Petitioners oppose link between Rts. 1 & 130
Transit village plan calls for connector road through Renaissance
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK - A petition opposing access from the proposed transit village on the Johnson & Johnson property on Route 1 North via Renaissance Boulevard has already garnered over 200 signatures.

A paper version of the petition has been circulating around the Renaissance development since March asking for "the town to spare the residential community of Renaissance and instead use other access routes like the Otken farm road to the proposed train station." It is written to the mayor, Township Council and Planning Board, stating that there are other alternatives to creating an east-west connection between Routes 1 and 130.

Instead, the petition suggests moving the location of the proposed train station a few yards north and adjacent to the Otken farm, erecting a sound-absorbing wall for the length of Renaissance adjacent to the railway line, and preserving the land at the end of Renaissance Boulevard East from commercial development, possibly using that site for a public school or public library.

Resident Faisal Masood decided the petition was necessary because of the significant number of children located in the area. He said that in the morning there are about 13 school buses that make eight stops along Renaissance Boulevard and that 60 percent of the homeowners in the development have children who are between 5 and 10 years old.

"If we build a highway connecting Route 130 and Route 1, that is totally going to destroy the environment and the life of residents over there. In fact, we are totally ignoring the life of so many children who take the buses in the morning," he said. "If you walk through Renaissance you will see many backyards facing Renaissance Boulevard. … If there are children playing in the backyards and there is a road, there will be increased traffic four- or five-fold. How will the city permit that?"

Masood said that he and his neighbors originally opposed the entire transit village plan during the initial workshops hosted by developer TOD Associates, but they were eventually intrigued by the concepts of Smart Growth being presented. However, when they saw the plans with the connection using Renaissance Boulevard, "we immediately objected to that connection and we told, repeatedly, the builder that there is a lot to lose if they connect 130 and 1."

The petition asks the town to not accept any plans from TOD Associates that involve Renaissance due to increased noise, pollution, and risks affecting the quality of life in their neighborhood. Masood said both Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack and Congressman Rush Holt received copies but that TOD was not reached out to because the elected officials are responsible for protecting the issues of the community and that TOD is only the contractor.

Womack, Thomas Vigna from the township's Community Development office, and Business Administrator Robert Lombard presented a formalized plan to the Middlesex County Transportation Coordinating Committee on May 22. Womack said that although every available option must be formally presented, it is the township's discretion to label those improvements as preferable and appropriate. He said the township would like to avoid using Renaissance Boulevard as a cut-through and he personally thinks either Blackhorse Lane or Finnegans Lane should have an overpass instead.

"I think the residents have done the right thing with the petition by showing that Renaissance Boulevard is an inappropriate option and should be reconsidered," he said.

He said the petition was submitted as part of the public discussion session at the meeting. He also noted that planning is in its earliest stages and that a final decision on roadway improvements is "years away."

As of press time, 216 people had signed and offered their comments. The petition is located at www.petitiononline.com/NBSG5678/petition.html.