Route 1 No-Left-Turn Experiment Ended By DOT [POLL]

The no-left-turn experiment on Route 1 in West Windsor will come to an end early with regular traffic patterns returning within a week.

“We told local officials, residents and other stakeholders in the Princetons, West Windsor and Plainsboro that we would terminate the trial prior to its scheduled 12-week duration if we became convinced that unintended consequences could not be satisfactorily mitigated. We are making good on that promise today," said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner James Simpson during a protest against the experimental traffic patterns on Route 1 at Rotue 571.

Residents cheered when Simpson delivered the news according to Planet Princeton.

The program was scheduled to end the last week of October. Residents and businesses had complained about the effect the experiment,  which eliminated left turns for Route 1 northbound motorists at Washington Road and Harrison Street. Instead of using the marked U-turn at  the Scudders Mill Road interchange, drivers took to turning around in residential neighborhoods  in West Windsor’s Penns Neck neighborhood to access Princeton via Washington Road.

“The goal of the trial was to improve the quality of life for residents and commuters in this congested section of Route 1,” said Simpson, who made numerous unannounced trips in recent weeks to observe firsthand the conditions in the Penns Neck neighborhood and on Alexander Road in West Windsor and along Alexander Street and other streets in Princeton.  “Unfortunately, the trial disrupted the Penns Neck neighborhood with additional traffic and created safety concerns."

All traffic movements that were permitted prior to the trial will be restored, including right turns from Route 1 northbound onto Varsity Avenue and Fisher Place, and left turn movements from Route 1 southbound at Fisher Place and Washington Road.