A lot of eyes have been on the Dinky in recent years, scrutinizing and questioning every step in the transformation of the Dinky station area by the university.
Personally, as someone very active in calling for Princeton to be an example for state and nation by shifting much more rapidly towards a more sustainable path, I found it hard to engage with the Dinky issue. It threatened to, and often did, suck oxygen out of many other pressing issues in town.
While many saw the extension of rail to Nassau Street as an important goal, I saw the potential gains in sustainability as being more symbolic than substantive. Nassau Street is already congested. The Dinky would have to power its considerable weight up a fairly steep slope to get there. And the challenge of getting the Dinky to run more frequently is made all the more difficult if it must travel farther, and in more congested terrain.
Despite a great deal of news coverage, many people are still unclear on where the new Dinky station will be built. Photos make distances seem greater, but they'll at least help with some orientation. In this photo, the current Dinky station buildings are on the right. The new station will be the oft-mentioned 460 feet away, at the near corner of the parking garage that can be seen down and to the left.
Looking up from the current, temporary Dinky station, you can see the parking garage in the middle of the photo, with McCarter Theater up on the left. The station will be to the left of the parking garage, at the uphill end.
Moving the Dinky station will allow the garage to be easily accessed from Alexander St. Though it seems mundane to shift the Dinky station downhill in part to improve access to a parking garage, passionate ideals like sustainability can only be realized through a lot of seemingly mundane actions. Reducing the distance people need to drive to get to their parking spot has a big impact over time. And the benefit is not only to university employees but to the public as well. The university parking garage is open and free to the public except during weekday working hours.
Though the stations and canopy were a beautiful and historic setting for the train station, and I wish a way could have been found to relocate the canopy if it couldn't stay in place, the buildings were not much used. The building on the right was open on a limited basis for commuters, but otherwise empty. The other building, next to where the Dinky stopped, had a small office that the engineer would disappear into. Another portion of it, according to a train employee, had been fitted with a mock dorm room that the university would show to prospective students.
In the future, the buildings will be used much more intensively, one as a restaurant, the other as a cafe, particularly by patrons spilling out of McCarter Theater after a show. A similar repurposing was done long ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the old train station was made into a restaurant called the Gandy Dancer. With the WaWa to be moved right next to the new train station, Dinky users will no longer need to walk half a block from the station to get a cup of coffee.
The transformation of the intersection of Alexander Street and University Place, from stop light to roundabout, has been slowed by the winter cold snap, but is due to open soon. At that point, we'll find out whether nightmare predictions of traffigeddon will come true, or if it will move traffic more efficiently than the stoplight it is replacing.
Back in April, 2007, I got the brilliant but, alas, naive idea that if everyone could agree on the basic facts of moving the Dinky, there would be much less contentiousness, and even the beginnings of agreement on what to do. Below is a letter I had published in TownTopics, augmented by a QandA published previously on this website. At this point in the process, with a one-way sign pointing towards Arts and Transit, they mostly serve archival purposes.
Look at the University’s Proposed Arts and Transit Plan as a Whole
To the Editor:
Catch a ride on the Dinky opinion train
and you will find that, like the Dinky, it sweeps you vigorously from
one terminus to the other, with no stops in between. Respected
friends will have opposite views, delivering you either to the
conclusion that a rail line really should reach up to Nassau Street, or
that the best chance for sustaining the Dinky is to move it 460 feet
down the hill, as the University now says it will do, regardless.
The debate about the University’s
proposed Arts and Transit Neighborhood would be greatly expedited, and
needless ill will avoided, if people would look at the proposal as a
whole, not just one aspect. The Dinky, though its horn sounds like a
cross between a tugboat and a mourning dove, has taken on the qualities
of an elephant being intently scrutinized at too close a range.
Some aspects that I’d like to mention are these:
The 460 Feet: Having made the locally
famous 460 foot, two-minute walk to the proposed new Dinky station
location, I found it to be a surprisingly minimal change. For those
parking at the nearby Lot 7 University garage (free to the public after
hours and on weekends), the new location will actually reduce the walk
by that same 460 feet. Though the University plan would lose the
appealing interface with University Place, it offers improvements for
traffic congestion, parking access, and train station facilities.
