Along the Brunswick Pike, when the bus stops at Emmons Dr., the passengers step down directly onto grass or, most recently, up to twenty inches of snow. A sign marks the bus stop. No roof, no asphalt and no sidewalk connect it to the Shopping Square at West Windsor.
Around 40 yards stand between the passengers and the stores, but it’s not an easy path.
Allen Haugh, who takes the bus regularly, said there are two options for making the trek to the stores.
The first option presents serious safety hazards.
“You can walk up along the highway to where cars come into the Trader Joe’s plaza, and then you can walk… a couple hundred meters back to the Trader Joe’s, but that’s pretty inconvenient and then you have to walk alongside of the highway,” Haugh said.
The second option presents even greater challenges.
One could walk in a straight line toward the shops, and Haugh acknowledges it is a shorter walk but says, “The problem with that is that it slopes downwards into what looks like a drainage or a sewage ditch, or something like that. And so it’s filled with water at the bottom. And then you need to go all the way down, you need to hop over the ditch and then you need to climb back up the slope, which is pretty inconvenient.”
People do this with different levels of success and the risk of a fall is ever present.
Martin Palomo, a student and resident of Mercer County, said he has seen it happen.
“[It’s] even worse during the snow. I have not fallen, but I’ve seen many people fall on their face, because there is no sidewalk. They just slip on snow,” he said.
The absence of a sidewalk at Windsor Square is part of a broader challenge in Mercer County, where gaps in pedestrian infrastructure leave bus riders navigating unsafe terrain.
Advocates say addressing those gaps can be complicated, often requiring coordination across multiple jurisdictions.
Jerry Foster, a trustee of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance who has been in the organization since 2008, talked about their efforts as an organization. “Over the last 20 years, we’ve felt our way around, so to speak, and figured out how to at least get our desires known by the various jurisdictions that are responsible for getting things done here.”
That is one of the bigger challenges they face, as changes require coordination across several layers of government and private actors.
“One of the interesting parts about our transportation system is that we have to work with private landowners…for any infrastructure we want on private land. We have to work with the township for local roads. We have to work with the county for county roads,” Foster said.
“And we have to work with the state for anything that’s a state road, like Route 1. And then in addition to all that, there’s always New Jersey Transit…so we have to work with them as well for things that are in their jurisdiction. So it gets a little complicated with all of that,” he continued.
Within the tangle of different jurisdictions, there are organizations who seek to serve as bridges, such as the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC).
The DVRPC coordinates infrastructure planning across nine counties including Mercer.
Connections 2050, the current transportation plan for the region, outlines how billions of dollars in transportation investments may be allocated through 2050.
There are opportunities for residents to weigh in on and inform themselves, as draft updates are periodically opened for public comment.
The DVRPC also offers workshops and online sessions with its Public Participation Task Force, which are promoted on their website and free to register.
When talking about infrastructure, pedestrian security or access to transit, changes aren’t immediate, but things have improved according to Foster.
He said, “Over 20 years we have a lot of bike lanes. We have a lot of improved crossings. We have a lot of signage,” she continues, “There are pedestrian crossings where you can push buttons that blink, [to] attract drivers’ attention to the fact that somebody is using the crosswalk. So there’s been a tremendous amount of improvement there.”
But for some bus riders, the experience on the ground still feels different.
“Is kinda what you get for living in the suburbs, no sidewalks anywhere,” Palomo said.
