Hello everyone! My name is Maanya Devaprasad, and I am currently a student advisor for the WWBPA. Today, I just wanted to share a few of my experiences these past few months. As a high school student in West Windsor, I have used this newfound time due to recent events to learn new things, cook, bake, garden, bike, and, most importantly, spend more time with my family. As I look back at the past few months, my most cherished memories happened either in the kitchen or at the park. In the kitchen, I have been trying to bake all types of desserts for my family, and I gave a few of my friend’s recipes a try. In the park, I especially enjoyed seeing all the members of our community walking and biking around. As I biked around the park with my family, I loved seeing so many other families walking or biking. Sometimes I even go on bike rides with my friends around my community because it is one of the safest activities we can do together during a time like this. Overall, I’m happy to see so many people outside staying safe while also trying to make the best of such an unforeseen time.
The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance?is organizing its sixth annual Walk to the Farmers? Market to mark the opening day of the market on?May?2, at 9 a.m.
This free, family-friendly walk is open to people of all ages, and those in wheelchairs and strollers as well.
Meet us?at the back of Maurice Hawk School, 303-305 Clarksville Road at 9 a.m. Our mile-long walk will take us to Berrien Avenue on the school path, and then to Alexander Road. We then cross Alexander Road and Wallace Road and continue over the roundabout to Vaughn Drive, where we will proceed to the Farmers? Market and the WWBPA table.
If you can?t join us for the walk, you can still visit our table at the market. We?ll be there every other week starting with the first week of the market.
Hope to see you there!
Comments Off on Walk with us on May 2nd to the first Farmers? Market of the Spring
The WWBPA invites doctors and other health professionals to walk with us and the public to West Windsor’s Wellness Fair on Saturday, March 31 at 1pm.
Please meet at Maurice Hawk Elementary on Clarksville Road at 12:45pm for a short 10-15 minute walk to the nearby senior center. People are free to walk back individually after visiting the fair.
The WWBPA promotes active living through walking and bicycling – it’s healthy, free and fun! The Wellness Fair is sponsored by West Windsor Departments of Health and Recreation, see westwindsornj.org.
Hope to see you there!
Comments Off on Walk with a Doc to the Wellness Fair
Maurice Hawk Elementary School Principal Denise Mengani, Assistant Principal Patricia Buell and?the Hawk led students, their parents and WWBPA trustees for the Walk to Hawk event on October 18th, part of the International Walk to School month festivities.
We had a beautiful sunny day for the walk.? About 45 students and their parents went on the walk, which started at the West Windsor municipal center and ended at Maurice Hawk Elementary School.? WWBPA trustee Stacey Karp gave each child an “I walked to school today” sticker and everyone helped make sure all the students arrived safely at school.
We want to extend our thanks to the? West Windsor police officers who stopped traffic at several crossings so that the group could stay together.? Ms. Mengani allowed us to address the parents to we could share some of the improvements WWBPA has advocated for around town, as well as promote our upcoming events.
Comments Off on Hawk Elementary Celebrates Walk to School Month
The WWBPA had something for everyone in May. Where did you see us?
On May 7, we led our second annual walk to mark the start of the farmers’ market season. About 20 people, from grandparents to grandchildren, joined for a walk from Maurice Hawk School to the Farmers’ Market at the Vaughn Drive Parking Lot.? The first stop was at the Arts Center on Alexander Road where Greening of West Windsor (GroWW) was holding an Herb Sale to benefit the plantings at the Arts Center.? We observed the new sidewalk along Alexander Road from Scott Avenue to Wallace Road under construction, and noted that on next year’s walk we would use it.? Crossing Wallace at Alexander instead of at Scott is much safer because cars have a much greater sight line to the pedestrians.? We proceeded to the station, under the tracks, and along the pathway to the Farmers’ Market, where the WWBPA handed out maps and held a drawing for a T-shirt, a reflective vest, a set of lights, a set of ankle bands and a couple of Share the Road decals.
As part of National Bike to Work Week, we joined Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association for a chilly “bikers breakfast” at the station on May 17, offering food, drink and encouragement to cyclists and others. We hope some are ready to get back on a bike, even if not to get to work.
