Council Swaps Land for Turnpike Improvements

Musical chairs was played with several parcels of land owned by East Brunswick and the Turnpike Authority on Monday night, all as part of ongoing improvements to Turnpike Exit 9.

The East Brunswick Township Council voted unanimously in favor of the following ordinances:

• To accept three parcels of land owned by the Turnpike Authority to accommodate improvements to Naricon Place at Exit 9
• To vacate portions of Westons Mill Road, Naricon Place and Tower Center Boulevard and turn it over to the Turnpike Authority
• To vacate a portion of Westons Mill Road and turning it over to the City of New Brunswick
• To vacate a portion of Naricon Place and turn it over to the Turnpike Authority

Councilwoman Camille Ferraro explained that the vacated land is all publicly owned and does not encroach upon land privately owned by nearby homeowners.

The land swap with New Brunswick will not change the boundaries of East Brunswick, according to council attorney Daniel Zwillenberg, and is being done only for the purpose of the construction improvements to Route 18.

Council president James Wendell said the reason for the swap with New Brunswick is that by law, East Brunswick must concede the land to the adjoining municipality first, before it can go to the Turnpike Authority.

A resident brought up the issue of the large number of trees that have been cut down on Westons Mill Road during the construction, and asked what kind of a buffer will be put in to protect the nearby neighborhood.

Mayor David Stahl said that a barrier has been designed for the area, the plans for which are available in the township municipal building for public viewing.

"All new planting" will be done in the current barren area, which looks currently unsightly but is temporary, Stahl said.

"What you see now is not what it will look like," he said.

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