Cranbury: Man objects to condemnation

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http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2010/11/29/topstory/doc4cf3bf67dfa59688927683.txt

Middlesex County would be ignoring local laws if it, as planned, takes a 20-foot strip of land from a historically preserved farm in Cranbury to expand Old Trenton Road.

The land the county would condemn is part of the Danser Farmstead. A historic farmhouse built in the mid 1880s is located on the farm, and the property “has been used as a filming location for several television commercials and photo shoots due to its historic character,” said Robert Diamond, owner of the property.

Mr. Diamond addressed the Township Committee at its meeting Monday and suggested the committee make it known to the county that local laws are being violated in the expansion of Old Trenton Road.

Mr. Diamond is a member of the Cranbury Historic and Preservation Society. He personally has invested his time and money in keeping the farmstead an intact historic setting, he said.

Mayor David J. Stout said it’s a shame this issue came up because improvements to Old Trenton Road are being done due to the public’s concern about the road’s safety. The township, however, never approved plans for the road’s improvement that included condemning a portion of historically preserved land.

”It puts the town in a somewhat difficult position,” said the mayor.

The construction on the road began three months ago and will, hopefully, be finished before Christmas, said Ron Sedner, supervising engineer at the county engineering office.

”I can assure you we’re doing everything legally,” he said. “We’re just providing a consistent roadway. It’s not a good situation when you have a wide to narrow to wide road.”

The widening of the road also will add left turning lanes into side streets off Old Trenton Road.

”Most of the parcels of land were acquired years ago, but recently one parcel was brought to our attention,” he said, referring to the 20-foot by 515-foot strip of land on the Danser Farmstead. The county had Mr. Diamond’s property appraised and offered to purchase it, but Mr. Diamond rejected the offer.

Mr. Sedner and Mr. Diamond did not want to discuss the amount offered.

The 1993 Cranbury Township Master Plan designates the Danser Farmstead as a “late 1800’s L-Plan Victorian Vernacular” house.

The Master Plan is not a legally binding document, but Cranbury’s code protects the plan’s inventory of historic sites, which includes the Danser farmstead.

Chapter 93 of the code states, “Historic sites noted in the Cranbury Township Master Plan . . . shall be retained, and the setting of these historic sites shall be maintained by preserving the area surrounding the structure as required.”

It adds these standards are in place to protect the site features, “which may include the farm structures, trees, hedgerows, landscaping and pastures that are located within proximity of a historic site.”

”A certificate of approval issued by the commission (Historic Preservation Commission) shall be required before a permit is issued or before work can begin” on a project that would change the setting of a historic site, states the code.

”It’s clear that the intent is to preserve the farmstead setting as a whole, not just the house,” Mr. Diamond said.

Even though county laws supersede local laws, “this is not a case of conflicting laws,” Mr. Diamond said. “This is a case of a county action that disregards Cranbury’s laws.”

”I do not understand the efficacy of widening a 35-mph road and believe the permanent damage to a historic farmstead property far outweighs any benefit that could possibly result from a widened roadway,” he said.

If the county continues with its plans to expand Old Trenton Road, 14 trees, “some of which are historic oaks probably over 100 years old” will be cut down,” Mr. Diamond said.

The Township Committee said all it can do is write a letter to the county, suggesting it respect the township code. The county, however, still can override the code if it believes the project is for the greater good.

”We can ask the county to follow the laws we put in place, but the decision is still up to the judge,” said Councilman Win Cody after listening to Mr. Diamond’s case.

”I’m sure the judge is unaware that this violates our code,” Mr. Diamond added.

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I suspect the 35 MPH is just a temporary way to get to the 40 MPH that most people want and that is the prevailing speed limit in the sections before and after this part of Old Trenton. But the rules didn't let them go straight to 40 MPH. So they went to 35 MPH then will test the speed after some time, find that at least 85% of people are doing 40 MPH, because people tend to hovor about 5 MPH over the posted limit, and change it. So 35 MPH is a way to force people down to 40 MPH.

You gotta love the silly ways government works.

Cranbury Neck is even more of a mess now. It goes from 25 near Main Street, technically goes to 50 after that, but they intentionally took all the signs down so there's no way to know that which means everyone makes up their own speed, then Plainsboro is enoforcing 45 MPH, again with no signs, before West Windsor now starts by reducing you to 40, then 30, then 25. Of course with no signs for the 45 or 50, many people falsely assume the speed is still 40.

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Speeding tickets are THE greatest generator of income for most police depts.
If a cop can write his or her payday in tickets everyday.........the taxpayers don't complain!
Removing signage increases the chances of speeders, which in turn, increases the liklihood of speeders getting costly tickets.
Chasing crooks doesn't make much money.

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Directly from the MVC manual

Speed control
Exceeding the speed limit is a common contributing factor of fatal and other types of accidents. A motorist must always obey the speed limit. Speed affects almost everything that can happen when driving. A good rule is to keep up with the flow of traffic at any legal speed. In order to make safe emergency stops when necessary, it is important to keep enough distance from surrounding traffic. New Jersey law sets top speed limits for any given road, street, highway or freeway.




Speed Limits (Unless Otherwise Posted) (N.J.S.A. 39:4-9
Never drive faster than weather, road or other conditions safely allow, regardless of the posted speed limit. A motorist should judge his/her speed control by existing conditions. A motorist should slow down enough to be able to see clearly and stop quickly in traffic. Failure to do so can result in a moving violation.

Motorists pay double fines for exceeding the 65 mph limit by 10 mph or more. Double fines also apply to most other moving violations committed in a 65 mph zone. (N.J.S.A 39:4-98.6)

Always slow down:
On narrow or winding roads
At intersections or railroad crossings
On hills
At sharp or blind curves
Where there are pedestrians or driving hazards
When the road is wet or slippery




25 mph - School zones, business or residential districts
35 mph – Suburban business and residential districts
50 mph – Non-posted rural roadways
55 mph – Certain state and interstate highways, as posted
65 mph – Certain interstate highways, as posted



Driving Too Slowly
A motorist should always try to keep up with the normal flow of traffic, while not exceeding the posted speed limit. Some collisions are caused by driving too slowly and backing up traffic. When road surfaces and traffic are normal, New Jersey law prohibits blocking traffic through slow driving.

If vehicle problems prevent a motorist from keeping up with the normal flow of traffic, he/she should pull off the road and activate hazard lights.

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Yes, I'm aware of the 50 MPH rural speed limit. The problem with it in this case is that a lower speed limit is posted on part of the same stretch of road and there is no distinguishing divider when it changes to "rural." In this case it is right after you pass Wynnewood Road, but that wouldn't be obvious to most people. The character of the road doesn't change, you are still passing homes at about the same density and so on. There is no light or turn or major change. And so everyone seems to have their own assumptions about what the speed limit is and where it changes. A single sign at the point that it goes from 25 to 50 would be logical. Even some of the GPS devices like Garmin get it wrong and continue to label it as 25.

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But Plainsboro should not be enforcing 45 mph on that part of Cranbury Neck.

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Seems like a considerate thing to do would be for the township in conjunction with the Cranbury Police should arrange for proper posting to avoid any confusion. That should be a simple thing to accomplish in a small town like Cranbury. Sinage similar to Plainsboro Road where it states "END 25 MPH".

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Except then the residents who don't like 50 mph would complain. Not having signage does lead to some slower speeds for those residents.

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