Category: #GreaterPrincetonNJ

The Trenton Free Public Library will receive $302,000 in state funding through the state’s Library Construction Bond Act.

Approved by voters in 2017, the bond act authorizes $125 million in state bonds for technology updates, building improvements, and other library projects across the state. The first round of funding, which allocated $87.5 million, was announced in January of 2020.

The second round of the bond act allocates $37 million to 36 library projects across the state. The list of projects for the second round of funding has been submitted to the New Jersey Legislature and will be signed by Governor Phil Murphy once it reaches his desk.  

“Libraries are the foundation of our communities and investing in them is just as critical as investing in our schools, in our cities and towns, and in our families,” Murphy said. “The library offers critical resources and is where the concept of lifetime learning comes to fruition, where the spirit of community is celebrated, and where families come together. I am pleased to announce this second round of funding so we can continue to see progress in the modernization of New Jersey’s libraries.”

New Jersey State Librarian Jennifer Nelson said back in 2017 when New Jerseyans passed the Library Construction Bond, no one knew a pandemic was on the horizon.

“During the pandemic, we’ve seen just how valuable our public libraries are to communities all over the state,” Nelson said. “The new and refurbished buildings that are being supported through the bond act will benefit New Jerseyans for years to come with safe, healthy spaces and up-to-date technology that are available to all. When we improve our libraries, we improve our communities and the lives of residents.”

The Trenton Free Public Library, founded in 1750, is one of the oldest public libraries in New Jersey, and the second free library in the U.S. after Philadelphia’s free library. In 2010, four of the five branches of the library were closed due to funding issues. Funding for the library from the City of Trenton was about $2 million last year.

New Jersey American Water has lifted a conservation notice for customers in Central New Jersey. Normal water use can now be resumed.

On. Jan. 3, the water company issued a notice urging customers in Central Jersey to avoid any non-essential water use until further notice. New Jersey American Water customers in Mercer, Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Somerset counties were asked to conserve water.

The advisory was issued as a result of reduced water levels caused by a system issue at its Raritan-Millstone Water Treatment Plant in Bridgewater.

NJ Transit closed out its Princeton Transitway survey on the morning of Dec. 30. As of 10 a.m., the survey was closed down.

One thing is clear from the survey – the bus rapid transit proposal of about a decade ago has been revived and is included in three of the four transit options that are part of the survey. The fourth option is to keep the existing Dinky rail line and the existing stock of rail cars or a similar rail vehicle, but NJ Transit officials have already said in previous posts about the transitway study that the current cars are becoming obsolete and must be replaced. Another option could have been to replace the cars with modern electric train cars or battery-operated train cars that would run on the same tracks, as opposed to similar train cars.

The four survey options:

• Alternative 1: A roadway with embedded rail that can support both rail and rubber-tired transit vehicles. 
• Alternative 2: A stand-alone rail corridor with a parallel roadway for rubber-tired tram and/or bus service. 
• Alternative 3: A roadway with a guideway that could support a rubber-tired tram and buses.
• Alternative 4: A no build option that continues to use the existing Arrow III cars or similar rail vehicle. No new stations would be considered under this alternative. 

Three of four choices include bus rapid transit and a trail for pedestrians and cyclists. Two of the three options include light rail and bus rapid transit, while one is bus rapid transit only. The buses would run every 10 to 15 minutes, while light rail would run every 15 to 30 minutes or every 30 to 60 minutes. In all three viable options, there would be six stops “in town” and two along the transitway segment the Dinky train currently runs on between the Princeton station on Alexander Street and the main station at Princeton Junction. Princeton University is developing land in Princeton and West Windsor, and more frequent stops could serve the university community. Bus rapid transit that would connect with other bus links in the greater Princeton region was a goal of the bus rapid transit proposal of a decade ago.

An alternative to the existing Dinky line is slated to be chosen by the winter of 2022. It is unclear how the project would be funded.

Dinky train ridership has steadily declined since the old train station on University Place was closed and a new station was built. Supporters of the group Save the Dinky predicted the outcome when they fought and lost a legal battle with Princeton University to keep the train operating out of the former Dinky station location on University Place. Service cuts and mechanical breakdowns have also hurt ridership, in addition to a decline in passengers during the pandemic.

