No Space For Bike Lane On Princeton’s Witherspoon St: Municipal Staff

PRINCETON, NJ — A bike lane on Witherspoon Street might not be possible due to limited space, municipal staff told council during Monday’s meeting. Council had asked municipal staff to investigate the possibility of having a bike lane and underground utilities on Phase II of the Witherspoon Street redesign plan, spanning Franklin avenue to Green Street

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee has presented a detailed recommendation to council, prioritizing different types of bike facilities that they would like to see implemented, and suggested that facilities could change along the route, to help with traffic calming.

But staff was of the view that a bicycle lane would not be possible. “We cannot find a way to provide dedicated bike lanes within this limited corridor. It would not be safe,” municipal engineer Jim Purcell said.

During the March 28 meeting, municipal engineers presented two concepts for the Witherspoon Street Phase II design. Staff recommended the approval of Concept A which had focused more on safety measures with few changes, and no bike lane. Their recommendation remained unchanged.

Phil Chao from the PBAC said he hoped to have the bike lane but was “comfortable with the design and the traffic calming.” He agreed with Councilman Leighton Newlin and Councilwoman Eve Niedergang who called for reducing the speed limit from the current 25 miles per hour.

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