Cranbury townspeople get their turn to say their piece
By: Lacey Korevec
Residents will get their say regarding what they would like to see the township’s open space plan look like during an open meeting Oct. 18 with the Planning Board and Township Committee.
The meeting is part of an initiative started early in the summer to update the recreation portion of the township’s Master Plan. The first meeting, held July 17, dealt with, active recreation and open space.
"It was evident that a lot of the citizens of Cranbury were very interested in open space for passive recreational uses and for conservation purposes," said township Planner Richard Preiss.
Those who attend the meeting will be divided into groups of eight to 10. Afterward, each group will present its findings.
"Everyone will be given an opportunity to give their input and discuss topics of interest to them," Mr. Preiss said. "Not only to hear, but to be heard and to have some direct input in the plan that we’re formulating."
Before the groups meet, the board will review the open space progress made so far.
"In the past five years or so, Cranbury has acquired a substantial amount of either open space or farmland through acquisition or through the dedication of open space by people who are developing a portion of their property," Mr. Preiss said.
After hearing the community’s issues and concerns, the board will be able to address them, he said.
"They’ll also be used to help formulate the goals and objectives of the open space recreation plan," Mr. Preiss said. "Also, it’s probably going to help us formulate recommendations to the improvements to existing facilities or to the acquisition or building of new facilities in the community to meet the open space needs in the foreseeable future."
The meeting will help the township build a concrete plan for open space, Mr. Preiss said, which it will then begin putting into motion.
"The plan we’re putting together will have maps, which will indicate the existing township-owned open space," he said. "Then, each of those open spaces will show what facilities exist at the present time and what is proposed in the future to meet the recreational and open space needs of the community."

