South Brunswick Students Lobby Township Council for Completion of Stouts Lane Sidewalks

Students from South Brunswick High School submitted a petition last week to the Township Council in hopes of persuading the township to complete a stretch of sidewalk on Stouts Lane, which runs from SBHS to the shopping center on Route 1. 

SBHS Student Council President Ian Moritz and Recording Secretary Dan Gorzynski spoke to the council at least week's meeting and presented a petition with 900 parent signatures and over 1,000 student signatures urging the township to complete the sidewalk.

"The road has blind curves that large buses travel on and there's no shoulder," Moritz said. "The walk to the mall from the high school is exceedingly dangerous."

Moritz said a survey conducted by the Student Council indicated an average of 10 students per day make the walk from SBHS to the mall for work and various other purposes. 

"We want to see that the town doesn't just care about our safety while we're in school," Moritz said.

Township officials said the completion of the project has been a priority since Councilman John O'Sullivan raised the issue a few years ago. Funding for the project, in addition to permits from the Department of Environmental Protection and an ongoing lawsuit, have prevented the completion of the sidewalk from moving forward.

The funding for the sidewalk extension was initially to come from Pennsylvania-based developer PineVille Brunswick Development Association, who sought to build a Shop Rite market at Stouts and Route 522. However, a lawsuit filed by Stop & Shop has left that funding in limbo as the case awaits a court date.

"Had we gotten to the point where the developer moved forward with their project they were going to complete the sidewalk," said Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz. "But it never got to that point and now we're looking for funding. We're only talking about approximately two-tenths of a mile of sidewalk."

Because the area to be completed runs over a stream, a small bridge would need to be completed as well, which requires DEP approval. 

"The council has been very concerned about this since the (shopping mall) was developed and we need to get that sidewalk put in so students can easily travel (Stouts Lane) without having harm caused to them," said Mayor Frank Gambatese. "We need to cross that stream, so a design needs to be created and sent to the DEP. So funding for this could be an expensive proposition."

Township Manager Bernard Hvozdovic said during the meeting that an engineering firm has looked into the project and the impact it could have on the wetlands of the property. He said the permitting process and funding for the project are the main hurdles at this point. Early estimates indicate the project could cost approximately a half-million dollars.

"We've been talking about this since the development across the street from the high school opened," said Councilman Joseph Camarota. "We're all for this, but it's a funding issue. The question is, are we talking about $500,000 to do this project? We all support this but it's a dollars and cents issue."

O'Sullivan floated the idea of removing trees along the path to give students some kind of shoulder to walk on. Schmalz said the township would be actively pursuing any available grants to move forward with the completion of the sidewalks.

"The students are forced to walk in the roadway over that stretch so it's important we get it done, but it's a funding issue," Schmalz said. "A lot of high school students work at that mall and finishing the sidewalk would allow them and other residents to walk there safely, so it's a priority."