Extending tracks to Nassau Street: If
extended to Nassau, as would reportedly still be possible via Alexander
if the University’s proposal goes forward, the Dinky or any other heavy
vehicle (“light rail” is not necessarily lightweight) will encounter
steep inclines that could substantially reduce energy efficiency
compared to the current relatively flat route. The combination of steep
inclines, longer route, more stops, and interactions with streets could
affect the most important factors determining Dinky ridership:
dependability and frequency. Though a train stop on Nassau St. has
symbolic power, even with more downtown density most Princetonians would
still live well beyond the ten minutes people are supposedly willing to
walk to a train stop.
It’s important that we defend
traditions and dream of an even better town. Sustainability, whether
environmental or in reducing the Dinky’s dependency on state subsidies,
is a vital part of any vision for the future. The danger comes when the
strong sustainable, cultural, and civic aspects of the University’s
proposal are ignored due to focus on 460 feet. Nor is it fair to delay
the University’s vision for years while the serious logistical and
budgetary challenges of alternative proposals are indefinitely explored.
If people agree on a foundation of
facts as they can best be determined, look at the big picture, and are
as skeptical of their own opinions as those of others, then there’s hope
this four-year opinion ride can finally pull in to a pleasing
destination.
I have assembled a summary of information about the university proposal and the Dinky at www.princetonprimer.org.
Update, June 29: As part of the
agreement to move the Dinky station, a lot of money will be devoted to
studying and presumably implementing a better means of getting people to
and from the new Dinky station. Even as a supporter of the concept of
mass transportation, I find the emphasis on buses/shuttles to be risky.
What if we end up with little more than an expansion of the current
situation, with mostly empty shuttles driving around town?
People are habituated to jumping in a car and heading directly to their destination. Breaking
that habit won't be easy, and it's not particularly efficient for a
heavy shuttle to be hauling people on roundabout journeys to places
likely still distant from where they really want to go. The future
remains a puzzle with stubbornly elusive pieces, but here are a few
prototypes:
- Capital Bikeshare
is a program in Washington, D.C., that's being well-received. Users pay
$75/year for access to bikes stationed all over the city. Manhattan has
a similar program just starting up, and Seville, Spain had a popular
bike rental program when I visited in 2007.
- Building on the bikeshare concept is a fleet of foldable minicars
developed by MIT, that can carry two people around town, fold into
compact rows, and would be available at the swipe of a credit card.
Update, March 23: Information on a website
encouraging people to sign a petition not to move the Dinky is a bit
misleading. In particular, in the "Why This is Important" section,
contention #8 states: "The University argues that the station needs to be moved in order to create access to Lot #7 Garage, which is already full." This
completely misses the point of improving access to Lot 7, which is to
shorten the drive needed to access it. Reduced miles driven by employees
and towns people alike will make the new configuration more
"sustainable" than what currently exists. Since the university's Lot 7
is free and open to the public after working hours and on weekends, the improved access, and
having the station closer to the parking garage, will improve
convenience for many Princetonians who do not live within walking
distance of both the current and future Dinky stations.
Update, Jan. 24, 2012:
Twice in a week, in discussions with friends about the moving of the
Dinky station, I had to point out that the station is not being moved
all the way down to Faculty Drive, but only 460 feet (not yards). This
made them feel much better about the move. It's great to have
discussions where people are able to modify their views in the face of
new understanding. Two people is a small sampling, but it does point to
the possibility that many people remain confused about basic facts on
the issue. A map of the Arts and Transit Neighborhood design can be
found here, though it doesn't show Faculty Drive, which is far down from where the new station will be.
Update, Jan/2012: I
compiled this information about a year ago in the hopes that some
agreement could at least be reached about the underlying facts of a
highly controversial issue. What I found is that emotions were running
very high, and that very strong opinions tend to block out consideration
of contradicting information. There is some very deep resentment of the
university, particularly in neighborhoods that border it and fear its
encroachment. The proposed moving of the station also takes it and the
Wawa grocery store out of the borough and into the township, meaning a
loss of tax revenue for the borough. Though there are many sustainable
features about the University's proposed development, opponents tended
to judge its sustainability value solely on whether the train tracks
would ever reach Nassau St.. Describing all the unsustainable aspects of
extending the tracks up to Nassau (see letter) proved futile. Still, it was worth a try.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED PRINCETON UNIVERSITY ARTS TRANSIT NEIGHBORHOOD
--compiled March, 2011
To
my knowledge, there has been no previous attempt to gather information
relevant to the Dinky's future and the university proposal in a
reasonably concentrated form that would help people get up to speed on
the issue. Controversy can sometimes be reduced if people of varying
views can agree on underlying facts. What follows by no means answers
all questions, and I would appreciate any suggestions for additional
questions and answers.
