As a Route 9 Manalapan resident I strongly support the commuter rail and felt compelled to respond to Joann Damante’s ludicrous reasoning.
I think anyone can sympathize with a mother of small children concerned with their safety. However, she states that "if they want to work in New York City and live in the suburbs, they should have thought about their commute before they moved here."
What about homeowners like yourself that buy a house 50 feet from a railroad easement and then complain when the government resumes its use?
Didn’t you consider the possibility that the government had the right to reopen rail transport before buying your home? The builder has no control or say in the use of public land.
The people who buy houses near landfills, busy roads, land under contract for heavy development, flood prone areas, etc., also don’t get any sympathy from me. It baffles me why people don’t do independent research before making one of the biggest purchases in their life.
You mention effects of train diesel fuel. What about the effects of automobile emissions on our township’s population as Route 9 becomes ever more congested? Adding more buses to Route 9 was never the answer and finally the voices of reason are coming up with a valid although not complete solution by supporting the rail plan.
The "not in my backyard" disease is rampant in New Jersey. It is a shame when a select privileged few "railroad" (excuse the pun) officials into condemning projects for the common good.
I say, let’s stand together for the rail plan. It’s the first major traffic relief plan this area has seen in decades. Let’s not let a few "misinformed" residents speak for all of us.
Dorothy S. Peterson
Manalapan

