Corrections or additions?
This article was prepared for the September 24, 2003 issue of U.S.
1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Between the Lines
For 18 years now U.S. 1 reporters have been timing the
traffic on Route 1, the 9.1 mile stretch between Franklin Corner Road,
to the south, and Raymond Road, to the north. Over the years the
landmarks
have changed and overpasses have been added, but the basic premise
remains the same: have drivers track their times as they pass through
the various intersections.
We do this in the week after classes start at Princeton University,
so the scores aren’t affected by the crush of students. To avoid
weekend
anomalies, we drive on Tuesday toThursdays from 8:15 to 9 a.m. and
from 5 to 5:45 p.m.
Everyone says that congestion is only getting worse, but our surveys
take an objective look at the situation. In 2002 the then-new Meadow
Road overpass speeded up the times, and the average commuting time
of 17 minutes and 15 seconds was the third fastest time we have
recorded
since 1985. This year cars still sail past Meadow Road, but the
average
time was 90 seconds slower due to the afternoon times.
It took our northbound drivers six or seven minutes to traverse what
should be a two-minute stretch from the Forrestal Center at College
Road to the Radisson Hotel at Ridge Road. We suspect that office
occupancy
rates are higher at Forrestal Village, and that more cars are entering
the highway there. The southbound evening rush for that stretch was
also longer than last year.
Northbound, the morning rush was 18 minutes 15 seconds, or 45 seconds
more than in 2002. The southbound morning rush was 18 minutes, 30
seconds, or 75 seconds more than last year. Increased traffic is the
likely culprit, because off peak times were faster than last year.
As every driver knows, there’s always something to throw a kink in
any schedule. On the first morning of our survey, our drivers zoomed
up the highway, unencumbered by traffic, while cars — backed up
for an accident on I-295 — couldn’t turn onto Route 1.
Thanks to Joe Ryan, Marie Rendine, Timothy Cresson, and Theresa
Marzarella,
members of the U.S. 1 delivery staff who took on extra duties last
week to drive up and down Route 1 during the rush hour for the traffic
survey.
Top Of Page
Addenda
and the documentary that is going to include a segment on the
controversial
movie’s reception at the old Prince Theater on Route 1:
A representative of the producer, World of Wonder, reports that the
Princeton segment is complete, except for some film or video images
of Princeton in the early 1970s. The call has gone out for any moving
pictures from that era — dad’s 8 millimeter home footage,
whatever.
If you can help, E-mail Rein at rrein@princetoninfo.com and he will
refer you to the producer.
"The Dancer," selected for the Plainsboro Arts Festival and
shown on page 34, is the work of Arlene Milgram. (It was incorrectly
attributed to the exhibition judge Maggie Johnson of Princeton.)
Corrections or additions?
This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com
— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
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