The following letter was sent to members of the West Windsor Bicycle & Pedestrian Alliance:
I was looking at the April 1 WW-P News and was amazed by all the publicity about Canal Point Boulevard. In a previous letter to the editor from Pete Weale, he seemed to come across in a manner of speech that was in agreement with what we have been saying. I think I pointed out my surprise about that to you.
This letter makes us seem like members of a different political party than he is.
1. Second sentence: “Your professional role is in all of this.” It’s only Jerry Foster and Alison (Miller) among all of the members who could have any role in this. I would imagine the repair to Canal Pointe Boulevard is just one of many projects on Jerry’s plate at the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association. Alison examines what the professionals have learned in their research and then decides how to vote on appropriating the needed funds. She does not crank out any of the results.
2. Mr. Weale: If we have bikeways to nowhere now, why wouldn’t you like to see them connected so that they go somewhere? That would encourage increased usage of the existing bikeways. Then no one could charge, as they did at the meeting of March 21, that there is “no market out there” for bike lanes on Canal Pointe. Why do you question our support for extending the Trolley Line Trail to High School North? Wouldn’t that extension be considered a bikeway to somewhere?
3. Mr. Weale: Why do you blame WWBPA for the Trolley Line Trail ending where it does? By the way, it does not end at Village Road, as you stated. It ends at Penn Lyle Road Therefore, it is shorter than you have imagined it to be.
4. Silent about Cranbury Road sidewalks! That couldn’t be further from the truth! I am sure that Silvia Ascarelli and Kathy Brennan have been among the strongest supporters for sidewalks on Cranbury Road.
5. Mr. Weale: You “tire of the endless mantra that nothing can be done because it (Washington Road) is a county-owned highway.” Well, how do you think we feel? We can’t overthrow the government to fix a safety hazard! We have spoken up.
6. Mr. Weale questions what financial contributions and resident input have been forthcoming about the road diet for Canal Pointe from the Seminary. First of all, the residents are here temporarily. They are here to earn their divinity degrees and then they leave. They have no interest and certainly no time to be concerned about how they are going to travel to school. Furthermore, you feel they would be better suited using the D & R Canal Towpath instead of Canal Pointe Boulevard. Do you think that all bicyclists prefer a hybrid or mountain bike to a touring bike? If that were true, how could a bike store stay in business that did not offer touring bikes? Do all cyclists prefer using a towpath on a bright, sunny day following a storm?
7. If pedestrians and bicyclists on Canal Pointe Boulevard are not a good fit, then why did West Windsor adopt Complete Streets? It did so with the understanding that when a road is repaired, the “new” roadway will take into account the needs of everyone. Therefore, the administration was aware at the time that they made the decision to adopt Complete Streets that they would be faced with trying to accommodate the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians on Canal Pointe or leave the roadway the way it is: the worst, most damaging roadway of at least a half-mile in Mercer County.
Dan Rappoport
Member, WWBPA
