Borough Council targets local concerns at meeting

The public pool, now more than 40 years old, is in need of renovations, and the council appointed a committee to look into the matter. Rather than overhauling the site, the Borough plans to retain the pool’s s basic configuration and only repair that parts that need to be fixed.

Council members disagreed on whether progress on the pool is proceeding in a timely manner. When Mayor Mildred Trotman moved to table the discussion until the last meeting of the year on Dec. 21, several council members objected, saying they believed that residents deserved more prompt action.

Councilman Andrew Koontz said it was necessary to act within the year to avoid funding complications, since an approved bond ordinance for the project will expire at the end of the year. Current projections put the cost of the project at $3.5–4 million.

A proposal to designate portions of major thoroughfares as bicycle paths to alleviate safety concerns was also raised at the meeting. There is not room to expand roads to add bicycle lanes, so the Princeton Joint Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee proposed alternative pathways called “sharrows.”

Sharrows, which have been created in San Francisco, are distinct areas on roads that are located a safe distance from the range of parked car doors.

Yan Bennett, the assistant director of the University’s Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program, presented the proposal on behalf of the advisory committee. Bennett argued that the plan would decrease congestion and make bicyclists more visible to drivers.

Bennett said the proposal was pertinent to University students. “We hope to make riding on the street safer and encourage more ridership,” she said after the meeting.

Bennett also encouraged the council to adopt a plan to educate students about proper bicycle etiquette on roadways beginning at a young age.

The council accepted the report and complimented the committee on the breadth of research conducted. The advisory committee’s proposals could decrease the 14–16 accidents that occur every year, Bennett argued.