Princeton Council voted 5-0 Monday to approve a scaled-back version of the North Harrison Street Improvement Project, trimming a plan that once called for three roundabouts down to just one. The $7 million project, aimed at the stretch near Terhune Road, now moves forward with a single-lane roundabout, new pedestrian crossings, ADA ramps and a widened shared-use path meant to keep cyclists out of the circular intersection entirely.
A Second Try After the State Said No
The revised scope was Princeton's second attempt at modifying the project, after the New Jersey Department of Transportation rejected the municipality's first reduced-scope application, according to The Daily Princetonian. NJDOT rejected that initial application for lacking sufficient pedestrian safety measures. Mayor Mark Freda said the first modification may have been turned down for exactly that reason, and the new plan folds in pedestrian crossings and ADA ramps to address it.
The approved design includes a single-lane roundabout, a five-foot sidewalk on the west side of North Harrison Street, and the widened shared-use path on the east side, according to TAPinto. Project staff told council that permanent property acquisition is not needed for the work, though temporary construction easements may be required as construction proceeds. New sidewalks and ADA ramps in the corridor will be ripped out and replaced as part of the build, per staff.
Money, Timing and a Lingering Discrepancy
Reporting diverges on exactly how much state money is riding on the project and how soon it must move. Town Topics reported the project must be out to bid by November 2027 to receive a $753,000 grant from NJDOT, while the same outlet's figure and TAPinto's $750,000 reference a differing dollar amount — and TAPinto separately reported that council must bid out and award the project by November 17, 2026. Those discrepancies remain unresolved in public reporting. The underlying project is estimated at $7 million overall, according to Town Topics.
That state money is separate from an $818,256 NJDOT Municipal Aid grant Princeton received in December 2024 for pedestrian safety improvements between Nassau Street and Franklin Avenue, also tied to the broader North Harrison Street Improvements Project, which covers a 2.5-mile stretch of the corridor, per the same Town Topics reporting at the time.
Freda's August Pushback, Now Resolved
The roundabout fight isn't new. At the August 10 council meeting, Freda raised objections to the roundabout proposal, favoring a comparison of intersection improvements against the roundabout before committing, and expressing concern about spending more on the roundabout at the expense of other projects. At the November 9 meeting, staff estimated an improved traffic signal at roughly $1 million versus roughly $1.5 million for a roundabout, with state funding contingent on the roundabout design underlying the grant application. A consultant had recommended the roundabout design.
Freda also questioned why the proposal required a roundabout rather than upgrades to the existing traffic signal, but ultimately acknowledged that accepting the grant meant proceeding with the roundabout. He said questions about a project help the council and the public understand the decisions being made. Princeton Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton told council the roundabout aligns with the Harrison Street road diet identified in the town's master plan, though she said bicycle infrastructure is not part of the current proposal and could be considered in a future North Harrison Street project.
Council Members Weigh In
Councilmember Mia Sacks thanked staff for their patience amid differing perspectives and priorities on the project, and said the municipality had promised residents proactive traffic and pedestrian safety measures as neighborhood density increased, pointing to the Alice and Avalon developments that have added housing density in the area. Councilmember Leighton Newlin said roundabouts on Alexander and Rosedale roads have worked well locally, while Councilmember Leticia Fraga called roundabouts a good solution for traffic flow. Councilmember David Cohen said he supported the modifications requested by the state transportation department.
What the Bigger Corridor Plan Still Envisions
The North Harrison Street corridor plan more broadly envisions roundabouts at three currently signalized intersections along with extensive bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements, even though the version council just approved includes only one. The Harrison Street Corridor Study recommends roundabouts at Valley Road, Terhune Road and Bunn Drive as part of a later project phase, framed around identifying safety and mobility improvements, traffic calming, and better bicycle and pedestrian movement. The study notes some of those recommendations will need sign-off from Mercer County, NJDOT or Princeton University, since portions of the study area fall under their jurisdiction.
For a sense of what a completed roundabout in the area looks like, Mercer County has already converted a two-way stop-controlled intersection at Rosedale Road and General Johnson Drive into a mini-roundabout roughly 65 feet in diameter, with 15-foot travel lanes and a 35-foot mountable interior island. The county says the project was designed to calm traffic, manage speeds, and improve safety for drivers and pedestrians, and it also lowered posted speed limits on Rosedale Road between Elm Street and Province Line Road to boost the roundabout's effectiveness.