For more information on the Princeton Transitway study, read our previous posts below or visit the NJ Transit Princeton Transitway website.

Related stories:

NJ Transit is conducting a Princeton Transitway study

Princeton alumnus unveils battery-powered train

New Dinky Station opens in Princeton

Dinky service at old location ends today

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly has issued a flash flood warning for northeastern Mercer County, southeastern Somerset County, Middlesex County, and Monmouth County until 2:45 a.m. on Sunday.

More than an inch of rain has fallen already, and another inch of rain is possible in some areas. The ground was already saturated from the rain in recent days. Flash flooding is expected to begin soon or has already begun in some areas in the Central New Jersey region. Flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets, and underpasses as well as other low-lying areas is possible.

Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. It is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding at night. Stay home if you can. Turn around if a road is flooded, and do not ignore road barricades.

Quaker Road is closed in Princeton due to flooding. Seek an alternate route.

We will add other roads to this list Sunday if there are more closures. Send us an email if you have a road to add to the list.

Central New Jersey fared much better in the storm this weekend than Atlantic and Cape May counties. US 40 in Egg Harbor Township, US 30 in Absecon City, and NJ 147 in North Wildwood are all flooded.

Quaker Road opened just after 3:30 p.m. Sunday after being closed in Princeton due to flooding. S

Central New Jersey fared much better in the storm this weekend than Atlantic and Cape May counties. US 40 in Egg Harbor Township, US 30 in Absecon City, and NJ 147 in North Wildwood are all flooded.

Join us for a fireside chat on Monday, December 13, from 5–6 p.m., ET, featuring attorneys from Fox Rothschild’s Intellectual Property Law Department in Princeton, New Jersey. This free-ranging conversation, led by Gerry Norton, PhD, Nancy Halpern, DVM, Jimmy Hao, PhD, and Joe Chen, PhD, will address the legal, social, historical and policy aspects of…

Princeton University officials have announced that the return to the campus after the winter break has been postponed a week due to the Omicron variant surge. The school has also changed protocols for the gradual return of students to campus.

Undergraduate students are not allowed to return to campus until Jan. 14 at the earliest. This is a week later than the previously announced Jan. 7 return date. Students must register their return and participate in campus COVID testing protocols. All students must submit a COVID test as soon as possible when they return to campus. Students must receive a negative test result before attending their first in-person class or activity.

All undergraduate and graduate students must receive a COVID booster by Monday, Jan. 31 or 30 days after they become eligible.

Beginning Jan. 8 through mid-February, all undergraduate students who have returned to campus will not be permitted to travel outside of Mercer County or Plainsboro Township in Middlesex County for personal reasons, except in extraordinary circumstances, school officials said.

University-sponsored indoor gatherings on or off of the campus, including meetings and events with faculty, researchers, staff, graduate students, undergraduate students, and approved visitors, may not include food or any activity that requires removing masks. Undergraduate students must continue to observe the 20-person gathering limit in their dorm room, suite, or off-campus housing. The gathering limits and regulations are in effect until at least mid-February.

“We know you’ll have questions about how the spring term will proceed when classes begin on January 24.  We’re expecting that our public health protocols for undergraduates will keep the campus safe for in-person teaching and learning, as it was last fall,”  Jill Dolan, dean of the college, and W. Rochelle Calhoun, vice president for campus life, wrote in an email to faculty members on Monday.

“That said, we might see more students in isolation, especially at the term’s start, or in mid-February, when our modeling suggests that this variant might peak. We’ll work with you on how to deliver course content to students who might need remote options while they’re isolating,” they wrote. “If a critical mass of students in any one of your classes are isolating, for example, it might be best to shift the class to a fully remote format for a short but specified period of time. Otherwise, opening a Zoom link for a few students in isolation might suffice, as it did in the fall.”

School officials will provide more information about teaching strategies and options when staff members return after the holidays. A student town hall will be held viz Zoom on Jan. 5, and a faculty town hall will be held via Zoom on Jan. 7.

For the week ending Dec. 24, 12 asymptomatic undergraduates tested positive for COVID, 23 asymptomatic graduate students tested positive, and 73 asymptomatic faculty and staff members tested positive, according to the university’s COVID dashboard. That same week, seven symptomatic undergraduates, four symptomatic graduate students, and five symptomatic faculty and staff tested positive for COVID,