To the Editor: Mass Transit’s Potential Promise##M:[more]##
Since the finalization of plans for the Princeton Hospital to move out of Princeton, there have been comments in newspapers criticizing the move “to a decentralized site off a highway accessible only by car” as the “antithesis of smart growth.” However, these critics may not be aware of some promising elements of local history.
There was a time when people in Princeton without a car could get around much more easily than today. Train and trolley lines operated on many local routes in the area. Although most of the routes have long been abandoned, their land, and in many cases their rights of way, still exist. Can these artifacts of the past be restored and put to use to help the greater Princeton area?
The proposition of local mass transit is being explored in a proposal presented by New Jersey Transit called the “BRT alternatives analysis study.” These ideas were presented January 27 at Plainsboro Municipal Building by Project Manager James Schwartzwalder. Schwartzwalder was unaware of the many rights of way available in the area. He seemed open to the possibilities of their use in conjunction with his project.
Some of these rights of way: Both sides of the Conrail mainline from North Brunswick to Hamilton Station, Public Service, the former Fast Line, a trolley line, and the historic New Jersey Railroad and Canal Corporation with two lines of the Camden and Amboy Railroad.
The old Canal Corporation lines could extend service west from Monmouth Junction to Kingston, to the Dinky line or to Griggstown, to East Millstone, and finally east to North Brunswick and the main line.
The Fast Line extends from North Brunswick on the eastern side of the mainline through South Brunswick where it crosses the Jamesburg line and then proceeds to Plainsboro, West Windsor, and on to Hamilton.
Another route might start at Monmouth Junction going east to Jamesburg where it would join the first railroad in New Jersey, “The Camden and Amboy,” and then proceed to Cranbury Station, East Windsor, and into Hightstown.
The goal is to relieve traffic and supply efficient transportation to all, for services like hospitals, local jobs, parks, and YMCAs.
Harold Switzgable
5 Linden Lane South, Plainsboro
Charitable Urge Requires Caution
The outpouring of financial support for tsunami victims has given unscrupulous individuals the perfect selling point to separate people from their money. Calls from never-before-heard-of organizations or unsolicited E-mail appeals require due diligence to ensure that a well-intentioned donation does not end up lining the pocket of a scam artist.
Last week in Pittsburgh, a Pennsylvania man was arrested for running a scam that made 800,”000 E-mail solicitations for the “Mercy Corps,” a fictitious organization the man set up to funnel money into his own bank account. I urge residents to heed the following:
Make sure the charity is a registered non-profit by contacting the Better Business Bureau (www.give.org) or the Division of Consumer Affairs’ Directory of Registered Charities (973-504-6215);
Never give a solicitor personal or financial information – such as a Social Security, credit card, or bank account number;
Do not make your donation in cash or by using a debit card (payments made via check or credit card are easier to trace in the event of any suspected wrongdoing);
Ask for a receipt that shows the amount donated and attesting that the donation is tax-deductible;
Ask the solicitor how much of your donation will go to supporting tsunami victims, as opposed to organizational overhead. Legitimate international aid organizations are having a hard enough time keeping up with the tremendous demand for food, medicine, and other necessities, without seeing resources siphoned away by criminals.
Linda Greenstein
Assemblywoman, District 14
Pete Weale’s List & Board’s Response
Below is the official response from your WW-P School District to my request for the list of 108 projects on which the board claims to be working (and which prevent it from considering our proposal for installing lights at the High School North football field). It is a mirror of why it is difficult to ever get a handle on anything going on here. I call it Jello and Etch-A-Sketch Management. The good taxpayers are getting exactly what they pay for. You ask for quantitative answers and you get qualitative responses with reasons why you can’t obtain them.
And yes, I know, I was “soundly defeated” in the last school board election so I should take the advice of anonymous quacks to take my toys and move out of town. Hey, I tried to open your District’s financial books but there are more of THEM than there are of ME.
In the old days, when the Vice Principal at Maurice Hawk thought it was a good idea to build an outdoor classroom/amphitheater to benefit the students and teachers, we agreed on a design, obtained the materials at cost, and just did it. Now you get 1 million reasons why things cannot be done.
I’ll bet Dick Willever, a former superintendent who knew everyone in the District, would recognize a malfunctioning toilet and a leaking roof. More importantly, he would have DONE something about it instead of waiting until there was a crisis.
Which headline does the District use to introduce its new School budget? $130 million plus 4 to 5 percent or $136.5 million plus a possible second question for another $10 to $15 million? What is a $150 million price tag to a community and school board too busy to open its books to scrutinize expenditures?
Where are the financial costs associated with recommendations for the Board authorizing an engineering review of the Community Middle School Roof? Silence. Absolute silence. You are on your own now.
Peter R. Weale
144 Fisher Place
Editor’s note: Weale appended the following E-mail, sent to him on January 25 from the WW-P School District:
Dear Mr. Weale:
Thank you for your E-mail dated January 17. In this E-mail you requested “a copy of the 108 to 110 ‘projects’ (depending on which news source is cited) on which the WW-P Board of Education and Administration are working.” At this point, the document to which you refer is an advisory document only and, by law, we do not release advisory and working documents. When the document is completed by the Administration and Facilities Committee, we will share the document with the Board of Education and interested members of the public.
Regarding your second and third requests [concerning the costs of rebuilding the North athletic field when the initial low-bid contractor went bankrupt and how a contractor could install a power supply and underground electrical conduit at the North Field without Board of Education approval], you are welcome to visit the central office at your convenience (we are open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.) to review approved minutes from meetings of the Board of Education.
We appreciate your continued interest in the school district.
Eden’s Dream
On behalf of the Eden Family of Services, and the children and adults with autism whom Eden serves, I want to extend heartfelt thanks. Dreams of Kokopelli, the 17th annual Eden Dreams gala on January 15, raised nearly $200,”000 in support of Eden’s services for individuals with autism.
A special thanks to the law firm Taylor, Colicchio & Silverman, which served as this year’s primary corporate sponsor, and Paul Taylor, managing partner. Twenty-nine additional companies and individuals also provided major sponsorship support.
We are deeply grateful for the year-round work of the Eden Dreams Steering Committee, led by co-chairs Rob Robinson from Janssen Pharmaceutica; and Regina Massad. We also recognize the outstanding staff at the Hyatt Regency Princeton and Executive Chef Anthony Perrotti; Mike Cerelli, Jen Angelo, and the staff of Big Events, who provided the magnificent decor; and everyone else who helped make Dreams of Kokopelli come to life.
Finally, know how much we appreciate our friends and neighbors who attended and supported Dreams of Kokopelli.
William J. Noonan
Acting President and Executive Director