The following information was gleaned from Princeton Future’s website, several articles in the Town Topics, and Princeton University's website.
Thanks in particular to Princeton Future for making available full
transcripts of public meetings about the proposed development. Links to
the full texts are provided below.
1)
Below are selected questions and (primarily university) answers
regarding the Dinky (mostly excerpted, with permission, from a 11.13.10 meeting of Princeton Future).
Q: How long have discussions been going on about the arts/transit center?
A: Plans
have been in the works for 4 years. The last two years, there have been
some significant conversations that have occurred in public. -- Kevin
Wilkes AIA, Borough Council, PU ’83
Q:
Why does the university want to locate the $300 million arts center
next to the Dinky station instead of at 185 Nassau (some community
members are suggesting this as an alternative site)?
A:
The location. One of the things that drives the university’s planning
for the arts is that it should in fact be well distributed throughout
the campus. 185 (Nassau) will continue to be a major center for the
arts. As would Intime, as would Richardson, as would Taplin, as would
the Art Museum and other locations around the campus. What drives this
is the growing synergies over time, particularly theater, dance,
McCarter and Berlind. So being adjacent to McCarter and Berlind is a
real attraction. And it brings in to this part of campus (the Dinky
terminus), which is a part of campus where 2 things happen that are
really helpful: 1. Lots of students live in this part of campus. So
getting them in and out of this space is attractive. And it is an easy
place for members of the community to get to. So that is why it is there. – Bob Durkee, Secretary, VP Public Affairs, Princeton University ‘69
Q: How many people ride the Dinky on an average day?
A:
From New Jersey Transit, we have a current estimate of 2045 daily
riders on the Dinky. We would like this (arts/transit center) project to
increase that ridership because of the amenities. The all-important
Wawa has 2600 daily customers. -- Ron McCoy FAIA, Princeton University
A:
In 2010, according to NJ Transit data received by the borough, there
were 613,500 trips on the Dinky, which works out to 1680 per day. The
same document said there were 2210 daily trips. (The search for truth
continues.)
Q: How much is the Dinky subsidized by the state of New Jersey?
A:
Quotes (without any clear basis) have varied from $4/ride to $8/ride.
The borough recently asked NJ Transit for more accurate numbers, and
were told that the annual operating deficit is $822,000. Divided by
613,000 trips in 2010, that comes to about $1.30/ride. The NJ Transit
info also mentioned $3.9 million in capital improvement costs, and it's
not clear if those were factored in.
Reducing the need for
state subsidy by increasing ridership and, perhaps at some point,
reducing operating costs by switching to a lightrail system, is an
important goal of both the university and the community, with
consequences for the Dinky's longterm sustainability. -- Editor
Q: Why does the university want to move the Dinky station away from its current location on a public street (University Place)?
A: We
asked (the consultants) if there was a way to make this work with the
Dinky Terminus where it is. Their answer is “no”. You can’t get access
into the (Lot 7 parking) garage. You can’t keep the parking as close as
you need to keep it. You can’t keep the Wawa close to the station. You
can’t meet all of the needs you need to meet in terms of traffic and
circulation. ….. We have no desire to move it for the sake of moving it.
