By Anne Levin

At its most recent public meeting on April 14, Princeton Council passed an ordinance reducing the speed limit from 40 to 35 miles per hour on a portion of Cherry Hill Road between Mt. Lucas Road and a point 565 feet north of Foulet Drive.

This change, which makes the entire length of the roadway uniform at 35 miles per hour, is small but significant. According to Councilman David Cohen, it will likely be followed by future ordinances lowering speed limits in the center of town.

Cohen has been especially active in efforts to make the streets of Princeton safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. He applied for, and was accepted to, the 2025 Champions Institute, which is sponsored by Smart Growth America, a national organization that helps make communities affordable, convenient, and safe. Cohen is working on an action plan to make Princeton’s bicycle boulevard network more effective.

Created during the leadership of former Mayor Liz Lempert, the bicycle boulevard network is a loop of streets that connects the town’s schools. It includes low-speed, low-volume roadways designed to prioritize bicycle movement using a combination of signage, pavement markings, traffic calming, and/or volume management.

“The problem is that people don’t know what the bike boulevard is,” said Cohen. “Right now, it’s just these little green signs on the road. Nobody really knows what it means, so we will have a real education campaign.”

The bicycle boulevard network is mostly for streets that are used by local residents rather than visitors from out of town. “This is not something that was invented by Princeton,” Cohen said. “This is nationwide. It’s actually approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.”

On some streets, advisory bike lanes — in which a single car lane is in the middle of the road, with bike lanes on either side — may be created. They already exist on some streets owned by Princeton University, including Lawrence Drive and College Road, Cohen said.

Another safety-related effort for the municipality is Vision Zero, a national initiative geared toward reducing fatalities and serious injuries on roads. Work is currently underway to get a web page up that is dedicated to the initiative.

Cohen defined Vision Zero as “an approach that tries to use the tools at our disposal to prioritize safety when planning roads and making rules. Safety is the gold standard.”

Gathering and studying data is a big part of the effort. Cohen identified Washington Road as the location where the highest numbers of crashes and fatalities in Princeton take place. While improvements at the corner of Washington Road and Nassau Street have made a positive difference, “that was a first step,” he said. “There are many, many other things that need to be done on Washington, and the University has taken that upon themselves. There is more striping, but that is only the beginning. They have a comprehensive plan for the entire length of the road to accommodate all users.”

Portions of Nassau Street and Hamilton Avenue/Wiggins Street are also problematic, Cohen said. A raised crosswalk is planned for Nassau Street In front of Thomas Sweet Ice Cream shop, and the municipality has already embarked upon improvements for Hamilton Avenue between Harrison Street and Walnut Lane.

“We’re aware of our high crash network, and are really working on making improvements,” said Cohen. “The website will help publicize that. It’s not just about engineering. The education component is very important.”