Make your voice heard

Cheryl Miller
Lambertville
    Investors a.k.a. Lambertville Hall Foundation, Inc., are seeking to transform The First Baptist Church building into an “Arts Center” containing a performance space, restaurant and bar, or at least that is what we have been told.
   The truth is, the project, though somewhat innocent on the surface, is not quite as straightforward in scope and impact as it would seem. The project has the potential to drastically change the unique qualities that help make Lambertville the wonderful city it is, has been and can continue to be, in very negative and somewhat destructive ways. Once our 1-square-mile of Small Town America is so negatively changed, it will not, and, perhaps cannot be easily recaptured.
   The project, they say, would bring approximately 450 persons into our town six, or perhaps seven days/nights a week. There has been no traffic study done at all, and with that many persons, there is no way this town can support the parking situation. In fact, there is no concrete plan for parking at all apart from a proposed shuttle service that would travel to/from pickup/delivery spots up to one and a half miles away!
   How many could or would use that service if they could just grab a parking spot in town. Will the shuttle service also operate during the Hall’s restaurant/bar hours of operation? This many people clogging the few existing nighttime parking spaces could drive the smaller restaurants and shops out of business.
   Others also would see resultant negative effects where parking is already at more than capacity, such as those that live in downtown housing and the surrounding blocks where they may be forced to seek other housing options. Our houses of worship and their wonderful community programs could be placed in jeopardy. Let us also not forget the specter of alternate side of the street parking required for a good deal of the year for the street sweeper. The inherent parking vision just continues to crumble under the possibilities of the situation.
   Let’s look at the situation realistically. Even the big cities are having trouble garnering support for their symphonies and other arts programs. How is it then that even without the inherent parking problems, the investors and those supporting the project seem to envision having enough patrons on a regular basis to support the facility? The 50-plus year olds won’t put up with the parking situation, or the attendant congestion of the town.
   The investors also are looking for a liquor license. If the “legitimate arts” can’t support the space, they may have to turn to rock concerts or other types of entertainment, and the city won’t be able to do anything about it if it goes sour. The children are where the money is, and with a liquor license in place and the ability to stay open until 2 a.m. for dancing and music, who knows, and do we really even want to imagine?
   Currently, the closest venue to Lambertville for such activities is Camden. Do we really want such happenings and the attendant negativity in Lambertville? That could be the picture of our future — quite an example and legacy for our children.
   Please help save Lambertville from those who only care about the power and the money, not about the city and the people that make it what it is. We are an exquisite caring community made of a wonderful diverse group of people, experiences and talents, and we can make our voices heard by those with power to change the situation and save the Lambertville we love.
   Make your voice heard: Attend the next Board of Adjustment hearing on June 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Justice Center (the old Acme building), 25 S. Union St., in Lambertville and write to: [email protected][email protected]