We also asked them whether we could do it with the roundabout to the
south….They came back and said it doesn’t solve the problem. We have
over the course of time looked at lots and lots of different models. The
terminus is a magnet. Things that go with it: parking, Wawa, drop offs,
shuttle connections and all of that. If you have to keep all of those
things with it, you have to put it in a place where that can happen. If
you leave it where it is, you more or less have to leave the site the
way it is. -- Bob Durkee, PU
A2: One of the reasons we have congestion here now is that we have all modes of
transportation:
buses, taxis, cars, Wawa, pedestrians, bikes. They are all attached to
the terminus of the Dinky. (at University Place) The best way to
describe it is “The train is like a magnet”. If you move the terminus of
the train into a dedicated transit plaza (as proposed), then you move
all of those other things with it. So they are now located in the
transit plaza along with metered parking and commuter parking. So all of
that gets off the public street. So the public street moves quicker and
faster. …. We would provide all of the parking that is currently
provided. And we would give the riders an attractive public space with
art venues. It will be a multi-modal space and this shows the ability to
connect to structure 7(parking garage). This structure will then
provide parking for McCarter evening performances. -- Ron McCoy FAIA,
Princeton University
Q:
Moving the Dinky 460 feet down the hill would increase walking time
from town by 2 minutes. How many non-university Dinky riders would this
affect?
A:
Princeton University reportedly conducted a survey in October 2006
about East-bound Dinky ridership on a Tuesday and Wednesday. Combined
results were roughly 45% walked, 30% drove, 10% were dropped off, and 5%
rode bikes. (doesn’t add up to 100%, but close enough) If 40% of
ridership is university people walking to the Dinky (according to more
recent data), that leaves only 5% of ridership being non-university
walkers currently.
Q:
Why does the university object to putting the Dinky tracks underground
so that the tracks would not interfere with the proposed arts center?
A: The
question whether it really makes sense to have the entry experience
into Princeton be an underground one. For us that doesn’t feel like
something that would be appealing to Dinky riders. It raises issues of
safety. We have taken it seriously. We have done some work to figure out
what it would cost. It is $60-80 million dollars to try to do that. I
don’t think anyone has that kind of money to put into the creation of a
tunnel and an underground station. I understand the motivation. It
strikes me as one of those things that in time, people would really
wonder why a community of this size, with the number of people coming in
late at night would really want to come out into an underground
location. -- Bob Durkee
Q: Is the moving of the Dinky station 460 feet south inevitable?
A: From a March 30, 2011 Town Topics
article:
Even if the municipalities did not approve the zoning changes
requested by Princeton University to build its proposed Arts and
Transit Neighborhood at the intersection of University Place and
Alexander Road, the Dinky terminus will still likely move farther away
from downtown Princeton. In a letter to University Vice President and
Secretary Bob Durkee dated March 25, New Jersey Transit Executive
Director James Weinstein explained that his organization had “no
objection” to the “University’s interest in moving the borough terminus
station of the Princeton Shuttle Line (the Dinky station) some 460 feet
southward.” Mr. Weinstein’s letter reads, “It is my understanding
that such a move was specifically contemplated in the October 30, 1984
agreement of sale between NJ Transit and the University for the station
property.”
Q: Does the university see future alternatives to the Dinky?
A:
What seems to us … promising is to think about, whether over time, the
existing Dinky technology could be replaced with something more like
light rail…a way to extend the life of rail service into Princeton for a
much longer period of time. And it would have a. the advantage of
reducing operating costs, and b. creating the possibility that over
time, you could have a second stop in West Windsor. That has some
attraction because it might keep out some of the car traffic that comes
in here. We have also been exploring that idea and it is one that is
really worth doing something about. --university rep
Q:
Does currently available parking for the Dinky meet the demand, and has
building a garage structure somewhere in the vicinity of the current
Dinky station been considered?
A:
In the short run, “No”. The thinking about parking in this area really
began with “Could we provide the parking that is needed for people who
want to park and use the Dinky? Could we provide the parking needed for
the new Arts venues? The amount of space that is now available in the
permit lot and in the metered lot seems to be meeting the need. The
waiting list to get a permit is about 2-3 months. There are meters
available every day when we check. There seems to be enough parking for
now. –Bob Durkee, PU
Q: How much does the Dinky cost taxpayers?
A:
Though the figure of $8,000/day in state subsidies has been reported,
the recent data obtained from NJ Transit by Princeton borough puts the
operating deficit at $2250/day. Again, it's not clear if the "operating"
deficit includes all costs.- Editor
Q:
What are some aspects to consider when proposing an extension of rail
service up to Princeton's business district on Nassau Street?
