New Brunswick's George Street may become a permanent pedestrian plaza....

[Scarlet Craig]

Article from My CJ

 

[srru86]

Interesting idea.

Hate to be a negatoid but there are many examples of turning a middling street into a dead zone with one of these.

Hope they consider carefully. I'm not there enough to know current conditions, but if the sidewalks are routinely crowded during regular hours, probably a good move

If they think they can attract foot traffic that isn't there now, well that's wishful thinking I'd imagine.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

This stuff only works if there is adequate parking in the area. I have no idea if there is or there isn't.

 

[retired711]

Would adopting this proposal make it more feasible for Rutgers to close off the portion of George Street that runs through campus?

 

[ScarletKid2008]

Would adopting this proposal make it more feasible for Rutgers to close off the portion of George Street that runs through campus?

College Ave from the gym to Scott hall should be pedestrian plaza and closed to traffic. Tie the campus together real nice

Of course all of this would be easier if there was a mono or light rail running from Piscataway through campus , through George, all the way out to Cook. Makes too much sense. Gotta have it. Cost is certainly astronomical

 

[RUnTeX]

College Ave from the gym to Scott hall should be pedestrian plaza and closed to traffic. Tie the campus together real nice

Of course all of this would be easier if there was a mono or light rail running from Piscataway through campus , through George, all the way out to Cook. Makes too much sense. Gotta have it. Cost is certainly astronomical

Would adopting this proposal make it more feasible for Rutgers to close off the portion of George Street that runs through campus?

Probably more realistic to close College Avenue, as @ScarletKid2008 suggests, versus George Street from a practical and traffic flow perspective. George Street facilitates access to/from Route 18 with ramps and still helps maintain perimeter flow while College Avenue is more of a central spine through the campus that could perhaps be closed down to traffic and not disrupt flow as significantly.

 

[Sir ScarletKnight]

There was an old study about a light rail that showed that if implemented in the NB area it would instantly become one of the most utilized metro transit systems in the country, comparable to San Francisco.

https://vtc.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Planat.Greater_nb_area.pdf

 

[ScarletKid2008]

There was an old study about a light rail that showed that if implemented in the NB area it would instantly become one of the most utilized metro transit systems in the country, comparable to San Francisco.

https://vtc.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Planat.Greater_nb_area.pdf

Really interesting that a paid study was done. Wondering why it never progressed past that stage ? Seems like the report states it should be done and makes sense to do.

 

[HPNJRUfan]

Really interesting that a paid study was done. Wondering why it never progressed past that stage ? Seems like the report states it should be done and makes sense to do.

In short, lack of political will and no $$$.

There was a regional transportation study that was recently completed by HNTB and can be found here: https://content.njtransit.com/sites...l Report_July 2023_For Public_Clean - PDF.pdf

I haven't had time to read through it, but I see it still recommends an LRT system. And working in this industry, I can tell you that lack of funding and political will are probably even worse than 20 years ago (still waiting on Gov. Murphy to provide dedicated funding to NJT!)

 

[srru86]

I'm guessing, though don't recall, that the expansion of Route 18 from the River to I-287 was done after 2001 when the monorail study was done?

 

[HPNJRUfan]

I'm guessing, though don't recall, that the expansion of Route 18 from the River to I-287 was done after 2001 when the monorail study was done?

Yes, but I'm not sure of the exact timing. Extension of 18 was approved in 1001, and I believe largely complete by 2004 or so. The local/express split of 18 through NB began in 2005 and completed in 2009.

 

[Tango Two]

Plan to make George Street in New Brunswick into permanent pedestrian mall is picking up | ROI-NJ

Like many municipalities, New Brunswick closed off streets during the pandemic to allow for outdoor dining. The move was made to help business stay open. As it turns out, it was good for a whole lot more. Earlier this month, New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill and the city council reviewed an impact...

www.roi-nj.com

 

[srru86]

As I think on this the streets where the pedestrian mall was a negative, particularly to the merchants, in my recollection were ones where existing parallel or angle parking was lost in favor of the walkway.
There is none of that on a very narrow George St Downtown now. So no parking would be sacrificed here I'd think.