Developer Jack Morris, JSM @ St. George Avenue, LLC wants to build a Walgreens drugstore in Colonia at Chain O’Hills Road and St. Georges Avenue where Frystock Jeep now stands. That intersection suffers many traffic accidents. Chain O’Hills Road is the main outlet for hundreds of families nearby.
The Woodbridge Planning Board gave approval to the plan with a vote of 6 to 2. The plan calls for the new owner to give Woodbridge part of the property at the tip of Chain O’Hills Road in order to widen the road for traffic.
The Planning Board told us (objectors to the plan) that Woodbridge did not have to approve the road change because that road is a county road. When we phoned the county, we were told that the road was a Woodbridge road, not a county road!
Huge mounds of earth would be dug out and much of the ground covered for parking, and a basement made for storage purposes, and an opening dug out of the hill for a left-hand turn onto Chain O’Hills Road.
The removal of so much soil and then the cover of large areas would increase the dreaded rain water runoff from that area to run down onto those beneath that area. And the left-hand turn would guarantee an increase in the number of auto accidents.
We were told that we could not argue traffic. After reminding the Planning Board that the main purpose of government was to protect the safety, health, lives and property of its citizens, the plan was approved.
With an Eckerd drugstore flourishing one block away, and two Walgreens drugstores now within easy reach, only one party, the developer, would benefit. Why should one party gain at the serious and needless expense of the safety, health, lives and property of large numbers of citizens who need relief from the already dangerous traffic?
Florence Caporaso
Woodbridge