West Windsor Residents Fearful of a Mammoth Disruption, Surrounding Towns Should Be Too

     The West Windsor Planning Board will be meeting to continue the Q&A regarding the Bridge Point 8 Industrial Park. Locals are beginning to stir, including this author, in opposition to the project as a result of some of the details that came out at the last Planning Board meeting. Possibly the greatest point of contention is the 61.85% increase in traffic, made up of hundreds of tractor-trailers as well as cars PER HOUR. Yes, I did say per hour. This will impact every town that touches the already-overburdened Rte 1 corridor, for miles too great to number. Bridge Point should address New Jersey's problem of vacant warehouses. Perhaps they can help and not hinder. See the town efforts here: StopTheTrucks.info

     The plan is to expand Clarksville Rd to 8 lanes, at the intersection of Quaker Bridge Rd, and expand QB to 8 lanes as well, plus two 10' shoulders. They are preparing for the truck presence that is inevitable with the construction of 7 new warehouses with 2000 parking spaces and 1,364 truck loading docks, according to the power point presentation that is currently posted on the Mercer County web site. This author predicts a lag in updates to their site. West Windsor residents are up in arms because it has never been, nor does it want to be, an industrial town. The traffic on Clarksville Rd will be a quality of life shift that residents are not willing to choke down. The hundreds of trucks, often per hour, would have to travel past the elementary and high schools, and the homes on that stretch are likely to lose half of their front lawns to accommodate for the trucks, placing them in dangerous proximity. The noise is one thing, the fumes are another. The biggest concern is the sleepy driver returning from a 12 hour shift in the middle of the night who nods off and plows into the home of someone's family. The stats are there. It happens. This is not a pill anyone is willing to swallow. Losing your heirloom roses and mature hedges is one thing. Having big rigs drive by in great numbers, rattling your windows, just outside your door is quite another. Property values are expected to drop and quality of life, well, it's not a good forecast. A mass exodus seems logical, despite the great schools and close proximity to the train station. Trucks that close to home is not homey. My thoughts to the board... You can't polish a turd, and that's what this is if you ask anyone living here. Come to the meeting. Bring a sign. Be heard.

Senior Center
271 Clarksville Road
West Windsor, NJ 08550