To the Editor:
We address this letter to detail several objections to the construction of “Pike Run Plaza.” As you know, they have had multiple hearings at the township zoning board for the construction of the Plaza, which is right at the backyard of hundreds of houses at Pike Run.
When we moved in, part of the land where the plaza is being planned was scheduled for the Rt. 206 bypass. The bypass was voted down due to numerous concerns about the impact to Pike Run residents, including noise, pollution, property value depreciation, and severe negative environment impact. Today, the construction of “Pike Run Plaza” has the same negative effects, if not worse.
Most of the residents in Montgomery live around trees and quiet countryside neighborhood, with Green Acres to enjoy. Image the thin slice of trees being cut right next to your property and suddenly your backyard is facing with commercial buildings, signs, lights, noises and traffic!
I do not understand how we can allow a commercial zone be so close to so many residents. Montgomery Township has proven to be exemplary in the preservation of the environment with Green Acre and other environmentally-friendly measures. It was ranked the second best town for families in the state by New Jersey Family magazine. Do we think our township will keep that honor after the construction of the plaza? Certainly not!
The blueprint of the plaza shows only a single file of trees is left of the original woods, no fence between the plaza and the existing properties. It also shows only about half the number of trees to be planted in the parking lot than township zoning regulation allowed. Nobody is buying the argument that this is beneficial to the residents of Pike Run. The builder asks for signs twice as big as allowed. Who are such sign for? The residents of Pike Run do not need a sign to remind that a shopping mall is right behind their back. They can see it, hear it, and probably smell it!
People move to Montgomery and stay here because of its rural, charming character. Pike Run is a unique place where it allows many lower income people to enjoy living in this beautiful town. Are we allowing their neighborhood to become a commercial zone?
Fan Jiang
Belle Mead
To the Editor:
I live in Three Bridges, NJ and from time to time drive the same route when going through Montgomery or Skillman.
Happily the other day I took back roads through Montgomery on my way back from Mercer County and came across the Montgomery Veterans’ Memorial. What a marvelously designed tribute to former and current residents who have served our country all the way back to the Revolutionary War – really impressive. I was so taken by the pillars with the names of the service men and women and how they are arranged, all facing to a striking STAR in the middle, and all over a concrete slab that shows a larger star beneath the monument. I wanted to write because a late friend of mine, Jerry Cianfroccia, was listed on one of the pillars that notes Vietnam Veterans.
I knew Jerry from our days together at Ethicon, Inc, a Johnson & Johnson Company based in Bridgewater. One of the last times I saw Jerry we had lunch and he told me about the driving passion he had to have the monument designed and built. I thought the monument was to be built elsewhere in Skillman and so I was really pleased to have found it by accident.
As important, I went online and discovered, as I had thought, the Jerry and his wife Linda were one of three donors who made the most generous donations to make the manument a reality. I would have expected no less as Jerry was a man of great compassion and generosity. I hope all residents of Montgomery and Skillman area will this summer visit the monument and reflect on all it represents. My life is better because Jerry Cianfroccia was in it. May he rest in peace!
Donald H. Bowers
Three Bridges, NJ
I love Montgomery Township. I am a fourth-generation Skillman farmer and local business owner. I graduated from Montgomery High School in 2003. My family has lived here for four generations. My foremost goal is to start my own family here in this community.
I’m running for Montgomery Township Committee because excessive taxation has made our community uninhabitable for retirees and young people. The average Montgomery homeowner will pay over $150,000 in property taxes over the next ten years. This represents a failure of public policy, particularly when considering the questionable condition of our local roads.
Our community should be more than just a school district where people can’t afford to retire. Worst of all the Township Committee is now proposing even higher propertytaxes. This is wrong and unfair, especially considering their campaign promises to tackle the problem. We desperately need some intellectual diversity on the Township Committee.
We can all agree a one party system is inherently unhealthy. It is not conducive to accountability or a free exchange of ideas. Yet we have had a one party system in Montgomery for far too long. We deserve better.
