Sunday, May 31, 2009

MOM LINE DOES NOT SERVE MONMOUTH COUNTY WELL

The 12th District Legislators would like to voice their opposition to the plan to run the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM) rail line through the Borough of Red Bank.

“The MOM line was supposed to run from Ocean County through Middlesex County,” said Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, “hence its name. Western Monmouth County needs to be connected to a rail line, and the last thing Red Bank needs is more traffic being backed-up because of trains going right through the middle of the town.”

The agreement does not contain an earlier option that would run a rail line through Monmouth Junction between Lakehurst and the Northeast Corridor line in South Brunswick., nor a third alternative that would run a line on new tracks along the Henry Hudson trail.

“Red Bank is a difficult enough town to get through during peak hours,” said Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande. “I can’t imagine the mess this plan would cause if it’s implemented. I just can’t see the point in adding additional trains and slowing traffic in Red Bank and surrounding towns, while not adding service to western Monmouth County, an area we know is expanding and in need of this type of transportation.”

“This is the least desirable of all of the options that have been looked at,” said Senator Jennifer Beck. “It’s not just Red Bank, but Shrewsbury, Tinton Falls, Little Silver and Fair Haven that will have to deal with increased traffic and fewer available parking spaces for more riders. Of course funding is an issue, but without the line reaching out significantly to western Monmouth County and into Middlesex, this rail line will have completely missed its purpose.”

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Why not use the funds to improve roads and highways? Most people want to drive, not take the train.

ML said...

If the train is going where I want and the price is right I would rather take the train anYday

Unknown said...

Mass transit is another liberal utopian fantasy. I'm coming from Europe, where you can get by train anywhere you want. And everybody's dream is just to be able to afford buying a car, so they can get rid of the trains, even if the car trip takes longer because of traffic and it's more expensive.

ML said...

Lets see I can drive in traffic that is stressfull and usually life threatening or I can have a nice peaceful train ride and catch some ZZZS or read a good book and not have to worry about some yahoo tailgating me or stopping short in front of me for no reason. I have commuted and travelled both ways and I will take a train any day of the week.
As far as I am concerned the more train routes they build the better and I have no objection to the new route running through my town.
As far as the liberal utopia comment is concerned, this country subsidized canal building, improving navigable waterways and roads since its inception. Why not trains? Building and improving transportation Infrastructure is one of the few legitimate government functions.