East Windsor Township, New Jersey

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East Windsor Township highlighted in Mercer County. Inset map: Mercer County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.

East Windsor Township is a Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 24,919.

Wast Windsor Township was formed when Windsor Township was split on February 9, 1797, with West Windsor Township formed at the same time, all while the area was still part of Middlesex County. It was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to form Hightstown borough (March 5, 1853, within East Windsor; became independent c. 1894) and Washington Township (March 1, 1860).^[1]

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 40.7 km² (15.7 mi²). 40.5 km² (15.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.32%) is water.

East Windsor Township borders West Windsor Township, Plainsboro Township, Washington Township, Upper Freehold Township, Cranbury Township, Monroe Township, and Millstone Township.

Hightstown Borough is an independent municipality surrounded by East Windsor Township.

Twin Rivers (2000 Census population of 7,422) is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within East Windsor Township.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 24,919 people, 9,448 households, and 6,556 families residing in the township. The population density was 614.8/km² (1,592.8/mi²). There were 9,880 housing units at an average density of 243.8/km² (631.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 74.42% White, 8.90% African American, 0.20% Native American, 9.55% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 4.61% from other races, and 2.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.28% of the population. However, there is a significant population of undocumented Hispanic immigrants in the thousands which is not captured by census counts.^{[citation needed]} School studies show that up to 20% of the total population in the school system is made up of undocumented immigrants.^{[citation needed]}

There were 9,448 households out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.12.

The population of the township was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $63,616, and the median income for a family was $73,461. Males had a median income of $50,875 versus $35,260 for females. The per capita income for the township was $28,695. About 2.8% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Transportation

East Windsor has a few bus stops. The line which runs through East Windsor proceeds to stop in Monroe, and then makes its way to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Route 33 goes through East Windsor, and then through Washington Township and Monroe Township. U.S. Route 130 also goes through East Windsor. This portion of 130 is now becoming more congested since many new businesses (such as Wal-Mart) are being built directly off the road. East Windsor Township houses the New Jersey Turnpike's Exit 8. Exit 8 is slowly becoming busier as development increases in East Windsor. At the present time, the Turnpike will be widened from three lanes to a six-lane turnpike (instead of five). This is part of a major widening project that would extend the "dual-dual" roadways to Exit 6 (Mansfield Twp) from Exit 8A (Monroe Township).

In the late 1990's, the "Hightstown Bypass" (Route 133) was constructed. It starts at County Route 571 and terminates at 33. The entire highway is in East Windsor; there is a half-diamond interchange with One Mile Road, and a three-quarter cloverleaf interchange with U.S. Route 130. Both ends of the bypass are handled with traffic signals instead of grade separated interchanges.

On January 1, 2007, the Turnpike was facing opposition with an upgrade of Exit 8. The current Interchange 8 will be demolished with a new interchange. Prior to this plan being released, some thought that the new Exit 8 would connect directly with the Hightstown Bypass. There seems to be ample space (between mile markers 67.89 and 68.12) to build a new interchange. Plus, there's a large piece of land that would accommodate a toll gate and interchange ramps for 133. The NJTPA has a different idea: the new Exit 8 would end at the intersection with Route 33, Milford Road, and the Hightstown Bypass (on the east side of the expressway in lieu of the west). This new 8 would grant direct access to the bypass (without going through any traffic lights), as well as to 33, using grade separated interchanges. The new toll gate would also feature a total of 12 booths at the gate. However, the interchange and the toll gate would run near some residential houses located right off of 33, and would disturb Twin Rivers. The Authority released 3 configuration options at the intersection of Milford, 33, and the bypass.

