Letters to the Editor, March 6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, March 6

Crossing guards deserve thanks
To the editor:
   
Our thanks go out to people like Mike Amendola and the other long time school crossing guards for their faithful duty. Adult school crossing guards play an important role in the school traffic safety program by providing safe crossing to and from school for hundreds of thousands of children each day. Since 1935, the death rate for school age youngsters has been cut in half. The exceptional school traffic safety record is due in large measure to the excellent and dedicated service rendered by the crossing guards.
   Adult school crossing guards have been used increasingly throughout the country where rapid population growth and escalating traffic congestion have created dangerous crossing situations for our school children on their way to and from school.
   Adult school crossing guards have always displayed a high performance standard, serving as inspiration to students and school safety patrols.
   Our appreciation also goes out to the local police departments who, mandated by state law, are required to train and equip adult school crossing guards. Recognizing the need for mandatory training, many law enforcement agencies have participated in the AAA Mid-Atlantic "Safe Crossings" training program that was designed to meet the needs of the statutory mandate.
Kenneth A. Chrusz
Manager, Safety Services
AAA Mid-Atlantic
Hamilton
Promenade project is ill-conceived
To the editor:
The ill-conceived and oddly-named Montgomery Promenade is the wrong development, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. The prospect of paving over so much open space is worse than sad. The residents and merchants of Montgomery will be dealt an injustice on many levels.
   Traffic will get worse, rather than better. Commercial vacancy rates will rise in the existing retail centers. Local merchants will be squeezed out by national chains.
   Mysterious lawsuit or not, there are many questions to be asked.
   Ask your friends and neighbors if they’re clamoring for another Stop and Shop store (when there are already four Stop and Shops within a roughly seven-mile radius and let’s not forget home delivery via PeaPod).
   Ask your elected and appointed officials, why have they sat on so many liquor licenses that have just magically (and not deliciously) appeared. Ask the FAA how many large-scale shopping centers can be found with this proximity to a vital and active airport runway.
   A promenade is typically a raised walkway along a large body of water. What body of water would the Montgomery Promenade overlook? Perhaps the massive retention basin for the acres upon acres of asphalt parking lots that this development would require? Stick a fountain in the middle of the retention basin, call it a "water feature," and forget that this will all be a stone’s throw from Rocky Hill’s municipal well.
Daniel Gray
Wiggins Lane
Montgomery
West Windsor needs its own jitney
To the editor:
   
I have recently read with interest NJ Transit’s plan to start a jitney service in downtown Princeton with connections to the dinky. Presumably it will ease car congestion around Princeton and encourage Princeton residents to use the Dinky service to Princeton Junction.
   I applaud NJ Transit this free service to the public that also does not add to the local municipal budget. However, I would like to suggest that NJ Transit develop a plan to ease the burden of the 2,200 West Windsor residents who are on a waiting list for a parking permit that is six to eight years long.
   Perhaps NJ Transit can run shuttle buses from our various neighborhoods or from central points in the township (Community park or Mercer County park) to the train station. This would decrease the traffic congestion coming into our neighborhoods around the train station and provide a service for the residents of West Windsor to ease their daily hassle of trying to find parking or have a spouse drop them off to get to work every day until a plan to solve the parking issue is developed.
Diane Ciccone
West Windsor
Princeton mayors should cooperate
To the editor:
   The Friday, Feb. 23 issue of The Princeton Packet reported on a public dispute between the Princeton Township mayor and the Princeton Borough mayor regarding library parking. While of concern to many, the issue of library parking does not involve life or death consequences.
   But what if the two mayors’ disagreement occurred during an area crisis such as a severe hurricane or an influenza pandemic? Who would be in charge and make the necessary decisions for our community?
   The Princeton Regional Health Commission, of which I am a member, brought the issue of the lack of unified leadership during a community-wide crisis to the attention of our local governments and to the public several times in the last few years. The library parking dispute exemplifies the potential disagreements and resulting confusion that could occur during such events since we don’t have a clear leader.
   Our current governmental infrastructure of duplication and redundancy sets us up for disaster. We have two mayors, two governing bodies and two police departments. How would they work together during a severe crisis?
   Which mayor or police chief would be in charge in a crisis that involved both municipalities when there are differing opinions on how to proceed?
   I consider our governmental redundancy and ambiguous leadership as comparable to the defective levee system in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina.
   We have two options: spend the funds to hire a joint emergency coordinator, or save tax dollars by consolidating our borough and township governments to provide us with unified leadership.
   It is important that Princeton-area residents urge their local governing bodies to step up to the plate on these issues and not wait to lament the lack of action should a community-wide emergency occur.
Laura H. Kahn, MD
Princeton Regional Health Commission
Journey’s End Lane
Princeton,
Hinds deserves naming honor

To the editor:
As a former resident of the Witherspoon/John neighborhood and an appreciative beneficiary of the late Albert E. Hinds’ legacy of friendliness, hospitality and inclusiveness, I urge naming the library square for Mr. Hinds without further delay. This act would be a fitting honor for his century-long devotion and positive contribution to the entire Princeton community.
   At the Borough Council meeting of Feb. 27,many eloquent citizens expressed their support for such a measure. Sadly, only one council member had the gumption to support the proposal while other members suggested further review or alternative, half-hearted ways of honoring Mr. Hinds.
   One council member said that she had heard that Mr. Hinds was a Republican, but when she met him found him to be very nice. The essential implication of this off-handed remark is that Republicans don’t qualify for commemoration and therefore the proposal should be dismissed.
   It’s a good thing this type of thinking wasn’t prevalent when they built the Lincoln Memorial, minted the penny and named the local highway. With his keen sense of history, I’m certain that Mr. Hinds would have appreciated the irony.
Linda M. Sipprelle
Nassau Street
Princeton