The following letter was published in the local papers and the Planet Princeton website in December:
On behalf of Save the Princeton Dinky, I would like to thank Borough Council for its thoughtful attention to the community mobility issues raised by the proposed relocation of the Dinky. When it approved the E-5 arts campus zoning at its December 6 hearing, council sent a clear message that the university’s plan to move the Dinky terminus away from the town center reflects bad public policy.
The E-5 zone approved by council permits development for the arts, but, as council has recognized, the new zoning does not require relocation of the Dinky. In fact, no member of the public who spoke on December 6 in favor of passing the zoning now, without immediate protection for the Dinky right of way, argued that moving the Dinky is a good idea.
Our community has a strong commitment to the arts but it has an equally strong commitment to sustainable development. It believes that mobility is valuable and worth preserving. The community sentiment is clear: Princeton supports the university’s arts campus. Princeton does not want the university to move the Dinky downhill and away from Nassau Street.
As the process continues, let us hope that the views of the community and of Borough Council will encourage the university to re-imagine its arts campus as one that can go forward by embracing the Dinky, not displacing it.
Anita Garoniak