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Township Officials Have Yet to Answer Questions About Snowden Lane Safety
CHRIS
BALDWIN
Snowden Lane
Family of Accident Victim Thanks Responders Who Tried to Rescue Him
VICKI
LEVINE
KAREN BARTELS
JONATHAN BARTELS
SHANA BARTELS
LEAH
BARTELS
Greenbrier Row
Benefactors Thanked for Supporting Public Library's "On the Move" Program
JULIE BORDEN
Hodge Road
MARGARET
SIECK
Fitch Way
Protesters of INS Raid Chastised For Supporting Illegal Immigration
CORRINGTON
HWONG
Brook Drive West
Board of Education Urged to Honor Princeton Athlete Clyde S. Thomas
Note: the following is a copy of an open letter to the Princeton Board of Education.
The Rev. Dr. W. ARTHUR LEWIS
Atlanta,
Ga.
"A Proud Princetonian of Yesteryear"
A Partnership of Parents Called For To Offer Children Safe Environment
The
Rev. FRANK C. STRASBURGER
Lafayette Road
Township Officials Have Yet to Answer Questions About Snowden Lane Safety
To the Editor:
Ms. Schwimmer's suggestion (Town Topics Mailbox, November 10) that opposition to the construction of a sidewalk is primarily based on its financial cost is misguided, but it does reveal the key assumption that she and many Township officials make – namely, that everyone would want to have a sidewalk in front of their home if only they could. Well, the 27 families in our neighborhood, whether they have lived here for one year or 40, whether their children are young or grown, whether they reside in the Township or the Borough, have all chosen to live on this street in large part because there is no sidewalk. As difficult as it is for some to understand, we prefer the historic and rural character of our street just as it is and we are prepared to protect it.
We have listened carefully to every reason used to justify a sidewalk. Simply stated, however, every argument – whether it is one of convenience, policy or public safety – has been based on little more than personal opinion, wishful thinking or misunderstanding. Consider Ms. Schwimmer's own arguments.
She worries about the potential danger of walking along Snowden "because the road curves at Franklin and Snowden and the visibility is limited." Township police records show several accidents at that intersection but none along the west side of the street where the sidewalk is proposed. Intersection improvements and simple traffic-calming measures would do more to improve public safety than sidewalk construction.
"Snowden has become a thoroughfare, cut-through road with constant traffic," she added. This is sad to the extent that it is true. The stated objective of the Princeton Community Master Plan is for Snowden to remain a minor collector serving local neighborhood traffic only, not to become a cut-through road. Building a sidewalk does not serve the Master Plan. Finding ways to identify and reduce cut-through traffic is a far more productive approach.
"The sight of pedestrians, whose numbers would increase [with a sidewalk], would... encourage people to slow down." If only it were that simple. First, there is no evidence that a sidewalk causes more people to travel by foot. The decision to walk or drive is determined by personal time-use and lifestyle decisions, not by the presence or absence of a sidewalk. Second, safety experts have shown repeatedly that vehicle speed increases with the driver's sense of a wider or more open roadway. Removing trees and other landscaping to install a sidewalk and curb will increase traffic speed along Snowden, not reduce it. We must be careful not to allow the good effects of the 25 mph posted speed limit to be undone as an unintended consequence of building an unnecessary sidewalk.
Sadly, Township officials are so fixated on constructing a sidewalk, they will not respond to our repeated offers to take time out to study street safety first so that we can then work together to develop effective measures to address potential safety issues. Instead, they insist that they have the answer before they have even looked at the question.
CHRIS
BALDWIN
Snowden Lane
Family of Accident Victim Thanks Responders Who Tried to Rescue Him
To the Editor:
We are writing to express our gratitude to the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad and the Fire Department and Police Departments of both Borough and Township for all their efforts to rescue Nathan Levine on November 4 at Snowden Lane. Although he did not survive, we very much appreciate the crew's outstanding ingenuity and hard work on his behalf in the pouring rain. We take some measure of comfort in knowing our beloved husband/father/grandfather was in such capable, compassionate hands in his time of need.
VICKI LEVINE
KAREN BARTELS
JONATHAN
BARTELS
SHANA BARTELS
LEAH BARTELS
Greenbrier Row
Benefactors Thanked for Supporting Public Library's "On the Move" Program
To the Editor:
Why did the Princeton Public Library look so different for a while on Saturday, November 6? Because it was transformed into a place for children and their parents to learn about life "On the Move," as a first-ever, part 2 of the Friends of the Princeton Public Library annual benefit. Kids were dribbling basketballs in the back driveway with PDS girls' coach Sue Repko, trying the martial art of Krav Maga from Princeton resident and University graduate David Kahn, learning hip hop dance from YWCA dance director Christine Colosimo, watching graceful dancers stretch from the Princeton Ballet School, meeting Olympians from 1964 (diver Lesley Bush) and 2004 (women's 8 stroke Lianne Nelson and sculler Aquil Abdullah), and learning from Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff how a Princeton kid went from reading books to writing them. Parents were talking about what makes a good coach from Princeton resident and University grad Merrell Noden and learning what makes a good sports photograph from Princeton resident and University grad Joe Marshall.
