Princeton Junction Station Area Vision Plan

West Windsor, NJ

As one of the ten busiest train stations in the United States and a front door to Princeton University, West Windsor’s Princeton Junction Station is one the key facilities in NJ Transit’s commuter rail system. A vast increase in ridership, and stifling traffic in the area around the station have overwhelmed the area’s infrastructure. In addition, several major public and private initiatives, including a new Bus Rapid Transit system, and a major new connector road, Vaughn Drive, promise to usher in a new era of change for the area.

EE&K’s plan for the 120-acre area around the station establishes West Windsor Station’s position as a major intermodal center for central New Jersey. The plan rationalizes the myriad transit modes utilizing the station, organizing these around a new bus rapid transit plaza and commuter drop-off area; it also increases commuter parking to over 3,000 spaces.

The plan proposes a bold new vision for the area, featuring three new districts: a mixed-use “Village Core;” a new residential neighborhood for 600 residential units, anchored by a new park; and a Class A commercial office district on a Township-owned brownfields site. The new transit village is oriented around a series of new public places, including the Town Green, a new green pedestrian mall that links the new residential district to the station, and a design for a Vaughn Drive that balances its dual role as a connector and as an addressing street. The heart of the new development will be a new main street that will provide a new gateway to, and place of gathering for the township of West Windsor.