MOM rally this Friday
May 10th 2007 08:43 am
A reminder that a rally supporting MOM will be held on Friday, May 11, at 10:30 a.m., on the back steps of the Monmouth County Library, 125 Symmes Drive, Manalapan, N.J. (directions) In case of rain, the rally will be held inside the building.
If you can make it, come out and show your support for MOM. A good turnout can help show local officials and residents that the people want more rail service and that the “true MOM” via Monmouth Junction is the best choice for Middlesex - Ocean - Monmouth counties.
Here is a special MOM News Update (76 KB PDF) for the rally.
Daniel Green responded on 10 May 2007 at 3:12 pm #
Mother’s Day weekend is a great occasion for us to speak out in favor of the MOM rail line. All over the United States, commuter rail lines are being built and expanded. Even here in New Jersey, rail service is being expanded in several locations. But inland Monmouth and Ocean Counties are still completely left out. It is now well-known that, in just three or four more years, Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex Counties will be home to one-quarter of New Jersey’s entire population and labor force. New Jersey needs this important passenger rail project called MOM, which will provide service to inland portions of all three counties. It is crucial that travelers be offered a rail alternative to the ever-increasing burden of more and more cars and buses on our crowded highways. The MOM rail project is necessary, and it is a vital component of a sensible and practical regional transportation plan for the future.
Of the three proposed routes, the one which will serve the most passengers and the most destinations by far is the one called the Monmouth Junction alignment. This is the route which the NJ Association of Railroad Passengers calls the “real MOM.” It will run from Lakehurst to Farmingdale, turn northwest through Freehold, Manalapan, Englishtown, Monroe and Jamesburg, and then it will connect with Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor at Monmouth Junction in South Brunswick, Middlesex County. Most of our commuters—close to ninety per cent—stay within New Jersey and do not travel to New York City. The “real MOM” will allow us to take a train to places that most travelers want to go to. It will give us connections to every NJ Transit rail line and light rail line; it will give us access to all major centers of business, government and entertainment in New Jersey. The “real MOM” will make it possible for us to go by train to New Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton and Philadelphia, as well as to Newark, Newark Airport, the “gold coast” and New York City. That is why the Monmouth Junction alignment is favored as the best route by all of our transportation advocates: Monmouth and Ocean Counties, the NJ Association of Railroad Passengers and the Central Jersey Rail Coalition.
We have been advocating for MOM for well over twenty years. Our progress has been slow and difficult, but we have cleared many obstacles. The Draft Environmental Impact study goes on and on, but we are optimistic that we will ultimately be successful. At this moment the MOM project faces two major problems. One is the elected officials and homeowners of Middlesex County—mostly in Monroe, Jamesburg and South Brunswick—whom we call NIMBYs. They, who live right next to the rail line, belligerently declare, “Not in my back yard!” They want to hold all of us hostage to their provincial belief that their Sleepy Hollow has a right to block the trains that we need so much. In this 21st century that is outrageous and untenable. The transit needs of this tri-county region must outweigh some minor inconvenience to some residents of the towns that MOM will pass through. Of course, their legitimate concerns will be addressed and satisfied, and this rail line will benefit them as much as it will help those who only need to travel through. Indeed, more and more residents of Middlesex County are now coming out and expressing support for the MOM rail line. We are optimistic that this mindless opposition is finally losing steam.
The other problem for the MOM rail line is obtaining the money to build it. Two years ago, our former Commissioner of Transportation, Jack Lettiere, stated publicly that there is a real need for MOM. And our current Commissioner, Kris Kolluri, personally told me two weeks ago that “MOM is absolutely imperative.” He was very confident that MOM would easily draw enough ridership to be successful. But he also said MOM will have to wait until the new tunnels under the Hudson River are completed, because we don’t have the money to build it. True, there’s no doubt that a one-seat ride on MOM to midtown Manhattan will not be possible until THE Tunnel is ready. But starting the MOM project doesn’t have to wait that long. MOM design and construction can begin sooner, even if the trains cannot go all the way to Manhattan at first. Temporarily they can go as far as Newark or Hoboken. MOM can get started even if all the money is not yet in place. NJ Transit was able to come up with 7 million dollars to construct a passing siding in Whitehouse, NJ for the benefit of only one hundred passengers a day. Surely they can find another couple of million dollars to show the thousands of transit-starved people down here that they mean business about getting MOM started. We are hoping for this reasonable support from Mr. Kolluri and from NJ Transit’s new executive director, Richard Sarles.
Let us do whatever is necessary to get the MOM trains to roll again, once and for all. All the residents of this exploding tri-county region deserve it very soon. We need our MOM! Let those NIMBYs in Middlesex hear us loud and strong. Let the Governor and the Department of Transportation and New Jersey Transit hear us loud and strong. It’s Mother’s Day weekend, and we want them all to know: We will not forget our MOM!
LRTADV responded on 12 May 2007 at 3:47 pm #
I hope there was a large turnout for the rally yesterday. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend. It has been painfully obvious for a long time that we need this new rail line. A new name for it like “The Lakewood Line” would be a better name than MOM? If you view one of the system maps on NJ Transit cars, the dark territory (unserved area) stands out in bold relief. I’ve had many an opportunity to do this while standing on a Corridor train that is held between Midway (Monmouth Jct.) and Nassau (Princeton Jct.) block stations. It would have been great to have that same train leave the corridor and take the Jamesburg Branch to Herrod Boulevard in South Brunswick where my car or shuttle would take me straight down Rt. 130 to my home in East Windsor. Perhaps in some more distant time that MOM train would drop me off in Jameburg for a cross-platform connection to a Light Rail train to Hightstown where I could walk home. In any event, we need to get this project (party) started yesterday!!!
E-44 responded on 22 May 2007 at 9:15 pm #
Presumably MBIGluckShaw has proposed a strategy to Monmouth and Ocean counties (curious as to what county agencies engaged the firm) that includes an effective publicity and community outreach program.
It would be interesting to hear from our friends in Monmouth and Ocean (privately or publicly) what the plan is and how we can align ourselves with it.
Bob Scheurle responded on 23 May 2007 at 2:33 pm #
Probably these guys:
Ocean County Department of Planning
Monmouth County Planning Board