By: Matthew Armstrong
Freight trains lumber through South Brunswick sporadically, making houses next to the tracks tremble ever so slightly.
At night, the rumble of these slow-moving freight trains can be enough to wake up those who haven’t gotten used to it yet — residents new to the area.
Children ride their bikes to their friends houses on the other side of the tracks with no need to look before they cross.
This peace and relative quiet along these seldom used train tracks in South Brunswick could become a fond memory for residents as a proposed commuter rail line through the back yards and quiet neighborhoods of South Brunswick residents may soon be approaching.
Earlier this month, the Assembly Transportation Committee approved a bill that would add a proposed rail line in central New Jersey to the Circle of Mobility, a list of transportation projects deemed a top priority by the Legislature and eligible for federal funding. The bill will go before the general Assembly today (Thursday) for a vote.
A similar bill (S-239) was held in the Senate Transportation Committee for further discussion. Committee Chairman Sen. Andrew Ciesla (R-Ocean) heeded the concern of representatives from South Brunswick, Jamesburg and Monroe, and said the committee needed more information about the proposed line and alternatives.
More than 40 residents gathered in the rain Monday afternoon to discuss strategies to oppose the rail line through South Brunswick. Township Council members Carol Barrett and Ted Van Hessen attended the impromptu meeting along the quiet train tracks.
“I am shocked that anyone would consider running a train back here,” said Nancy Ward who lives in the Wetherhill housing development that is next to the train tracks. “It’s not even 20 feet away from these houses.”
Residents said that a rail line carrying anywhere between 10 to 42 trains a day would destroy their quality-of-life, severely decrease their property values, cause unneeded tax burden on all of New Jersey’s citizens, present serious safety concerns for the neighborhood children and school buses that cross the tracks daily and create tremendous traffic problems in South Brunswick.
“It’s totally ridiculous that they’d even consider this,” said Bob Kearns who lives in the Monmouth Walk housing development next to the train tracks. “Legislators in Monmouth and Ocean counties are just trying to cram this down our throats.”
Residents said their community will suffer to make the commute for residents in Monmouth and Ocean counties easier.
“This train will disrupt more people’s lives than it seeks to help,” said Debbie Paley of Monmouth Walk.
Residents said alternative alignments — such as one running north from Lakewood to Red Bank — would better serve commuters in Ocean and Monmouth counties.
Both of these alternative alignments are opposed by Monmouth County because of potential negative community impacts, according to the 1996 NJ Transit study that evaluated 11 different mass transit options for central New Jersey.
South Brunswick residents argue that these alignments would be more efficient and even make the commute time shorter for Monmouth and Ocean residents who desire the train.
“If you want service in your county, build the train in your county,” said Ms. Ward. “We don’t need this line or want it.”
“They chose to live next to the beach and expect us to pay for it,” said Dayton resident Mary Alice Jefferies.
Councilman Ted Van Hessen said this was a NIMBY issue, but that Monmouth County is the NIMBY.
“They want to do this to serve their constituents but not at their expense,” he said. “They are the ones that are NIMBY.”
Mr. Van Hessen said the political powers have made the Lakewood-Monmouth Junction line the preferred alignment by NJ Transit. Since the alignment through South Brunswick raises little opposition from Monmouth County, from those who don’t want the rail in their backyards, it becomes easier to create a broad amount of support in the Legislature, said Mr. Van Hessen.
Though they do not want this proposed rail line in their backyard, South Brunswick residents said this was not the only reason for their opposition. They claim the proposal doesn’t make any sense from a economic or mass transit point of view. Residents say taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for the most expensive alignment when there are alternatives that provide shorter commute times and similar ridership estimates.
The 1996 NJ Transit study estimates 2,250 riders per day on the Lakewood to Freehold to Monmouth Junction line by the year 2010. Of these riders, an estimated 600 would be boarding the train in Jamesburg and Englishtown.
“My husband and I love train travel, but when we looked at the map we said ‘this makes no sense’ for the people that are going to be taking this train,” said Ms. Ward.
