Coming soon: a more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly Schalks Crossing bridge
Gov. Christie’s proposed NJDOT transportation capital program for the fiscal year that begins in July includes $8.7 million to replace the bridge deck over the railroad tracks on Schalks Crossing Road, heading north in Plainsboro toward South Brunswick.
A shared bicycle/pedestrian sidewalk lane will be provided through cantilever additions along both the east and west sides. (As the WWBPA noted in a letter to the Princeton Packet in 2009, the bridge on Clarksville Road could use this too.)
Roadway improvements would include milling and resurfacing the existing roadway approaches for tie-ins to the bridge.
The state’s capital program also includes funds for a New Brunswick Bikeway (which would link the various Rutgers campuses), various intersection treatments, and grade-separation crossings at?locations in Middlesex and Union counties that intersect with the state highway system and will allow for a safe crossing along the East Coast Greenway route.
We’re also intrigued by a Lawrence Township project that is receiving $30,000 as part of an effort to turn a stretch of Business U.S. 1 into a pedestrian-friendly roadway that slows speeds and promotes business development. It’s described this way: “The roadway cross section (traveled way) will be reduced to provide 11-foot travel lanes, on-street parking along the northbound side of Route 1B, pedestrian ?bulb-outs,? crosswalk enhancements and a 16-foot-wide center median, which can be planted with suitable low ground cover, flowers, etc.” The state’s five-year transportation capital plan calls for $4.3 million in the fiscal year that begins in July 2012 to cover construction costs. Sounds like a Complete Street!
Other projects include $3.5 million for right-of-way acquisitions as part of proposed safety improvements along Route 1 between Nassau Park and I-95.? The five-year plan calls for spending nearly $9 million two years later for the actual construction. You can read more about these projects here.
Tags: NJDOT, Plainsboro, Schalk's Crossing, transportation capital program
I’m out of the country for 2 weeks and WWBPA takes over as the statewide bike/ped news blog. 😉
Well at least someone else is paying attention.
Funny that I’ve never rode my bike on Schalks Crossing Road even though I often find my way down that way on weekend training rides. A quick look at the area via Google reminds me why I avoid that and the surrounding roads. I really find it hard to believe that the solution for this old, narrow bridge is to hang cantilevered sidewalks off of it. I wonder how usable such modifications will be for vehicular style cyclists. My hunch is that it won’t be.