• Option 1: This option would feature turnpike ramps that would lead to a diamond interchange at Route 33, while the turnpike ramp turns into the 133 bypass and crosses over 33. At the intersection with Route 33 and the interchange ramps (from the turnpike and 133), a traffic signal would be built underneath Exit 8/Route 133. However, the drawback is that this option would “stop drivers from making several turns near the exit. These include left-hand turns from Route 33 onto [a relocated] Milford Road and from Milford Road onto Route 33.” To make turns that are restricted, “the plan would push some trucks headed for Milford Road onto Lake Drive, which would be connected to Milford by a new connector road.” The relocated Milford Road would start at the intersection of Monmouth Street and continue southeast to the existing Milford Road near Daniel Street.
• Option 2: A grade-separated diamond interchange would be constructed, which would lead the ramps towards Route 33. At the intersection with Route 33 and the interchange ramps (from the turnpike and 133), a traffic signal would be built underneath Exit 8 ramps/Route 133. In lieu of a connector road, a jug handle would be built on 33 west. This would intersect at 33 (with a traffic light) and become the relocated Milford Road (after crossing 33). The road would cross over the Turnpike ramps and resume it’s course near Daniel Street.
• Option 3: A weird cloverleaf interchange would be built in lieu of a diamond interchange. After exiting the turnpike from the 8 toll gate, a ramp on the right would lead to Milford Road or Route 33. The mainline of the turnpike ramp would cross over 33 and turn into the 133 bypass. A relocated Milford Road would be built across from Monmouth Street & 33 (without connecting Monmouth and Milford) towards the intersection with the current Milford Road and Daniel Street. The new Milford would cross over the turnpike ramps. A leaf would be built from the turnpike ramp approaching the 8 toll gate, which would connect to Milford. An entrance ramp would be constructed from Milford Road to the 8 toll gate. Traveling north on Milford, a ramp would be constructed, which would diverge into 2 ways; one way would merge into the turnpike ramp heading towards 133, and the other would intersect at a new traffic light at Route 33 (just 1/10 mile east of the current 33-133-Milford intersection)^[4].

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

East Windsor Township has a Council-Manager form of government as provided under the Faulkner Act. The Council is made up of seven members elected at large for four-year staggered terms. Elections for Council are held in November of every other year.

Members of the East Windsor Township Council are Mayor Janice S. Mironov, Deputy Mayor Walter T. Daniels, Hector Duke, Marc Lippman, Alan Rosenberg, Perry M. Shapiro and Marsha Weinstein.^[5]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

East Windsor Township is in the Fourth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 12th Legislative District.^[6]

New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District, covering portions of Burlington County, Mercer County, Monmouth County and Ocean County, is represented by Christopher Smith (R). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 12th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Ellen Karcher (D, Marlboro) and in the Assembly by Jennifer Beck (R, Red Bank) and Michael J. Panter (D, Red Bank). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Mercer County's County Executive is Brian M. Hughes. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Mercer County's Freeholders are Freeholder Chair Keith V. Hamilton, Freeholder Vice Chair Pasquale "Pat" Colavita, Jr., Ann M. Cannon, Anthony P. Carabelli, Tony Mack, Elizabeth Maher Muoio and Lucylle R. S. Walter.

[edit] Education

Students in Kindergarten through 12th grade attend the East Windsor Regional School District, a comprehensive public school district serving students from East Windsor Township and Hightstown Borough, along with students in grades 7 - 12 from Roosevelt Borough as part of a sending / receiving relationship.

The district has four K-5 elementary schools — Walter C. Black Elementary School with 581 students, Perry L. Drew Elementary School with 692 students, Ethel McKnight Elementary School with 572 students, Grace N. Rogers Elementary School with 502 students — Melvin H. Kreps School grades 6 - 8 with 1,139 students and Hightstown High School with 1,370 students in grades 9 - 12.

[edit] Notable residents

• Lisa P. Jackson, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).^[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• East Windsor Township web site
• East Windsor Regional School District
• East Windsor Regional School District's 2005-06 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• National Center for Education Statistics data for the East Windsor Regional School District
• East Windsor Police Department
• East Windsor Township Rescue Squad, District I
• East Windsor Township Rescue Squad, District II

This box: view • talk • edit Municipalities of Mercer County, New Jersey (County seat: Trenton)
Boroughs	Hightstown | Hopewell | Pennington | Princeton
City	Trenton
Townships	East Windsor | Ewing | Hamilton | Hopewell | Lawrence | Princeton | Washington | West Windsor
CDPs and communities	Grover's Mill | Lawrenceville | Mercerville-Hamilton Square | Princeton Junction | Princeton North | Robbinsville | Titusville | Twin Rivers | White Horse | Windsor | Yardville-Groveville