with this, and the fact that we're even having this discussion about data counts ... to me is insanity," Sacks said. "Speaking for myself personally, I do believe, with all the rest of the prioritization, this should be a top priority."

Municipal engineering staff is preparing recommendations on options for the intersection, officials said during the meeting.

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