Guest Column
The efforts to protect
S.B. must be intensified
I believe that as a community, the time has come to again examine New Jersey state politics and how it affects our quality of life.
Route 92: This battle has being ongoing for me for the five years I have been in government; for township citizens, years longer. This highway would destroy, literally, the village of Kingston in South Brunswick; devastate Friendship Road; have deleterious environmental effects including those that could impact our aquifer and our drinking water; send more traffic on local roads; and waste all state taxpayers’ money. The federal Environmental Protection Agency found this route to be a bad idea, and offered a far better alternative — a no-build alternative. So, why are we then in this continual fight? The New Jersey Turnpike Authority will not give up, and the governor will not stop this, though she has the power to. What is the response to us? A marketing firm is hired to spread false information that Ridge Road is the planned alternative to Route 92; this is completely false, but, of course, the truth can only hurt pro-Route 92ers. Why is this struggle continuing? Is this route good for New Jersey? Many agencies, including the EPA say no. But the battle continues for political reasons I cannot even begin to contemplate, but they are not in the best interest of New Jerseyans, and are very problematic, to say the least, for us.
MOM Rail Line: NJ Transit is attempting to force a rail line that again would specifically devastate sections of our town (the Dayton/Deans and Monmouth Junction sections of South Brunswick), and could have far-reaching negative impacts through all of South Brunswick. The proposed rail line would run through residents’ back yards in order to transport commuters from South Jersey to New York, and relieve traffic on Route 9, and never even stop in South Brunswick. I do not begrudge any effort to relieve traffic anywhere in New Jersey; I wish traffic could be reduced on our local roads and adjacent highways. I also commute on mass transit to work, so I have no problem with mass transit and am a proponent of it. But this proposed MOM rail line is an incredibly bad idea. It would take traffic west to go north — does that make sense? NJ Transit’s own 1996 study said this rail line was not practical, and would again cost all New Jerseyans money, in that it would suffer substantial loss. We residents of the state of New Jersey would lose money on this unprofitable line. So, why is this pursued? Ask the Republican state leadership. The vote on this issue is clearly along party lines. Also, there is local confusion on the issue. I understand a recent press release stated that individuals were in favor of a train station. This confused the issue. MOM is not about a train station, it is about a rail line that destroys citizens’ quality of life, endangers residents in this community and would again have a severe negative impact on the environment.
Proposed Mining Ordinance: Of course, state lawmakers (Senate) are also proposing a mining ordinance that would allow the state to determine what mining operations could take place in any town in New Jersey, including South Brunswick, not only in the future, but could determine the continuation of present mining operations, whether we like it or not. Of course, this happens when we are trying to address the mining concerns at the Dallenbach sandpit in South Brunswick. What happened to home rule? And, in light of all I said thus far, can we trust the present state leadership to look out for our best interests? It would not appear so. Regardless of who is in the state leadership, questions of such operations as mining should be left to the local municipality.
This has got to stop. I have not listed the everyday challenges we face as a community, just because we are dynamic and growing. We certainly do not need the additional problems we are facing. But we, in fact, have them and must continue to band together as a community to address them. I am suggesting that we may have to take our efforts up a notch. Please call the town manager or me, at (732) 329-4000, ext. 301. Call me at home and/or e-mail me at [email protected] to add your name to the mailing list, if it is not already on it, of a growing group of citizens ready to step up our initiatives to protect the quality of life we have worked for.
Debra Johnson is mayor of South Brunswick.