The intersection of Hamilton Avenue and Linden Lane needs a speed table to cut down on the number of crashes.
That’s what a group of neighborhood residents told the Princeton Council at its Sept. 14 meeting. There have been 20 reported crashes at the intersection since January 2023, and a speed table would help slow down traffic, they said.
A speed table is an elongated flat-topped speed hump that is about three or four inches above the road grade. It has a rising ramp, a flat-topped section and a descending ramp. There are two speed tables on Hodge Road, between Bayard Lane and Library Place.
“Accidents on this corner have been a serious threat to people’s safety,” Linden Lane resident Alyson Resnick said. “All of this taken into account, I have not even begun to speak of the near accidents that are not reported but that could have been fatal.”
Resnick outlined three factors that increase the risk of crashes, beginning with the curve on Hamilton Avenue eastbound. The second factor is speed, and the third factor is drivers who ignore stop signs on Linden Lane.
Resnick suggested a couple of short-term fixes, such as adding lights to the stop signs to call attention to them.
“The long-term fixes that this community has been patiently requesting for many years is a four-way stop sign or significant speed tables at – and on – the approach to this intersection,” she said.
George Cohen, who lives on Hawthorne Avenue, thanked the Princeton Council for installing rumble strips at the approach to the intersection on Hamilton Avenue and for the larger stop signs on Linden Lane.
But no matter what the town has done, drivers continue to exceed the speed limit, Cohen said. When drivers hit a speed table at 30 or 40 miles per hour and the bottom of their car strikes it and causes $1,000 worth of damage, they will never do it again.
“Without the speed table, not matter what else you do, it’s never going to stop. I know you are doing everything that you think you should do, but the only way to stop it is the speed table,” Cohen said.
Hawthorne Avenue resident Marcus Hultmark said Hamilton Avenue effectively cuts the town in half. His children cannot play with friends on the opposite side of Hamilton Avenue because it is not safe to cross the street.
“It is a fundamentally flawed intersection. People are running (through) stop signs and I don’t even think that is the problem. There isn’t enough time to react. People are driving too fast,” Hultmark said.
Princeton Councilman Brian McDonald said that during a recent meeting of the Princeton Council’s Traffic Safety Committee, data showed police stopped 34 drivers for speeding, stop sign infractions and distracted driving at the intersection.
The Princeton Police Department periodically conducts “directed enforcement” on selected streets in town to provide extra enforcement of traffic regulations. The intersection of Hamilton Avenue and Linden Lane was one of those areas in June, McDonald said.
Princeton Councilman Leighton Newlin, who chairs the Princeton Council’s Public Safety Committee, said officials recognize the Hamilton Avenue and Linden Lane intersection is challenging, and it will continue to be monitored.
Princeton Councilwoman Mia Sacks said traffic calming measures, such as speed tables, had been discussed in 2016 in connection with proposed bicycle lanes on Hamilton Avenue and Wiggins Street.
“Speed tables were the top priority, but it was delayed because we wanted to figure out how to do the bike lanes. We have been going in circles for 10 years,” Sacks said.
“This decision has already been made by the Princeton Council to move forward with this, and the fact that we are even having this discussion about data counts to me is insanity,” she said.
Sacks said there will be a discussion about speed tables with the municipal staff to find out what those plans were and what is needed to move forward.
