CARS rep reviews group's history, purpose

I represent the citizens group known as CARS [Citizens Advocating Road Safety], which consists of residents who are concerned about safety on Sharon Station Road. I wish to set the record straight with regard to the history and purpose of CARS.

First, prior to filing any legal action, CARS tried in vain to persuade the mayor and the council to communicate with it. I wrote a letter on behalf of CARS to Mayor Fleischacker and the council on Oct. 4, 2006, attempting to initiate a long-lacking dialogue on safety issues related to Sharon Station Road. Among other things in that letter, I wrote: "Heavy traffic, at high speeds, in a residential area traversed not only by adults, but also by children and school buses creates a dangerous condition," a statement that was true then and is true now; however, I have never - right up until the present day - received an answer to that letter. This lack of response contributes in large measure to the frustration of the residents aggrieved by the unacceptable safety conditions on the road.

Second, the lawsuit filed by CARS concerning the transfer of the road to the county is no roadblock to anything except noncompliance with state law. There are specific, formal requirements under the law for actions such as those taken by the council. The suit alleges that they were not followed, plain and simple; however, CARS has not impeded any progress, and it has neither sought nor obtained any preliminary injunctive relief. The [group's] goal is to advance the discussion about creative solutions, not to impede it.

In a much broader sense, CARS is a nonprofit organization seeking only to promote a safe road and a safe neighborhood, free from heavy, out-of-town trucks barreling through at high speeds. [The group] has taken no actions to negatively impact local businesses, and it has no desire or intention to do so. Instead, it seeks only rational solutions, achieved with citizen input and local municipal input at every level, including the county and state levels of government. This is a situation that can be corrected, but - for example - CARS is concerned about the negative impact of an interchange at Interstate 195 (I-195) and Sharon Station Road, and [the group], both directly and through me, has suggested a number of reasonable solutions to the problem, including such simple and direct ones as weight and speed restrictions, which must be vigorously enforced.

This is a time for banding together to solve a local problem. It is not a time for the municipal government to promote discord through misinformation. The lawsuit will run its course and, we hope, will be resolved soon. Upper Freehold would be in better shape, however, if the issue of safety on Sharon Station Road was of as much a concern to the mayor and the council as it is to CARS.

Stephen J. Edelstein

Upper Freehold