Officials: Upper Raritan ‘road diet’ concept still in DOT design phase; preliminary design eyed for 2028

Chair called the meeting to order and the council began with an update on the Upper Raritan Road Diet. The Director said the Department of Transportation is still in the "concept development phase" and that the next work, which would cover curb-to-right-of-way elements, will require right-of-entry agreements with private property owners, additional surveying and engineering.

"Once it graduates from the concept development phase, there will be a consultant...the design phase will begin," the Director said, describing work on ADA curb ramps, driveway curb cuts, additional crossings and signage. The official added that those elements are more time-consuming than striping and repainting, because they involve hardscaping and property access negotiations.

The Director projected that the preliminary design phase could be complete by spring 2028. "That phase of the project, even with significant advocacy on our part, is going to take some time," the Director said.

Council members said they have received generally positive feedback from residents and downtown business representatives about the phase 1 changes and asked staff to follow up with the police chief for any incident data to evaluate impacts. "We certainly wanted to look back with a decent amount of time," one council member said, urging an evaluation period to compare safety and traffic outcomes.

Staff said they will continue to press DOT and keep the public informed. The council did not take formal action on the road diet at the meeting, but members said they will request clearer timelines and consider an informational session if the borough determines it would be helpful to the public.

The meeting then moved on to redevelopment matters and other agenda items.