Jamesburg stocked with charm, pride, potential
Brian Donahue
Editor

If one thing is certain about Jamesburg, it's that most people who live there take deep pride in it. And who can blame them? This is a community rich with old-fashioned appeal, with a desirable downtown business district, quality schools and an abundance of good, friendly people. In fact, many have deep roots in town and choose to spend their whole lives there.

This compassion for Jamesburg was never more clear to me than over the past week as calls and e-mails came in from residents in response to an editorial cartoon that ran last week. The cartoon was intended to symbolize the ongoing effort by a coalition to revitalize the community, a movement that is creative, organized and capable of bringing about positive results for the business district and community as a whole.

However, the cartoon did not accomplish that goal. Instead, it was viewed by many as portraying the town as messy and in need of cleaning up. This was not the newspaper's intention, as the cartoon had been assigned to depict the work toward revitalization and improvement. We certainly meant no disrespect for this community; quite the opposite in fact.

The Jamesburg Revitalization Coalition is a group of officials, merchants and residents who have banded together to create a vision and a plan to build upon the town's assets and improve the downtown area. It is seeking ways to bring in new businesses and jobs, preserve the town's historical character and make Jamesburg more of a pedestrian-friendly destination.

In a relatively short period of time, this committee has held several brainstorming meetings; laid the groundwork for a team of Rutgers University architectural graduate students to study the borough's options; conducted a public perception survey; and began working with the state agency Main Street New Jersey.

Some of the specific ideas touched upon at a recent coalition meeting were the organizing of more community events such as outdoor concerts and movies, adding decorative lighting downtown, and having greater police enforcement of speed limits. More big-picture changes will come to light in the coming year as the study is presented to town officials and as more business owners join in this effort.

Indeed, this is a positive and laudable movement, and it says a great deal about those who live and work in Jamesburg that they realize the charm and potential of this town and are rallying to improve upon those qualities.