By: centraljersey.com
The response to stories about Princeton University’s failed Arts and Transit project has been overwhelming and passionate. Here are some excerpts from what has been posted at various online sources:
Nassau83 wrote on centraljersey.com: "This is short-sighted, change-resistant, obstructionist government at its worst. I have attended many meetings about the arts district, including last night’s, where Princeton Borough Council members behave like part-time mall cops – wielding their power just because they have it. While they have held the university and the national arts community hostage, blocked a $300M investment that would add jobs and ratables, the university has planned and constructed a magnificent 250,000 square foot chemistry complex where pioneering research is being done, planned and begun construction on a similarly wonderful neuroscience facility, constructed a world-class soccer stadium that was used as the training site for the U.S. World Cup team last year, planned and implemented an effective shuttle system and graduated 5,000 stellar students who are going on to make the world a better place."
"Moving the ‘Dinky’ station 460 feet to radically improve a rundown part of town, create a much better transit experience for regular riders and visitors is an easy trade and the move would, on balance, have enormous positive effects on the environment. More cyclists, more walkers, fewer vehicle miles and very green buildings, which may not be possible to construct in other locations.
"The Borough Council has badly misread its constituents, never commissioned a single study or poll to assess the community’s true feelings and treats the university like dirt rather than a valued partner and constituent."
Princetonguy wrote on centraljersey.com: "From the people I know, the majority of Princeton residents are happy the borough stood its ground. I do hope there is a compromise that could be worked out, but right now the university (and its faculty and staff in the community) are mostly concerned about their interests and not the interests of the general community. Princeton often says it is ‘In the Nation’s Service,’ but if so, it should find a way to build the Arts center without degrading the mass transit option."
PrincetonTownie wrote on centraljersey.com: "My wife and I have been members of the Princeton community for many years and are disgusted that a small group of opponents and a spineless Borough council can impede a project that is so clearly in the interest of the majority in this community. Had a poll of the residents of the borough and township been taken, it would likely have shown strong support for this plan. No such poll was ever taken.
"The corner in question is unsightly and the current traffic congestion a problem. The university’s planned improvements would have transformed the area into a beautiful new corner of our town while simultaneously creating hundreds of jobs, solving traffic problems and bringing exciting new arts programs into our community.
"This argument over the movement of the Dinky Station by less than 500 feet is a red herring. There are few members of the community who actually live near the Dinky station which is surrounded by university housing and facilities and this silly assertion that the move by the length of a football field would have been an unconscionable burden on members of the community is not representative of the majority view.
"My wife and I sincerely hope that the Borough Council will come to its senses and grant the University the zoning approval it seeks as soon as possible. It may already be too late."
Djkeddie wrote on centraljersey.com: "The Princeton planning process is broken, with interminable and expensive delays, improper impositions on private property owners, and the obstruction of massive and necessary local investments.
"The planning board needs to consider the way the current zoning has turned Princeton into an enclave for the wealthy by preventing the natural development of the town, especially within walking distance of the university and the dinky. Among the many things broken in New Jersey is the way local planning boards can, at no expense to themselves, prevent the change so needed for economic vitality and affordable housing."
Virginia Kerr wrote on the Save the Dinky Facebook wall: "What was most clear last night, to me anyway, was that the university simply does not want rail on its ‘campus.’ End of story. The message: My way or no way. Pity the elected officials faced with community opposition to the Dinky move and also faced with a university that had apparently never been interested in the win/win proposals that would permit the terminus to stay where it is. Three or so years of wasted time on the part of the community. It would have been nice had the university said at the outset that one if its core goals was to move the Dinky … ."

