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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.

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