We want to thank the event sponsor, Bohren's Moving and Storage, and the support we received from Panera Bread. Thanks also to Aztec Graphics and the entire library staff, particularly Leslie Burger, Tim Quinn, Judy Feldman, Jennifer Mehlman, Chris Ducko, Sherwood Brown, and Susan Conlon for making it happen, plus all the other librarians for their work and sharing their space, and all the volunteers who made the event run. Many Friends make light work. We also want to thank all our experts who shared their valuable time, enthusiasm, and expertise to get everyone "On the Move."
JULIE
BORDEN
Hodge Road
MARGARET SIECK
Fitch Way
Protesters of INS Raid Chastised For Supporting Illegal Immigration
To the Editor:
The November 10 issue of Town Topics carried a front page photo entitled " We are all immigrants." While that concept may be true, the issue the protesters in the photo don't recognize is that they support illegal immigrants. People who illegally enter our nation are called "criminals."
Being a criminal is not a desirable way for future citizens to start their life in America. The protesters in the photo need to get their law and values straight.
CORRINGTON
HWONG
Brook Drive West
Board of Education Urged to Honor Princeton Athlete Clyde S. Thomas
Note: the following is a copy of an open letter to the Princeton Board of Education.
To the Editor:
On a recent trip back to Princeton, I was one of the ones who had the opportunity to speak at Clyde S. "Buster" Thomas's going home celebration. As I lifted up this great citizen of Princeton, I could not help but laud the many activities that bore his imprint. He was a giant among the many notable citizens of this town.
From the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Princeton, I threw forth the challenge that the black community needs to bombard the Board of Education to name the football field, the track, the gymnasium, or some public place at the newly renovated Princeton High School in his honor. Buster was the greatest athlete to walk the halls of the Princeton Public School System. He did not just leave his calling card on the athletic fields, but continued his offerings with his gifts to the community in general.
The man left a rich legacy, and his name and deeds should not be lost in the annals of the history of Princeton. His name should be lifted up as a proud son of Princeton, just as the town claims the late Paul Robeson.
As you sit in caucus, let your minds come together in thought about how Clyde "Buster" Thomas can best be honored. Do not put his name on a classroom door, or in some obscure place; let his light shine forth so those in years to come will know who he was and what he meant to the community.
A better role model for our youth has not walked the streets of Princeton. How do I know? I had the privilege to know the man. Let your collected voices be heard by doing something to bridge the total community of the town called Princeton.
The Rev. Dr.
W. ARTHUR LEWIS
Atlanta, Ga.
"A Proud Princetonian
of Yesteryear"
A Partnership of Parents Called For To Offer Children Safe Environment
To the Editor:
Several recent incidents have served to remind us in Princeton that we are not immune to the ugliness and violence that afflict so many American cities and towns as they struggle to overcome the long history of racial and economic tensions that divide our communities. A racial beating; threats from a Trenton gang to attack students at Princeton high School; and even the murder of a young Princeton resident – quite a spate of events, and surely not what we expect in Princeton. But they're here and they're not going away soon.
So what do we do?
As a member of the clergy, a former school board member, a former Princeton University chaplain, and a Princeton parent for nearly 20 years, I've wondered, often aloud, why this town's parents don't collaborate to create a safe environment for our children. When I was growing up in Baltimore, a city then about 30 times the size of Princeton today, I stayed largely out of trouble, not because I was so good but because I knew that no matter where I went or what I did, it was sure to get back to my parents. Parents then depended on one another, sharing often unspoken expectations and norms. In a very real sense, all of them raised all of us.
Conversely, parents in highly competitive Princeton tend to focus on their own children. But that leaves even those children without the broader safety net that a real community ought to provide. What's missing is a coalition of parents committed to all of our children, concerned not only about their own children's welfare but also about the kids across the street and even across town – people willing to care about kids across the racial and economic spectrum. That's what makes a town a community.
We parents must work together to share our expectations for our kids on issues like drugs and alcohol, dating, parties, curfews, hanging out, gangs, racial and sexual violence. We certainly won't all agree on everything. But our kids have a natural conspiracy; they're together every day. Unlike them, we try to go it alone. And the result is that, on the one hand, we're not giving our kids the attention they deserve, and on the other, we're failing to hold them accountable for their behavior.
The truth is, you and I can't raise our children alone; we need one another. It really does take a village, as Hillary Clinton has written, to raise a child. So I'd like to invite every parent in Princeton who is willing to be a parent to all of our children to join me at a meeting at John Witherspoon School on Thursday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. The purpose is to start a partnership of Princeton parents that can help us all to do that incredibly important job together that nobody told us how to do – raise our children.
Hope to see you there!
The Rev. FRANK C. STRASBURGER
Lafayette
Road
