Princeton May Allow More Dining Space On Witherspoon Street

PRINCETON, NJ — More dining space may be coming to Princeton residents and visitors.

At the recently-held meeting, council members agreed that the new design for Witherspoon Street should include more outdoor dining space. They also wanted the street to be one-way so that it could be closed down for public functions, restaurant week, etc.

Earlier this month, Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton presented a concept plan that recommended removal of curbside pickup lanes, reduction of dining areas and restoring parking spots.

Read More Here: Princeton Witherspoon St. Plan Recommends Outdoor Dining Change

But at Monday's meeting, council members said they would like the plan to include more dining space as many businesses and residents have supported the idea.

In response to the pandemic last year, several parking spots in Princeton were converted into outdoor dining spots. This became really popular with residents and visitors.

Councilwoman Michelle Piron Lambros said she spoke with many businesses and residents who wanted more dining and green space on Witherspoon Street.

“Dining is really good for the businesses. I really feel like we are there (with the design),” said Lambros. “Everyone really likes it.”

Councilman Dwaine Williamson and councilwoman Eve Niedergang said they were in favor of keeping traffic on Witherspoon Street northbound and one way.

“We want it to be designed in a way that when we need to close it (Witherspoon Street) off, it becomes a pedestrian-only promenade for a finite period," Williamson said.

Niedergang said it was important for the township to have the ability to close the street off and create a pedestrian area.

“The other thing that is key to me, that was lost in the previous design, was expanding the sidewalk so there is plenty of room for dining and walking,” she said.

Councilman David Cohen also said he was in favor of more pedestrian space. “I think it’s really important to be able to have enough outdoor dining, four-person tables, rather than café tables.”

Councilwoman Leticia Fraga said the new design should also allow smaller eateries to have some outdoor dining space.

“From what I remember before, there were a few select spaces. I wasn’t sure how those would be designated. I would like really to have the other eateries or even potential future ones to have that capability” Fraga said.

In the concept plan previously presented, there were four dining zones — one each near Agricola, La Mezzuna, Alchemist & Barrister, and Small World Coffee.

Fraga also said she preferred the idea of parking at the end of the street, so cars are not parked in between dining spots.

In previous meetings, residents expressed concern about the space given over to parking.

Councilwoman Mia Sacks wondered if assigning more parking spaces would create more “car activity.”

“Yes, I would prefer an all-pedestrian plaza,” she said. “I would rather see just one lane of cars moving.”

One concern brought forward by some council members with the one-way street plan was that many businesses don’t have backdoors or alleys to receive deliveries. In this case, the township would need to consider the limitations.

“We absolutely need to recognize what the needs of the business community are so that they can get deliveries. That’s also a very high priority. I hope we can have the other things we want while making sure our merchants, especially our restaurants can thrive,” said Niedergang.

Mayor Mark Freda said it was important to have the “ability” to go back to two-way traffic and that the new design can “get creative” with that.

Freda said there was “room” to accommodate outdoor dining tables the way they are right now.

However, Sacks said she heard from many residents who preferred Witherspoon Street to be one way and who were “strongly in favor” of maximizing green space, a pedestrian plaza feel and places to dine and socialize.

The feedback and decisions on design parameters from Monday’s meeting will be used by engineers to work on a final design for Witherspoon Street.

This design can be tweaked slightly in the future. A final vote on the design is scheduled to be held in the coming months.

The final design will also be presented to the public in the next few weeks.

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