I’m proud to represent the Libertarian Party in a year where voters are searching for an alternative to the corruption of the establishment parties. Libertarians believe in private property and individual liberty. We believe stealing is wrong even when the government does it. We work to empower people instead of politicians.
When I am elected I will fight for an immediate halt to increases in discretionary spending. I will push to bring in new businesses to fill the massive amount of empty commercial office and retail space currently going unused in our town. These businesses will create local jobs and help grow our local economy. As a former teacher I will act as a liaison with the School Board to create a dialogue about how to utilize the school budget most efficiently.
Montgomery is an ideal place to live. We have fantastic schools, beautiful landscapes, and openhearted people. I hope these elements of our community never change. What I do hope and what I will fight for is Municipal Government that works for our residents instead of the other way around.
That’s why I need your vote for Township Committee in November.
Patrick McKnight
Skillman
To the Editor:
The recent decision to stop all Transportation Trust Fund projects because of lack of funding has had a devastating impact on the people of the State of New Jersey. Particularly, the closing of the 518 Bridge in Franklin has wreaked havoc on Rocky Hill and the surrounding towns of Montgomery, Princeton and South Brunswick. These towns are unable to handle a prolonged closure until next spring as it is an imminent life and safety risk, it relies on an unsafe detour, it impacts small businesses, it is a hardship for working families, and will cause disruptions for safe busing and the education of our children.
Foremost, for safety reasons, I urge you to reconsider this project as a priority and resume construction immediately. The town of Rocky Hill has been reduced to one route by which residents can be transported to local hospitals. River Road runs through Rocky Hill, Montgomery and Princeton. It is jammed much of the day and it is a winding road. It is unsafe for the ambulance to drive in the oncoming lane. Additionally, Rocky Hill and Kingston rely on mutual aid for fire and rescue. The assistance of neighboring towns has been eliminated because of the 518 bridge. This could have an unforgivable risk to life and property should an emergency arise during the closure.
The chosen detour of Crescent Avenue and River Road puts our pedestrian street in a very unsafe position.
Our residents and Rocky Hill government have tried to reach out to the DOT to reexamine the disbursement of trucks and traffic, but have been unable to reach the office to even begin discussing safer alternatives. There is considerable truck traffic on a route that cannot withstand this volume. There are crosswalks, four way stops and no shoulder to mitigate the risk between speeding vehicles and the sidewalk. The residents of our historic district must use the post office boxes for mail delivery therefore there are many people walking and required to use these unsafe sidewalks. There have been incidences of assault and road rage at the nearest crossing in Griggstown. There is profanity and horn honking occurring daily through residential streets. Rules of the four way stop are dangerously ignored as people feel entitled because they are frustrated with the detour. There has also been an increase in accidents in Rocky Hill and on Route 206 because of the volume of traffic.
Local business cannot handle their customer base to be rerouted for almost an entire year. There is Buy The Cup coffee shop that relies on westbound traffic in the morning to sustain its business. There is also a hair salon that cannot attract walk-in traffic. There are arestaurants in Rocky Hill and businesses in South Brunswick that have lost tremendous businessbecause the prolonged detour makes them unreachable. Drivers trying to get to Trap Rock Quarry are forced to add time to their route and have had to stretch their time and their fuel dollars further.
Working families and school children cannot be the bearers of this political impasse any longer. As schools resume and buses and teachers are on the road the delays will be insurmountable. Many parents and children are forced to leave earlier to get children to their daycare facilities. Many families have to pay for additional childcare because of the long delays they now face for their commute. The buses will not be able to safely pick up children on the detour routes and they will arrive to school late because of the disruption to their usual routes. The timing for transportation in the Montgomery School District has already been honed so that all five schools in the district can efficiently use the available buses. Causing daily traffic congestion will mean that children cannot be brought to and from the appropriate schools without impacting the subsequent schools’ schedule.
I implore you to consider the 518 bridge as an emergency situation. We can no longer sustain this hardship and risk to our safety.
Tammy Harrington
Rocky Hill