From the issue of May 4, 2006.
Orchard Drive reveals planning problems
To the editor:
The April 27 front-page article regarding traffic on Orchard Drive and possible remedies is a natural result of poorly planned development in Hillsborough.
Long-time residents of a once quiet and safe street are now inundated with speeding commuters from the recent developments to the east. Nobody ever planned for the traffic these developments create and the long-time residents are taking the brunt of the problem.
To make matters worse, another much larger development is being built on Beekman Lane and New Center Road which will send hundreds of additional cars along the same old roads as they seek to get to Route 206 or Route 202.
These communities are designed so that nobody drives past the houses, as they are all on cul-de-sacs. They are sociologically monstrous in that they turn their backs to the existing community, provide no transportation advantage and add lots of cars to the existing problem.
Nobody wants to see traffic run past their house.
The arguments presented by the residents of Chamberlain, Brusler and Carroll are very thin reasons as to why the traffic should run through Orchard Drive and not past their houses. Their children are their responsibility and should be taught to stay out of the street.
The fact that they may be richer and pay more taxes does not entitle them to streets closed to Hillsborough traffic. They are public streets and everybody in Hillsborough pays for their maintenance.
I’d be glad to compare complaints with any of these residents.
I live on South Branch Road, an unregulated speedway by any measure.
Let’s go in the direction of law enforcement, reasonable speed limits and good surveillance rather than diminishing our neighbor’s quality of life.
James Ruocco
South Branch Road
Red Cross volunteers provide vital services
To the editor:
What do you call people who consider themselves on call 24 hours a day, who get out of bed in the middle of the night to help find a place to sleep for a family whose house has been destroyed by fire?
These people respond to 70,000 home fires a year and they don’t get paid a dime for their trouble.
What do you call people who take the time every few months to give away on of the world’s most precious gifts? Blood?
What do you call people who show up on a regular schedule to drive others to medical appointments, teach strangers how to save a life, and help U.S. service members separated from their families by military duty stay connected with no monetary compensation.
You call them American Red Cross volunteers.
So far this year, volunteers at the Greater Somerset County Chapter, American Red Cross have donated over 23,000 hours of their time, right here in our communities. They have responded to 15 house and apartment fires which affected 68 families, taught first aid, CPR, aquatics and care giving to over 6,500 individuals, and provided over 1,950 rides to medical appointments. Nationwide Red Cross volunteers gave a staggering 162 million hours of service this year.
April 23-29 is National Volunteer Week, a time to thank the many local residents who served our community this year through volunteering with the American Red Cross. The theme of National Volunteer Week is "Inspire by Example" and that is just what Red Cross volunteers do.
The Greater Somerset County Chapter needs people from throughout the community, of all ages and skills. Rights now, we would especially welcome people who would like to be part of our Disaster Action Team, enabling us to respond to disasters big and small that occur in our community.
To volunteer, please contact us at 725-2217 or log on to www.redcross.org.nj/gscc Volunteer Opportunities.
William S. Stindheim
Chair, Board of Directors
Greater Somerset County Chapter
American Red Cross