Opponents to the Lakewood-Monmouth Junction line claim that if the train ran from Lakewood to Freehold then north to Matawan, ridership would be gained in Marlboro to make up for lost riders in Englishtown and Jamesburg. The line through Matawan would cost less and be more direct to New York say opponents.
“The ridership for a train is in Monmouth County,” said Mr. Van Hessen. “We have the Northeast Corridor line.”
The Lakewood-Freehold-Matawan line was not analyzed in the detail that the Lakewood-Monmouth Junction line or the Lakewood-Red Bank line. South Brunswick officials said they have yet to receive reason why this alternative was not studied further.
Jeffrey Warsh, executive director for NJ Transit, said Wednesday the Matawan line is not an option because the agency no longer owns the line. It has been gifted to Monmouth County for use in its Rails to Trails greenway program.
The Lakewood-to-Red Bank alternative was studied in more detail in the 1996 report. Residents cite the 1996 NJ Transit study that estimates construction of the Lakewood-Monmouth Junction line would cost double the Lakewood-Red Bank alternative. Also the Red Bank alternative offers the shortest travel time to New York.
The study does estimate higher ridership numbers for the Lakewood-Monmouth Junction line than the Red Bank alignment, though residents questioned the validity of these estimates.
“How can a train line that goes all the way west to go north save a commuter time?” asked Ms. Ward. “If it doesn’t save a commuter time, they aren’t going to take the train.”
Residents also blasted legislators for what they consider “malevolent” tactics to push this rail line forward.
Neither the Assembly bill or Senate bill specify an alignment, only stating that the train would terminate in Lakewood and travel through central New Jersey.
Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman Alex DeCroce deflected opposition from Assembly members Linda Greenstein and Gary Guear, who represent South Brunswick, at the committee hearing, maintaining that the bill does not state an alignment, thus their concerns about a train through South Brunswick were moot.
“How can they vote on a line that has no alignment?” asked Dayton resident Keith Gecs who lives near the tracks. “You have to start with a plan to make an educated vote.”
If the bills are approved and federal funding is allocated for a train line, NJ Transit would decide on an alignment.
However, NJ Transit has determined that the Lakewood-Monmouth Junction line is the one they will seek funding for, and that the others would not accomplish mass transit objectives.
South Brunswick residents said this is simply a way to manipulate the issue to get votes.
“It’s appalling that they would vote on something without having all the information,” said Ms. Ward. “It’s a good strategy for the politicians. They can approve this without committing to it.”
“They’re playing games,” said Mr. Kearns. “They’ve already staked this line out.”
Residents said they dealt with this issue in 1995 when NJ Transit was analyzing this proposal along with others. Residents organized their opposition, sending out petitions and voicing their concerns.
“We were told back then by NJ Transit that it was a dead issue,” said Sandra Zish who lives in Wetherhill. “They said they would never move forward without a consensus among all the towns on the line.”
“The studies were done, the state money was spent and they came up with an evaluation. The evaluation said that this was not a good plan. It’s a sad state of affairs that this is how our government works,” said Ms. Paley.
Residents have begun circulating petitions and sending letters to various legislators opposing a rail line through South Brunswick.
The Township Council printed up postcards that residents can send to the Senate Transportation Committee, Assembly Speaker Jack Collins (R-Salem) and Senate President Donald DiFrancesco (R-Union). Residents are urging all citizens of New Jersey to write their Assembly members asking them to vote against the legislative bills that could give NJ Transit the funding to construct the most expensive, least efficient, according to South Brunswick officials.
“This will cost a billion dollars by the time they’ve included all the costs,” said Mr. Gecs. “Taxpayers shouldn’t be responsible for this.”
Some residents said they would be going to the Assembly meeting today (Thursday) to show their opposition to the legislation, which would move the rail proposal ahead to Gov. Christie Whitman for approval.
Gov. Whitman has publicly endorsed the rail line.
