Board hears warnings about six-month Millstone road closure; advocates press for more Safe Routes to School efforts

School district administrators and a community safety group told the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District board that an ongoing bridge/road project will create a multi-month traffic disruption and that the district should encourage walking and biking where safe.

Dr. Aderhold, speaking near the start of the meeting, described a road closure on Millstone Road between Cranbury/Cranberry Road and Maple Avenue that district staff and the administration expect to last about six months. "We highly encourage families and students to take the buses," Dr. Aderhold said, noting concerns about left turns and vehicle congestion near High School North and the Millstone community while the construction proceeds.

Anne Clifton of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, an all-volunteer local nonprofit, congratulated the district and several schools on receiving Safe Routes to School designations from New Jersey and urged the district to expand participation to additional schools, including those in Plainsboro. Clifton told the board the group offers bike- and pedestrian-safety education and cited a Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association presentation that reached Dutch Neck second graders last year; she said the group hopes the district will invite similar presentations for other grades.

"We hope this is the first of many more steps to make our school district more walkable and bikeable," Clifton said.

Clifton also urged advocacy for sidewalks along Millstone Road in West Windsor and along Grovers Mill Road into Plainsboro, and noted that adding sidewalks could reduce the number of students entitled to bus transportation — a point she linked to recent increases in the district’s transportation budget. Clifton said Greater Mercer TMA offers free biking and walking safety presentations for all grade levels and that the Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance is available to support schools.

Finance committee materials presented later in the meeting noted that the board considered transportation-related purchases and the award of additional routes as part of the finance agenda. The finance committee reported that multiple finance items were on the agenda, including award of additional transportation routes; the full board approved the finance agenda items during the meeting, with several board members recorded as abstaining on agenda item 19a.

District staff also said they are awaiting a decision about a temporary traffic signal near Cranberry Road that could affect left-turn movements from High School North; the final decision on that signal had not been announced at the meeting.