Proceed with caution on town center plan

South Brunswick officials have rightly reacted with a healthy dose of skepticism toward a proposed town center-style development in Dayton. Although the fine print of what would be built is far from hashed out, the very idea of this village concept makes it one of the most ambitious development projects floated in South Brunswick's recent history. And with that being the case, it should be examined with the highest level of attention by township leaders.

Richardson Properties Corp. hopes to build this mix of small shops, townhouses, apartments and public spaces on a vacant 50-acre site next to the Stop & Shop near the intersection of Routes 522 and 130. The idea is that mixed in with neighbors like the Fresh Ponds Village apartments, a sort of mini-community would be formed that could largely sustain its own stores.

These microwave Main Streets seem to be the new rage in planning, but do they work? It's tough to say.

Other local places where town centers have been proposed, such as Jackson and Middletown, have said no thanks, and therefore offer us no data. Others, like the Johnson & Johnson property in North Brunswick and the defunct Anchor Glass site in Aberdeen, have been met with some level of approval by their towns, but are still just in the concept phases. Pier Village in Long Branch could be counted as something of a success story, but that's beachfront property, and has the significant advantage of drawing tourists to its stores and those willing to buy condos for seasonal use.

Overall data on area town centers may be scarce either way, yet it seems certain that unique local conditions will play a large part on whether the Dayton plan could be a success or a burden. For instance, will the J&J transit village have any bearing on the project? The concepts are similar, but North Brunswick's would seem more desirable because of its rail access. South Brunswick Councilman Charles Carley put it best when he described the Dayton proposal as "a transit village without the transit."

We're also very interested to know how traffic would be accommodated, as that Stop & Shop intersection can already be a nerve-wracking drive at times. If they bring in a traffic engineer who cites car averages from "similar" developments, it would be important to know all about them, as those numbers often don't tell the whole story.

In order for the township to even entertain something like this, there are so many questions that must be answered. This is not something the mayor can view simply as another great ratable, like all of the warehouses he's promoted in town. Thankfully the Township Council doesn't appear to see it that way or be in any hurry to move on this.