Route 33 Corridor Revitalization Plan in the Works

East Windsor could soon have a “main street” feel if a proposed plan for the Route 33 corridor revitalization comes to life. 

Susan Gruel, principal of Heyer, Gruel & Associates, presented a plan along with John Federico, transportation planner at Urban Engineers, at a special public meeting Wednesday night.

Parts of the proposed plan for the 183 acres of land along the corridor included an extension of Airport Road to Route 130, replacing the former Minute Maid building with a recreation-type facility and a network of pedestrian and bike paths.

Consultants also suggested adding either a traffic signal or roundabout at the Route 33 and Airport Road intersection when Airport Road would be extended to Route 130. 

Two options of the plan were presented, both containing the same improvements. What set them apart is where the recreational facility would be located.

Gruel said the facility could either be placed at one end of the corridor as an “anchor,” or somewhere along the corridor instead.

“We’ve had a good collaborative working arrangement between East Windsor and Hightstown,” Mironov said at the special meeting, noting nothing in the plan is final at this point.

East Windsor received a grant in 2010 from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission to develop a plan for development and revitalization of the Route 33 corridor, which goes along Route 33 starting at Route 130 in East Windsor to Summit Street in Hightstown, according to East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov. The grant expires July 30, 2013.

The former Minute Maid property sits on part of the 183 acres of the plan, Mironov said. The plant sits on an area of 16 acres in Hightstown, and there is an additional 21 acres of vacant property in East Windsor.

Of the total 183 acres, 84 percent is in East Windsor and 16 percent falls in Hightstown, Gruel said. It is mainly zoned light industrial and commercial.

Mironov said more public meetings would be held in the future to discuss the Route 33 corridor plan.