Week in Review: Jughandles, School Referendum and More

 and unveiled a new website. 

With consolidation, Princeton residents can expect the same or greater level of police protection, said Borough Police Chief David Dudeck, who will lead the new Princeton Police Department effective Jan. 1, 2013. His team has already divided the new Princeton into four patrol sectors and an overlap sector that will encompass areas of town with the largest call volume. Services that Princeton residents expect, like helping retrieve keys locked inside their cars, will continue.

Mercer County officials on Monday closed Quaker Road between Province Line Road in Lawrence and Mercer Road/Princeton Pike in Princeton Township. The road will be closed for six months, through mid-February, 2013, while crews work to rebuild the bridge over Stony Brook. 

It's not just Princeton residents who have expressed concern about the Route 1 jughandle closures. South Brunswick officials discussed at last week's Township Council meeting the traffic backup caused by the  in West Windsor.

Next month voters will be asked to approve a referendum to approve a $10.9 million bond for facilities improvements for Princeton Public Schools. Among the projects on the district’s wish list is turning the old John Witherspoon Middle School gym into a media center, energy efficiencies throughout the district, new safety surfaces for the elementary school playgrounds, a generator for the middle school and upgrades to the baseball facilities. The district estimates tax impact will be less than $150 a year for the average assessed home in Princeton.

David Dudeck is taking several approaches to merging the Princeton Borough and Princeton Township police departments. Getting to know each other is key, said Dudeck, who is currently the Borough Police Chief, but has been tapped as the chief for the consolidated Princeton Police Department. “The very first thing to make this work is to really meld the officers together and get them to really know one another, to really understand the different cultural differences or sensitive issues that everybody whispers about, but getting them to actually talk about them,” Dudeck said.

All this summer you've nominated and voted for your favorite local businesses in categories ranging from Best Burger and Best Bar to Best Coffee Shop and Best Pizza. We've tallied all the poll votes and now it's time to announce the winners.