A:
A train stop on Nassau Street would have strong symbolic value,
bringing together two great Princeton traditions--its downtown and the
Dinky--and making it easier for some to walk to the train stop. There
are potential downsides, however, that must be examined to determine the
idea's overall impact on sustainability and ridership. If
extended to Nassau, the Dinky or any other heavy vehicle (“light rail”
is not necessarily lightweight) will encounter steep inclines that
could substantially reduce energy efficiency compared to the current
relatively flat route. The combination of steep inclines, longer route,
more stops and interactions with streets could affect the most
important factors determining Dinky ridership: dependability and
frequency. Even with more downtown density most Princetonians would
still live well beyond the 10 minutes people are supposedly willing to
walk to a train stop. -- writer of this blog
Q:
Could rail service be extended to Nassau St. later on, even if the
university is allowed to build its Arts and Transit Neighborhood as
proposed?
A: Yes, by routing the tracks over to Alexander, then up. -- recent conversation with a University official
2)
The following description of benefits of the university design for the
Arts and Transit Neighborhood is excerpted from the Princeton University
powerpoint presented at a Joint Meeting of Borough Council and Township Committee January 31, 2011.
Relieving Congestion
•Roundabout improves traffic flow.
•Purpose-designed space provides a multi-modal hub for shuttles, jitneys, buses, taxis, bikes.
•Provides safer pedestrian crossings.
•Separates conflicts and moves them off the main corridor.
•Deliveries from campus: all fronts, no backs.
•Provides easy access and safe Wawa parking.
•Allows
direct access to/from Lot 7 garage saving 350 vehicle miles per day and
reducing north-bound traffic entering Alexander at Faculty.
•Provides bike lanes and storage
•Replaces all existing parking in-kind.
Access to Lot 7 Garage
•Convenient access benefits arts patrons & neighborhood visitors.
•Reduces vehicle miles traveled by 350 miles per day –reduces pollution, saves fuel, saves time.
•Reduces traffic on Faculty Road.
•Relieves congestion at Faculty Road/Alexander Street intersection.
Preserve/Enhance the Dinky Experience
•New heated/air conditioned station with restrooms, Wawa, bike amenities.
•Easy drop off/pick up.
•Easy access to shuttles, jitney, taxis.
•Convenient parking: permit and daily.
•Dinky riders provided with attractive public spaces, retail, and arts venues.
•University support for a more extensive public transit linkage with the Dinky.
•Arts, retail, and lower Alexander residential use may attract additional Dinky use.
Dinky Ridership
•About 40% of Dinky riders are affiliated with the University; additional riders are attending University meetings or events.
•Unaffiliated riders get to the Dinky by driving themselves, being driven by others, using public transit, biking, and walking.
•The
walk from Nassau Street to the current station via the Wawa is longer
than the walk to the proposed new station with the Wawa in it.
•Future development along Alexander in the Township would add new riders from the south.
Already a Public Space
•175,000 annual McCarter patrons.
•2,045 daily transit rides.
•2,600 daily Wawa customers.
•1,050 daily customers at new restaurants.
•150-250 average evening patrons of new arts venues, approximately 50 performances a year (first phase).
•Unknown number of summer performance participants and patrons -indoor and outdoor spaces.
•Special event participants, e.g. McCarter gala.
•160-290 housing unit capacity south on Alexander.
•600 current residents within a 5-minute walk.
Sustainability
•Enhance
the Dinky experience (new station in an attractive setting with Wawa
incorporated, convenient drop-off/pick-up and parking, connection with
shuttles and jitney, bike access and storage).
•Direct access to Lot 7 reduces vehicle miles traveled by 350 per day.
•Extensive
landscaping; existing area is predominantly surface parking lots,
roofs, and impervious surfaces that tax stormwater infrastructure and
create heat island effect.
•First phase buildings include geothermal heating and cooling; green roofs; grey water recycling; solar panels; etc.
Greening the Neighborhood
•Increased landscaping and greenspace replace paving.
•Green roofs, bio-filtration swales, and stormwater harvesting.
•Alternative energy: geothermal wells and photovoltaic panels.
•Direct access to Lot 7 garage reduces vehicular miles traveled by 350.
