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To the editor:
Linda Mead’s and David Knights’ letters to the editor (HVN, Aug. 2) sidestep the objection we and our neighbors have expressed about the Featherbed Lane parking lot proposed by the D&R Greenway: it is an ill-advised site because of safety and traffic concerns.
We would hope the Greenway, with its vision and resources, could identify an alternative parking location or locations which would avoid creating the traffic and safety impacts associated with the current proposal. There are several such sites near the proposed one that avoid these problems.
Shirley Koehler and Jim Jansma
Eileen Pittenger and John Butaud
Diane and Tom Seessel
Featherbed Lane, Hopewell Township
Help eliminate racism
To the editor:
Although the following did not happen in Hopewell Valley, racism and oppression occurs everywhere and is relevant, even in our less diverse community. Consider the following and ask yourself if you would welcome 150 Trenton children into our community without fear or prejudice.
The YWCA of Trenton, in cooperation with the Hamilton School District, provides a summer camp for both communities with the intent to eliminate racism and teach our children how to value one another across the lines of human difference.
Although, the benefits of this program are many, there have also been challenges. Last week, YWCA children were met by racist graffiti upon arrival at the Reynolds Middle School. By noon, the District administration had the graffiti removed. Leadership from the YWCA met with all the campers to talk about what they saw.
The YWCA believes racism hurts everyone. It is unfortunate that this event occurred. However, if we allow the ignorance of a few to block the progress of many, we will fail our children and ultimately our future. We must rise above the ignorance and stand for what is right. All of us together can make a difference. The YWCA of Trenton and the YWCA of Princeton have united to end all forms of oppression in Mercer County and we are committed to continue our important work.
Will you stand with us?
Melissa Weeks,
Hopewell Township
president, board of trustees
YWCA of Trenton
‘Unfair and hurtful’
To the editor:
I found the letters in last week’s paper responding to neighbors concerns and questions regarding the D&R Greenway Land Trust’s proposed parking lot on Featherbed Lane unfair and hurtful.
I lived many years in the borough before moving up to Featherbed, and consider it a great privilege to have been part of the initial group of neighbors who began the effort to save the Ruhland tract. My husband Steve and I contributed to the inspiring community effort that preserved St. Michael’s. We strongly support D&R Greenway Land Trust. I have family in other parts of the state that have preserved land through D&R. Growing up in West Windsor, where my mother’s family were farmers, I saw what happens without preservation. Supporting preserved open space is a priority in my life. I believe strongly that the public should always have access to preserved open space.
It is also the responsibility of the public to voice concerns and questions especially about publicly funded projects.
As we preserve more and more open space, one of the questions that comes up is the protection and care of that land. There is little money for maintenance of the preserved areas. Local law enforcement is stretched to the limit. It saddens me that after all these years vandalism continues to happen in beautiful Hopewell Park.
Residents whose properties are adjacent to preserved land are often a valuable asset. They pick up litter, keep an eye on fragile environmental areas, track down off-road vehicles cresting damage in the woodland and remind hunters when they are too close to residential areas.
Shouldn’t these same residents, as well as the public at large, be encouraged to ask questions and give suggestions regarding what is built on that preserved land? Who knows the land and the pluses and minuses of the roads around it better than the folks that live there? Many of us up here have work hard to preserve land. How could you be so quick to label us?
Nonjudgmental dialog is so important! When preservation funding comes up for a vote, those of us passionately committed to open space need to be able to listen to the problems and concerns of those not so committed. Things happen when people see the dedication of someone who may not agree with them, but who takes the time to listen to them with respect.
The trails from up in the Sourlands to St. Michael’s have not been mapped. No one really knows where they will be. The parking lot may or may not be in the right place for these trails. But this is not about St. Michael’s. It is about a safety concern that some residents have about a parking lot that is to be built by a wonderful organization at a difficult intersection.
If the lot is built, shouldn’t it be built taking those concerns into consideration?
Come up and see us and we’ll show you the area. My appeal is for kind, constructive discussion. Especially among like minded friends!
Carol Kehoe
Featherbed Lane
Hopewell Township

