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To the Editor:
Arlo Guthrie romanticized the freight train in his
song "The City of New Orleans," painting the idyllic picture
of two conductors and 25 sacks of mail rumbling past farms, fields and
the grave yard of the rusted automobile. Well, Route 28 - aka North
Avenue - doesn't have any farms, fields or junk yards. What it does have
are homes, apartments and a proliferation of retail businesses as well
as office buildings. This goes for South Avenue as well, at least
through Union County.
But it also has the Raritan Valley Rail Line ~
currently a commuter line transporting thousands daily to their
workplaces in New York City and other business hubs along the way.
Commuters are dropped off or park their cars at train station lots in
Westfield and Cranford among other towns in the early morning hours.
In the evening, whole car loads of spouses with young children can be
seen waiting in their family vehicle for their loved one to disembark
for the return to their homes in the burbs - an expensive life style but
worth it none the less.
The truth be told, most central Union County
residents paid little attention to the brouhaha going on to the east of
them when the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders started the
process of reactivating freight lines adjacent to the back yards of
residents in nearby Roselle, Kenilworth, Roselle Park, Springfield and
Summit. One of the intents of the train was to help reduce the number of
trucks traversing the major arteries of Union County, which would
include Route 28 and South Avenue. It would certainly be welcome relief
for those living and doing business on those thoroughfares.
But the newest twist, according to the June 12
edition of The Star-Ledger, appears to be the development of "train
to truck" depots in the county's suburban areas, perhaps nearby
Cranford and Roselle, to handle the expected increase of containers
coming into Port Elizabeth/Port Newark. These containers would be hauled
around the area to their destinations, obviously by trucks, which it
would appear would increase the truck traffic and not lessen it on North
and South avenues.
And what of the opening of the Chemical Cost Line by
the New Jersey Department of Transportation to marine cargo from Staten
Island, including garbage from Fresh Kills Landfill? It would seem that
that freight is being pushed west along with chemical products from the
Bayway Refinery. Would it be inconceivable for the long-discussed use of
the Raritan Valley Line for this type of freight to become a reality
sooner rather than later?
Shouldn't the residents along the line be informed of
this activity before tanker cars go rolling through downtown Cranford,
Westfield, or Plainfield on their way to Pennsylvania? The impact of
even a minor freight accident on this major commuter line near, for
instance, the Westfield or Fanwood train stations is bone chilling.
Union County residents pay dearly for their lives of
Little League, backyard barbecues and excellent educational
opportunities for their children. Shouldn't they also be able to enjoy a
relatively safe existence complete with peace and tranquility? One would
certainly think that would be the case since we hold the dubious
distinction of being in the top 10, nationally, of the highest county
taxes.
But, alas, this picture of the American Dream could
end up being just that, a picture. It seems we will have to pay the
price for not paying attention to what was going on in neighboring
communities because, though they are getting an unwelcome train, we here
on the Route 28 corridor will be getting the whole shebang if we are
not careful. And then the family in the car waiting at the station can
count the freight and tanker cars as they go whizzing by. |
