EDITORIAL: Coalition takes first steps in revitalization

JRC is taking Jamesburg in the right direction

   The Jamesburg Revitalization Coalition has the right idea.
   It has begun a process designed to improve the borough’s downtown area without sacrificing the small-town feel that lends Jamesburg much of its charm.
   The JRC is an independent organization made up of borough business and property owners, political figures and residents. The group’s purpose is to turn the borough’s downtown into a thriving business district while maintaining the area’s historic character.
   "Thousands of people drive through here each day," Elliott Stroul, chairman of the Jamesburg Revitalization Coalition, said at a meeting last week. "The idea is to make them stop and stay."
   It’s a worthy goal.
   There already is a lot to like about the borough’s downtown, including an interesting mix of businesses and restaurants — a regionally well-known bakery that acts as a magnet for shoppers on weekend mornings.
   Main Street USA, a planning group, said earlier this year that the borough is "a full service town" with a lot of economic possibilities. It also has "two large design assets" — Manalapan Lake in Thompson Park and the train tracks that run through the center of town — and a real sense of community enhanced by annual events like the Memorial Day Parade and Tonkery Day.
   But more can be done to help the existing businesses flourish and to make the handful of empty storefronts more attractive to merchants.
   This is where the JRC comes in. The coalition has enlisted the assistance of graduate students from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University to craft a plan for the downtown area. The students will begin analyzing the business district, attempting to determine which areas need to be targeted for improvement. They will begin work in January and expect to issue recommendations to the borough in May.
   The JRC wants community involvement in the project. It will meet on Jan. 18 to approve the coalition’s constitution and then hold a seminar in February and seminars and workshops in March, hosted by the graduate students, and it is encouraging residents and business owners — whom they are calling stakeholders — to attend.
   It also is asking residents and business owners to have some patience.
   "Redevelopment isn’t about buying property, and tearing down what we have now," Mr. Stroul said last week. "It’s about looking at the community, seeing its assets, and improving upon what already exists."
   Those are worthy goals and we hope that every stakeholder — and that’s everyone in Jamesburg — gets involved.