By: centraljersey.com
On Feb. 15 my granddaughter and a friend narrowly missed being struck by a dark blue mini van turning the corner at Linden Lane and Guyot Avenue. The corner is behind the John Witherspoon Middle School. We live in the house on that corner and I witnessed the near miss from my kitchen window, in horror.
My granddaughter’s friend was in the crosswalk, he turned his head to look at my granddaughter because she slipped on a piece of ice at the side of the road. The mini van flew around the corner, in spite of the student in the crosswalk, and after missing him, narrowly missed my granddaughter. Having snow piled high at the curb is certainly a problem as it makes the road narrower. That ice and snow are from the plowing that cleared the road and obviously could not be helped. But, the problem still exists when there is no snow.
On a daily basis when school is in session, I watch car after car fly around the corner with 99 percent of the drivers on cell phones. The worst time is at about 2:50 p.m. when the parents are on their way to pick up their children. That’s when the 99 percent are on their cell phones. Why does New Jersey have a no cell phones while driving law if it is not enforced? I do not want to watch while my grandchild or another student is hit by a careless driver who is in such a hurry that they disregard the driving laws. Not only the no cell phone law but also the pedestrian right of way in the cross walk.
We need help to protect our students. I would also urge the school to issue a notice to parents to protect our children by not talking on their cell phones while driving and obeying the pedestrian in crosswalk law.
I called the Princeton Township Police Department to let them know of the seriousness of the problem. This corner is a safety hazard and it strikes me that these drivers have no regard for the safety of others. God forbid any student should die because those talking on cell phones are not paying attention to their driving, as I see on this corner.
I’m writing this letter in hope of bringing attention to the problem and also to hopefully bring a patrol car around to monitor the violators. Talking on cell phones while driving causes accidents and kills. That’s why New Jersey has the law. If you read this and are a violator, please stop. Please protect my grandchildren.
Claudette Ramsey Princeton
Please clear the snow from your sidewalk
To the Editor:
It has been several weeks since our last snowfall and still some sidewalks have yet to be shoveled. By the time you read this, Mother Nature will hopefully have melted them clear, but in the meantime many people have been inconvenienced: the kids who walk to school or wait in the street if the bus stop is snowed over; the neighbors who walk the dog or jog around the block; the cross country and track teams out for their runs; parents with strollers; commuters who walk to the train station; people with disabilities and wheelchair users; and many others.
Snow-clogged trails and crossings galvanized a group of hardy bike commuters to the Forrestal campus in Plainsboro to organize recently – they’ve named themselves the Forrestal Bicycle and Pedestrian Advocates, and can be reached at forrestal.bpa@gmail.com. The WWBPA strongly support them.
Motorists don’t expect to encounter these reluctant roadway users, and so don’tsee them, especially after dark. In January, two pedestrians on the road were hospitalized after being struck by cars: one, in daytime near Grover Middle School; and the other, at night near the train station.
Local ordinances require property owners to clear the snow, often within 24 hours, and the vast majority of owners gladly do so. Trouble spots often occur at corner lots, where the sidewalk access at the corner has been piled high with snow from the street. Other trouble spots may include bridges, crosswalks, multi-use trails and sidewalks owned in common by a neighborhood association.
Be a good neighbor. Go out there and clean any remaining snow off your sidewalk. And next time it snows, please clean your sidewalk right away. If you see a longstanding trouble spot, gently remind the owner or association president, or if necessary report it to the township. You might even help your neighbor attack that huge pile covering the sidewalk access. Everyone will thank you.
Jerry Foster President, West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance
Peaceful protester taken away in handcuffs
To the Editor:
On Feb. 15, 2003, over 12 million people demonstrated around the world to try to stop the Iraq War from being launched, the largest demonstration in world history.
In New York City, the scene was hard to believe. One million Americans tried to come to a rally at the U.N. I say "tried" because I personally witnessed the New York City police behaving in ways that were more fitting like a dictatorship than a democracy. As a result, only half of the one million who came to peacefully demonstrate got to the rally.
We in the Coalition for Peace Action took hundreds to New York by train. When we arrived, the police had blocked many routes to the rally site, near the United Nations. Those who tried to get through were sometimes run over by police on motorbikes, other times charged by police horses. There were literally thousands of illegal arrests that day. And almost no media covered this deeply troubling story. Those who were arrested, including several of my relatives, were deprived of food and bathrooms for 24 hours or more. They were also asked about their organizational affiliations in a way that was reminiscent of McCarthyism. The ACLU later sued and forced those records to be destroyed. This was what "freedom" in the United States of America looked like eight years ago.
Exactly eight years later, on Feb. 15, 2011, Ray McGovern, a former Army officer and 27-year CIA veteran (who I personally know well), peacefully protested at a speech in Washington by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ironically, her speech was about respecting the right of free expression, like those now sweeping the Arab world.
But when Mr. McGovern stood up and turned his back to protest her failure to forthrightly support those peaceful demonstrators, Ms. Clinton’s guards, including a uniformed policeman and plain clothes official, dragged him off violently and double handcuffed him, piercing his wrists and causing severe bleeding. He was put into a tiny cell with no medical treatment, and when released, had to take a cab to the hospital to be treated.
If this is what freedom of expression looks like in America, the idea that we have first amendment rights is largely a fiction. Most of us don’t realize that because we seldom, if ever, exercise those rights. I strongly condemn this blatantly hypocritical behavior, and call on Secretary Clinton to publicly apologize.
The Rev. Robert Moore Princeton Borough
Note: Rev. Moore is executive director of the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action and pastor of East Brunswick Congregational Church.
Neighbors group backs university’s plan
To the Editor:
Steadman Historic Alley Association Inc. is an organization of nine property owners whose houses adjoin the intersections of Alexander and Mercer Streets.
Given that our houses are approximately a quarter of a mile from the original site proposed for Princeton’s Arts and Transit Center, we are highly engaged with issues concerning traffic, location of the Dinky station and other pertinent factors that could impact our neighborhood environment, quality of life and property values.
Our board recently discussed the Arts and Transit Neighborhood project and is aligned with the Princeton University plan presented at the Borough and Township Council meeting on Jan. 31, including the proposed site on Alexander Street and the relocation of the Dinky terminus.
Accordingly, we encourage the borough and township to expeditiously find the common understanding to move forward with the project as outlined by the university.
Tom Chapman Chairman Steadman Historic Alley Association Inc.
