West Windsor government officials have proposed a capital improvement budget for FY26-27 that once again includes money for biking and walking projects — but also makes a cut in one key area.
Here’s what’s proposed:
- $250,000 for the next phase of the Cranbury Road sidewalk project, on top of $250,000 in the FY25-26 budget and $50,000 in FY24-25 budget. This project will link Van Nest Park on Cranbury Road and the entrance to the Trolley Line Trail on Rabbit Hill Road. At the first budget meeting with council members, township officials said they expect to bring them a contract for the design work in April. This is a long-awaited and crucial step toward getting to actual construction.
- $200,000 for additional bike lanes and bikeways, the same as last year. The budget notes that funds budgeted from 2022 to 2025 are expected to be used for current projects such as the Conover Road and North Post Road bikeways, for which the township received state grants. Those two projects are expected to be built this year.
- $200,000 for additional sidewalks, the same as a year ago. The budget notes that funds from 2022-2025 are still available for current projects, singling out the North Post and Conover roads bikeways as well as a project in Penn’s Neck. That project, on the south side of Washington Road, would improve the existing sidewalk and fill in any gaps between the indoor tennis facility and Wallingford Drive. The result would be a consistent sidewalk between Station Drive and Wallingford. (We were told right-of-way issues make it hard to go closer to U.S. 1) That project also proposes a crosswalk at Manor Avenue and Washington Road.
- $20,000 for crosswalk improvements, down from $100,000 in each of the past two years and a return to the level where it had been for years. Funds from the past three budgets have been allocated for pedestrian-activated yellow flashing lights, known as rectangular rapid-flashing beacons, near several schools and along the Trolley Line Trail. At the same budget meeting, township officials said they expect to have RRFBs installed during 2026 at six locations: Penn Lyle Road and the Trolley Line Trail; Village Road East by Dutch Neck School; New Village Road and Shannon Way; New Village Road and Southfield Road; Penn Lyle Road and Canoe Brook Drive; and Alexander Road and Harris Road.
The WWBPA will continue to advocate that this safety measure be installed in several other locations, including at the intersection of North Post Road and Municipal and Courtney drives, where a 73-year-old was struck by a pick-up truck in December, and at Rabbit Hill Road and Abbingdon Lane/Bennington Drive, where a 12-year-old was killed in the crosswalk in 2023. - $150,000 for sidewalk repairs because of damage caused by street trees, the same as a year ago.
In addition, the budget proposed $850,000 for a roundabout at the intersection of Village Road West, New Village Road and Baxter Place (near St. David the King Catholic Church). Concept plans also include RRFBs at the location. Council members have asked to see the design.
Other road projects include:
- $250,000 toward an eventual widening of Meadow Road between Clarksville Road and Duck Pond Park. The budget projects another $900,000 will be needed in each of the next two years to fund this project. The budget also notes that Mercer County’s planned replacement of the county bridge over Duck Pond Run is projected to be under construction this year.
- $1.25 million for road resurfacing and other improvements to residential streets.
- $1 million for resurfacing and other improvements to Southfield Road, from Princeton Hightstown Road/County Road 571 to the Millstone River bridge and from the bridge over the Bear Brook to the Cranbury Golf Club. The township received a NJDOT Municipal Aid grant of $487,584 for this project, or 38% of the $1.278 million it had sought. The $750,000 budgeted last year for busier roads known as collector roads will be used for improvements to Village Road West between Quakerbridge Road to the west end of Windsor Ponds, as previously stated.
- $6,000 for signage and striping improvements.
Finally, the budget notes that funding from 2021 through 2024 for the annual utility maintenance and improvement program is expected to be used for pedestrian lighting improvements as part of the bigger revamp of Princeton-Hightstown Road between Cranbury/Wallace roads and Clarksville Road. Another $25,000 for the utility program is proposed in the FY26-27 budget.
Public hearings on both the operating budget and capital improvement program are generally held in May or June prior to a vote by the township council.
Tags: crosswalks, RRFB, walkability, washington road