On May 21, we were back at the farmers’ market, teaching about 50 kids to ride bikes without training wheels, using a “balance first” method taught to us by Bike New York.
On May 28, we were at BikeFest, talking to participants about what we do and offering ideas on where to ride.
Our “Ride of Silence,” to honor cyclists killed or injured on the roads, was delayed by rain until June 1. We rode through West Windsor, led by a police car and funeral hearse. If you missed us, check out the photos.
Join the WWBPA for its second annual walk to the West Windsor Farmers’ Market on opening day, May 7.
We’ll gather in the parking lot of Maurice Hawk Elementary School on Clarksville Road by 9:30 a.m. and take a leisurely walk of just over a mile to the market. We’ll stop at the GroWW Herb Sale at the Arts Center and see where some gaps in the sidewalk network will be filled, making it safer to walk between the Arts Center and the train station.
All participants get a WWBPA walking and biking map of West Windsor, and there will be some other goodies to win.
Bring your friends and chat away as you walk along. A group walk back to Hawk will be provided if desired.
The WWBPA conducted another in our series “West Windsor Walks” on Monday, November 8 from 6:45 to 7:15 a.m. at the intersection of Cranbury-Wallace Roads and Route 571. As we watch the construction of a sidewalk and new travel and turn lanes on the bridge over the railroad tracks and await the addition of marked crosswalks, we continue to see conflicts with pedestrian and cars.?Many people cross mid-block both across Route 571 and across Wallace Road as they look for the quickest and, what they perceive to be the safest, routes to the Princeton Junction Train Station.
Crews began installing new sidewalks on the bridge over the Northeast Corridor train tracks this week! When complete, this new section of sidewalk will greatly facilitate pedestrian access between Main Street Princeton Junction and the offices and neighborhoods west of the tracks. The WWBPA wishes to thank all the responsible parties for helping to make our community more pedestrian friendly.
Please join us at the intersection of Rt 571 and Cranbury/Wallace Roads on Monday, November 8 from 6:45am – 7:15am, to help educate morning commuters about the new law to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks. Hope to see you there!
Comments Off on New Sidewalk for Rt 571 Bridge Over Tracks
The Canal Pointe Condominium Association and the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance boards participated in a West Windsor Walk during the evening rush hour on October 21. The half hour event, held at the crosswalk to Market Fair near Mayfair Drive, was meant to raise awareness of the new state law to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.
Participants, holding signs reminding drivers of the new law, observed conditions and traffic as pedestrians crossed, including commuters, joggers and shoppers, some with babies.
Since Canal Pointe Blvd is a 4 lane road, drivers in some cases didn’t know why cars in the adjacent lane stopped, since the pedestrian was blocked from view by the stopped cars. As a result, some did not stop, while others slammed on their brakes when they got close enough to see the pedestrian, very close to the edge of the crosswalk.
Also, people were not familiar with when it was OK to go again. According to the new law, a driver must stop whenever a pedestrian is anywhere in the roadway on the same side as as the vehicle is travelling, until the pedestrian has walked past one clear lane on the opposite side of the roadway. For Canal Pointe Blvd, that means stopping until the pedestrian is in the outside lane on the opposite side of the road.
In the picture at the top, it is OK for the vehicle to go, since the pedestrian is more than an opposite side lane away.
In the picture left, the car on the inside lane went too early, since pedestrians have only just reached the side of the road they are traveling in. See the excellent diagrams provided by New Jersey Department of Transportation for more examples, and tell your friends and family to get up to speed on the new law!
Comments Off on Educating Drivers at Canal Pointe Blvd
Join us as we take a videoed walk down Main Street in West Windsor, Rt 571, from the arboretum opposite the high school at Clarksville Road to the gateway to the Princeton Junction train station at Wallace Road. We’ll see just how close we are to having a sidewalk along the entire 0.7 mile stretch! It should be noted that we’re walking along the south side of 571, since the north side has almost no sidewalks. Only a few gaps exist, at:
a house just before the Professional Center
the Valero gas station
the Schlumberger building
Coldwell Banker building
Sovereign Bank building
A crosswalk and pedestrian signal is missing across Alexander Road between the Valero and Shell gas stations. The curb ramp is too steep at the Sunoco station, but they’re missing at:
the arboretum crossing 571 and Clarksville
Windsor Plaza (ex-Acme) shopping center, crossing 571 at Sherbrooke
Sidewalk repair is needed for broken or raised slabs at:
a house near Clarksville
Windsor Plaza (ex-Acme) shopping center
And that’s all! Please join the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance in encouraging the township to work with the responsible parties to complete our Main Street, making us a more pedestrian friendly community.
These are photos from our pop-up campaign to call attention to the new law that requires motorists to stop and stay stopped as long as a pedestrian is in the crosswalk.
Did you catch us? for the 30 minutes we were at Route 571 and Sherbrooke Drive on Thursday, September 23 or the 30 minutes at Wallace Road and Scott Avenue on Saturday, September 25 as the new Arts Center was being inaugurated? We got some smiles and thumbs-up, but also some scowls and some drivers who ignored the law — and pedestrians seeking to cross Route 571.
There are three more opportunities to give us a wave as you drive by or — better yet — take part:
7:15 a .m. Wednesday, October 6 at 7:15 a.m. at Clarksville Road and Route 571, by High School South;
5:30 p.m. Thursday, October 21 at Canal Pointe Boulevard by MarketFair; and
6:45 a.m. Monday, November 8 at Cranbury/Wallace Roads and Route 571.
Help us show West Windsor cares about pedestrian safety!
Making West Windsor more walkable isn’t just good for pedestrians, it’s good for all of us!
A 2009 study of over 90,000 home sales in 15 metropolitan regions nationwide concluded “the walkability of cities translates directly into increases in home values. Homes located in more walkable neighborhoods?those with a mix of common daily shopping and social destinations within a short distance?command a price premium over otherwise similar homes in less walkable areas.”
The study, Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Home Values in U.S. Cities, found that “Houses with the above-average levels of walkability command a premium of about $4,000 to $34,000 over houses with just average levels of walkability in the typical metropolitan areas studied.”
Real estate agents are taking notice – Lani Rosales notes, in her article Why Pedestrian Safety Rankings Matter to Real Estate Agents , “The reason pedestrian safety rankings matter to real estate agents is because mainstream, common buyers are now making decisions as to where to live based on factors that used to be seen as liberal hippie nonsense.”
Help the WWBPA to make West Windsor more walkable and raise our property values by joining us, participating in a West Windsor Walk, or contact our officials to express your support for more sidewalks and better crosswalks!
Come out to connect with friends?and to meet new people, too!
The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) invites you to participate in a Spring Community Walk on Saturday, May 1, 2010. The walk will start at 10:00 a.m. at the playground behind Maurice Hawk School on Clarksville Road and continue to the West Windsor Community Farmers? Market on Vaughn Drive, where refreshments will be served, and then return at noon to the school. The total distance is less than 3 miles.
The walk is free and no advance sign-up is needed. All children must be accompanied by a parent or other adult for the walk, and all minors must have?Walk Waiver, which are available in advance on the WWBPA Web site or on the day of the walk at the school. Walkers are responsible for their own safety and the WWBPA is not liable for any injuries.
Finally, this intersection along Route 571 is being made safer.
The intersection of Route 571/Princeton-Hightstown Road, Wallace Road and Cranbury Road, one of the busiest intersections in West Windsor and the site where a pedestrian wearing a reflective vest was struck by a car last month, will become safer for those trying to cross the street. This is great news and comes two years after the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance highlighted the safety problems there and made a number of recommendations.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation is in the final design phase of improvements that will include marked crosswalks and pedestrian countdown signals at every corner. Lighting at the intersection will be brought up to code, if it isn’t already meeting the requirements.
A sidewalk also will be added from the northwest corner (by the school bus depot) along the bridge to Washington Road, where a pedestrian crossing across Washington Road will be added. NJDOT also intends to add a left turn lane off the railroad bridge, which will eliminate what some pedestrians use as a refuge island.
NJDOT intends to do the work in the spring or early summer of 2010 and says that funding is secure. (This is being paid for through federal pedestrian-safety funds.) It has decided not to wait for improvements promised by Rite-Aid, which is going back to the zoning board for permission to make some changes to its plans.
The WWBPA was often told that this was a particularly difficult intersection because it involved Township, Mercer County and state jurisdictions. That the three entities have worked out a plan shows how the WWBPA can bring people together to find solutions.
While we are pleased with the planned 2010 improvements by the NJDOT, in our view they do not address all needed improvements to this gateway to West Windsor. Other improvements to the main street Princeton Junction area (along Route 571 from Cranbury/Wallace Roads to Clarksville Road) are now under review as part of a long-term project that includes the intersection at Cranbury/Wallace Road. To that end, we are in the process of drafting recommendations that consider the usage context of the roadway (i.e., with Route 571 as West Windsor?s main street). Context is critical because it drives the choice of design features that work together to impact safety. Based on these considerations, WWBPA recommendations for this road segment include:
Lowering the desired operating speed, supported by roadway design elements, not just a lower posted speed.
Adding bike lanes per the Township Master Plan.
Strengthening the design cues to drivers when entering the main street gateways (e.g., by reducing the posted speed limit in the transition areas leading to the gateways to 35mph, reducing to one through-travel lane before the gateways).
A right-turning car struck a pedestrian as he was crossing Route 571 (Princeton-Hightstown Road) at the corner of? Wallace Road at 6 PM on Monday, November 30. As was his custom, he was wearing a reflective vest. Fortunately, there was no neurological damage, and no bones were broken.
Also, please attend the meeting about Route 571 (Princeton-Hightstown Road) on Tuesday, December 15 between 6 PM and 8:30 PM at the West Windsor Municipal Center. Let’s ensure that this intersection is improved for the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.
This information meeting, conducted by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) and Mercer?County Engineering Division in conjunction with West Windsor Township,? will show improvements being planned between Cranbury/Wallace roads and Clarksville Road.
Plans?will be on display beginning at 6:30 P.M. on December 15,? and?DVRPC and County representatives will be available to answer?questions. A formal presentation of the project will begin promptly at?7 P.M.
After three years of advocacy by the WWBPA, a new crossing has been built between the Avalon Watch apartments and the Village Shops on Clarksville Road. The project, funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and Mercer County, should make it safer for bus riders and shoppers to cross the road. It includes a pedestrian refuge island in the middle of the road, an in-pavement lighting system, flashing signs, and left-turn lanes. A diagram of the project is at westwindsornj.org/clarksville_crosswalk.html.
Monthly meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month via Zoom. We will eventually resume meeting in the West Windsor Municipal Building. Email us at [email protected] if you would like the Zoom code.
Find us at the West Windsor Farmers Market (Vaughn Drive parking lot) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every other Saturday from May through Halloween.
The WWBPA invites doctors and other health professionals to walk with us and the public to West Windsor’s Wellness Fair on Saturday, March 31 at 1pm.
Maurice Hawk Elementary School Principal Denise Mengani, Assistant Principal Patricia Buell and?the Hawk led students, their parents and WWBPA trustees for the Walk to Hawk event on October 18th, part of the 
Crews began installing new sidewalks on the bridge over the Northeast Corridor train tracks this week! When complete, this new section of sidewalk will greatly facilitate pedestrian access between Main Street Princeton Junction and the offices and neighborhoods west of the tracks. The WWBPA wishes to thank all the responsible parties for helping to make our community more pedestrian friendly.
The Canal Pointe Condominium Association and the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance boards participated in a West Windsor Walk during the evening rush hour on October 21. The half hour event, held at the crosswalk to Market Fair near Mayfair Drive, was meant to raise awareness of the new state law to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.
In the picture left, the car on the inside lane went too early, since pedestrians have only just reached the side of the road they are traveling in. See the 
Saturday, May 1, 2010 at 10 a.m.
